Stuffed dogs display wins grant

The Natural History Museum at Tring has 88 dogs in its collection

A museum display of 88 stuffed dogs has benefited from a £87,000 share of £4m of grants announced by the government.

The funding is going to a number of projects in 43 museums and galleries across England.

The Natural History Museum at Tring, Herts, gets the £87,000 to refurbish its gallery featuring the dogs - which show the impact of selective breeding.

Other grant recipients include the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset.

The Natural History Museum at Tring was founded by Walter Rothschild, a collector of animals, birds and insects, who was born in 1868 and whose collection became one of the largest in the world.

'Very popular'

Paul Kitching, manager of the museum, said: "It's great news that we've received this award which will make a major difference to the museum.

"The renovations that we will be undertaking will help to make these collections more accessible to visitors, but we will be maintaining the character and feel of Walter Rothschild's important displays.

"These galleries are very popular with members of the public, and we will try to minimise any disruptions."

Some other grants have also been awarded to:

A room makeover for Leicester's dinosaurs (New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester)

Redisplay of the rare Amati violin (Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, Cumbria)

Conservation and rehanging of 18th century "mobile" Chinese wallpaper lost for 150 years (Harewood House, Leeds)

New geology and climate gallery (Colchester Museums' Natural History Museum)

A new Buddhist Sculpture in the Asia gallery (Victoria and Albert Museum, London)

A double storey, 3D Bio Wall dedicated to the natural world (the Great North Museum, Newcastle)

The display shows the impact of select breeding on dogs

Creation of a major exhibition of London's history from 1950 to present (Museum of London, London)

Re-display of the popular Foreign Mammals Gallery - including the Norfolk Polar Bear (Norwich Castle, Norwich)

An improved entrance for the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery in their 75th anniversary year (London)

New signage system at the British Museum using images of iconic objects in the collection at key points in the galleries (London).

The grant have been provided a £2m of funding from the Wolfson Foundation, a charitable body, and a matching sum from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund has awarded £20m to institutions since it was set up in 2002.

Culture Minister Margaret Hodge said: "This year's grants go to an imaginative array of projects in national institutions, university collections and well-loved local museums and galleries.

"This funding will give visitors the best possible experience of some wonderful collections."