Toy museum to open after revamp

About 9,000 items from the museum have been restored

A 17th Century country house and museum of childhood in Derbyshire is set to reopen after a £2.2m makeover.

The Museum of Childhood at the National Trust's Sudbury Hall has been made 50% bigger with eight new galleries.

Conservation work on 9,000 childhood items from the 19th Century onwards has also been carried out.

An award of £1.6m was made by the Heritage Lottery Fund with the rest of the renovation work paid for through various trusts and legacies.

Leslie Law, from the Museum of Childhood, said visitors were encouraged to have a hands-on approach to the exhibits.

"We love the noise - the noise of people playing with toys and having conversations and getting excited about their memories and things they played with when they were little."

The museum opens to the public from Friday 28 March.