CHRISTMAS is a time for celebration at Gilbert White’s House Museum in Selborne as it says ‘thank you’ to the National Heritage Lottery for a £1.8m grant to support a major renovation project.

The cultural centre is also taking receipt of £28,600 of community funding from Hampshire County Council to support educational projects.

To say thank you, the museum is throwing open its doors for free to National Lottery players wanting to visit Gilbert White and The Oates Collections until Sunday (December 17).

Anyone who presents a National Lottery ticket or scratchcard during that time will get free entry for a family of up to six in return.

The museum is joining participating National Lottery-funded visitor attractions across the UK in saying ‘thanks’ to people who have raised money for good causes by buying a lottery ticket.

Thanks to their support via the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Selborne museum is currently in the middle of a £3m renovation project to help restore the 18th Century stable yard and the redesign of the Frank Oates gallery.

Referring to the open house opportunity, Ros Kerslake, chief executive of the Heritage Lottery Fund, said: “December is a wonderful time to experience the UK’s rich, diverse and exciting heritage, which has been transformed by more than £7bn National Lottery funding since 1994. This is a small gesture of thanks and a way of giving something back to the people who buy tickets.”

Rosemary Irwin, chairman of trustees of the Gilbert White and The Oates Collections, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players we have been able to do a fantastic job of creating a compelling gallery dedicated to Captain Lawrence Oates that visitors find very moving.

“We also have further plans for developing the museum, including a new gallery for the 19th Century explorer of Africa and Central America, Frank Oates, and Heritage Lottery funding will be key to achieving this. We’re delighted to be able to give something to National Lottery players in return.”

In the meantime, the museum has also been awarded two grants from Hampshire County Council as part of more than £500,000 of funding, allocated to cultural and community projects across the county.

It is to receive £17,000 to support education and engagement opportunities and a further £11,600 to support the Field Studies Centre in providing learning opportunities to all ages, with a focus on ecology.

Commenting on the award, museum co-director Steve Green said: “We are delighted to have been awarded two grants form Hampshire County Council’s Culture and Recreation Investment Fund for 2018/19.

"One will help our Field Studies Centre to continue to provide high-quality environmental education at the home of ecology and the second will help us to continue to develop our museum, including expanding and improving our exciting programme of events and activities for 2018.

"The grants are very important to us and we greatly appreciate the continuing support of the county council.”