WEYMOUTH museum is set to open after being closed for more than two years.

The museum at Brewers Quay will open to the public on Wednesday, December 11.

Chairman of the friends of the museum, Dr David Riches, said it is an 'exciting' time.

It follows months of hard work by volunteers to create displays and revamp the space.

Dr Riches said: "We are really looking forward to it. It has been a long time coming.

"I was involved in packing up the museum when it closed, and we had expected to move into temporary accommodation while development was taking place.

"We did not expect to be closed for so long, so we are very glad to be opening once again."

The museum closed in 2010 when Brewers Quay was closed for refurbishment.

But volunteers have been working since May this year, after part of the complex was reopened, to get the museum ready to re-launch.

Dr Riches said: “The focus of the museum is going to be local history, which is great as there’s so much of it.

“We’ve had to get the gallery back into the right condition, restore all the lighting, phone lines and computer systems.

“All our displays have been redesigned as well.”

In the entrance gallery, visitors to the museum will be greeted with a series of pictures and texts telling the story of Weymouth through the ages, from pre-historic times to the present day.

The museum will house a Roman-era skeleton, found in Wyke Regis, and Dr Riches said the museum plans to run a competition for children to name him.

A piece of Roman flooring, discovered in Newbury Road will also be on display.

A 10-foot painting will commemorate a more recent but just as famous visitor to Weymouth – King George III.

The museum will show a contemporary copy of a painting which used to be on display in Windsor Castle before it was destroyed in a fire.

Councillor Ian Bruce, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council’s spokesman for tourism and leisure, welcomed the news.

He said: “It is excellent news and I do have to pay tribute to the museum trust, who have been working away for years now to get the museum reopened.

“Let’s hope this will be the start of something very much better from the museum’s point of view and for the development of Brewer’s Quay.”

Weymouth Museum will be open to the public from December 11. A private opening will take place on Friday.