Shropshire's Much Wenlock Museum is set to benefit from a programme of improvements after the scheme was handed a confirmed Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant worth £520,800.

It is hoped that the project will help the attraction to mark the town's role in the development of the modern Olympic movement, with collections and facilities to be given an overhaul. Much Wenlock Museum includes the archives of William Penny Brookes, who is seen as a pioneer of the modern Games and founded the Wenlock Olympian Society in 1850.

Brookes' promotion of the benefits of physical activity is said to have inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertain to visit him and see the Wenlock Olympian Games. The improvements will help the museum cope with an anticipated increase in visitors during the 2012 Olympic year and will see new exhibitions and heritage walks created.

Anne Jenkins, head of the HLF for the West Midlands, said: "With the Olympics just around the corner and such a fascinating historical connection to the Games, the whole town will benefit from the investment that this project brings to the area." Image: An image of a presentation from the Wenlock Olympian Games