The Mall Galleries at the Grade I-listed Carlton House Terrace on The Mall, London, are to open up its historic brick vaults to the public for the first time following restoration work.

A £166,500 Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant will support the scheme, which is designed to transform the underground vaults into a new Heritage Learning Centre for the gallery.

The project will also see the introduction a learning programme for people of all ages, such as Key Stage 2 and GCSE/A Level school workshops on architecture and the Victorian era.

Work is expected to commence in early 2012 and take four months to complete, while the Federation of British Artists continuing its bid to raise a further £120,000 in match-funding.

Mall Galleries director Lewis McNaught said: "This project will transform our organisation and will help us deliver huge returns by way of free arts and heritage education."