The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon is set to start work on a new silver gallery after being given a funding boost from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Wolfson Foundation.

North Devon Council, which runs the museum, will receive £103,000 from the joint DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, a £4 million pot which provides support to local and regional museums to improve displays, enhance collections care and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors.

The new silver gallery will showcase some of the finest 16th and 17th century spoons crafted by local silversmiths Thomas Mathew and Peter Quick. It will also display chalices from North Devon churches.

Alison Mills, Director of the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon, said: "We are delighted to receive this funding boost from the DCMS and the Wolfson Foundation, which will allow us to open the new silver gallery.

"During the 16th and 17th centuries, Barnstaple was a very prosperous town as its merchants became wealthy trading with Europe and the new world. Among the ways they spent their money was on beautiful silver spoons, which would be purchased to show the wealth of the family and as an investment. A community of silversmiths grew up in the town, and we are delighted to be able to showcase their work alongside some of the most beautiful silver we have in our collection."

For over 20 years, DCMS and the Wolfson Foundation have worked together to jointly fund grants to support museums as they improve displays, enhance collections care and make exhibitions more accessible to visitors.

More than 440 projects have benefitted from over £50 million in funding.