'Transformed' museum reopens with new exhibitions

Poole Museum reopens following a two-week closure

A town's museum is set to reopen with "transformed" exhibition spaces.

Poole Museum has been closed since 29 January while work was carried out on its galleries.

The museum will reopen hosting a touring exhibition of sketches by British artist Lucian Freud as well as an exhibition charting the history of the town's power station.

The recently refurbished museum was officially reopened in November following a £10m redevelopment.

Lucian Freud's Etchings: A Creative Collaboration shines a light on the artist's lesser-known passion for printmaking, displaying intricate etchings that reveal Freud's work beyond his celebrated paintings.

The V&A Museum exhibition also reflects Freud's personal connection to Dorset, where he attended Bryanston School and later owned a home near Shaftesbury.

The Power of Poole exhibition tells the story of what was one of the largest power stations in southern England.

Poole Power Station at Hole's Bay was part of a drive to modernise Britain's energy supply after World War Two, before it was demolished in the early 1990s.

Poole Museum is housed in a medieval building, which is owned by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council, and includes the restored Scaplen's Court and Garden.

Following the refurbishment, the museum has six new galleries across five floors, three new maritime galleries telling the story of the region's seafaring history.

Its collection includes an Iron Age log boat, artefacts from 16th and 17th Century shipwrecks, a large collection of Poole Pottery, and works by local artists including Augustus John and Henry Lamb.

Exhibits also include Bethan's Rock - a treasured stone donated by a five-year-old girl.