Museum's ready for a magical return

As I enter the museum it's a hive of activity. Paint-spattered workmen are tapping in nails, carpenters are sawing and museum staff are rustling paper, carefully unwrapping treasures from the past.

But amid the cacophony, one sound can be heard above all the others - snoring.

The gasping, grunting rattle of a deep sleeper fills the air. I cannot see the source of this disturbance at first but then I spot him, high above me in a hammock, a grey-bearded man in a purple hat.

The snoozing figure is Emous V Hume Esq, wizard and soon-to-be star of the toy gallery. And this is his attic.

Mr Hume, a fictional character whose name is an anagram of Hove Museum, travels the world collecting toys and games and restoring them to display.

His attic is a treasure trove of teddy bears and dolls, boats, trains, planes, spinning tops, mechanical toys books, animals and creepy-crawlies.

The toy gallery is one of the star attractions at the museum and art gallery.

In the past 18 months, the museum in New Church Road, Hove, has been rewired and remodelled, a lift has been installed, new exhibits acquired and new displays and lighting created to show them off.

Staff dreamt up concepts for the new galleries and they were imaginatively turned into reality by designer Peter Canham.

The new-look museum has facilities for the disabled, including Braille guides, staffing levels have been increased from four to ten and everywhere, including the much-loved tea room, has been given a makeover.

The process has taken five years of planning but Abigail Thomas, keeper at the museum, believes the effort and energy ploughed into the project have paid off.

She said: "I think we now have one of the best family-friendly and accessible museums in the country.

"Every day has been full of surprises, some nice, some horrible, but we have got through it all and most of it has been fun."

One of the less pleasant surprises, which caused the refurbishment to fall 12 weeks behind target, was a delay in getting planning permission to install the lift to the second floor.

There was also a recurring personnel problem - pregnancy. Polly Harknett, crafts officer, Carrie Wiltshire, the curator of toys and films, and Abigail herself have all become mums.

Carrie gave birth to Freya in November, Polly had Joseph in December, and Abigail is expecting twin boys in May.

Abigail said: "It was a bit of a shock at first but it has worked out fine. Polly and Carrie are not officially back at work until March but they have been in almost every day checking text and labels and feeding and changing in between."

The toy gallery will undoubtedly be one of the major draws, not least with the many school groups who visit from across the South-East. It is one of the largest and most important toy collections in Britain.

Like most of the exhibits, it is geared to children and the national curriculum. And to increase the enjoyment, it is very much hands-on, with doors and boxes to open, buttons to press and a magic mirror to puzzle over.

A train set runs beneath the floor of the room and is viewed through glass panels. A giant musical chest reveals a collection of Japanese dolls. Another has dolls with a claim to fame - the smallest is the size of a quarter thumbnail.

There is also a Noah's Ark of Sunday toys, special games and books that were only brought out once a week.

To the side of the attic is a child's bedroom split by time - half Victorian, half modern. To add to the fun, the wizard has cast a spell on it that has gone wrong and not everything is quite as it should be, like the clock which moves backwards.

Another major draw is the museum's film gallery, which, for the first time, highlights Hove's role in the birth of the movies and houses the important Barnes Collection.

Abigail explains: "It explains why Hove was so important to the film industry. In Victorian times there was a whole industry in entertaining people with the piers and the Volk's railway, the Daddy Longlegs railway, which went into the sea, and the Devil's Dyke railway. There were also lots of engineers and creative people in the town.

"Brighton and Hove had a huge number of cinemas and pioneers would often film on the beaches during the day and people paid to see themselves in the cinema in the evening."

Included in the gallery is a tiny eight-seat cinema which shows rare footage from the era. Above it hangs an original sign from the cinema which used to occupy the Burger King premises in North Street, Brighton.

A frieze comes from the Regent, now Boots, and the red cinema seats were salvaged from the old ABC in East Street.

Another room looks at optical toys, magic lanterns, slides and shadow puppets. And a third room showcases the equipment the pioneers used.

Screens showing film shot using the early equipment are built into an imaginative display of giant negatives.

The local history room is a fascinating look at settlements in Hove from pre-historic times through to the present day.

It highlights a Roman settlement at West Blatchington, Norman manors and churches, Hangleton's early medieval village, the Regency development of Brunswick and the rapid growth of Victorian and 20th Century Hove.

It also touches on the war years and visitors can find out how old their house is and how to research its history.

The collection also includes the Hove Amber Cup, which dates from 1,500 BC and is considered one of Britain's most important Bronze Age finds.

The museum is also a showcase for contemporary crafts, both its own collection and the Southern and South-East Arts Craft collection. There are items from major craft pioneers of the 20th Century, like Bernard Leach and Alison Britton and contemporary makers like Fred Baier and Susan Cutts.

The craft gallery is divided into three sections - Inspiration, Alchemy and Making. The inaugural exhibition is Shift, a retrospective by jewellery-maker Cynthia Cousens.

Elsewhere, there is work by local artists and community groups, including stunning metal railings made by Jon Mills and pupils from Peter Gladwin Primary School.

The £900,000 refurbishment has been funded through the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Regional Arts Lottery Fund, Brighton and Hove City Council, The Headley Trust and the Friends of Hove Museum and Art Gallery. When the museum closed in July 2001, displays were dated and, although staff did their best, some items were not housed in the right conditions.

Abigail said: "Before, the museum was a real hotchpotch. Now we have concentrated on the collections that were out strengths. Our film collection was not displayed very well. Now we're able to show how important Hove was in the birth of the moving image.

"We've also made sure display cases are environmentally controlled and have the right light levels so we are safeguarding the future of objects."

The museum will be open from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 10am to 5pm and on Sundays from 2pm to 5pm. Admission is free. Call 01273 290200.