CAMPAIGNERS have begun their quest to raise £400,000 to complete the regeneration of Abingdon’s historic County Hall Museum.

Abingdon Museum Friends launched their appeal at a special evening last Wednesday and will hold a fundraising event every month in a bid to raise the money within two years.

The £3.5m project has received almost £2m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and grants from Abingdon Town Council, the Vale of White Horse District Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

Work is due to start on the project in the autumn and the museum will reopen in the spring of 2012 after every floor has been refurbished and re-equipped.

There will be three new galleries on the second floor, including an MG Gallery, and the educational and community facilities will be extended and improved.

Down in the basement, the museum’s 1902 gas-powered water pump will be displayed showing its moving parts. A lift will provide access for disabled people.

The chairman of Abingdon Museum Friends, Sheila Hills, said: “This is a really fantastic opportunity to bring a famous much loved building, the symbol of Abingdon, into active use for the 21st century.

“The building itself needs a lot of work doing. It gets very cold in the winter and it needs extra room to carry out the educational things museums now do.

“As members of Abingdon, we have a duty to support what is one of the most fantastic buildings in the county with our own funds as well as being helped by the Lottery and local authorities.

“The final bit comes from the Abingdon public to reinforce the idea that it belongs to the people of Abingdon.”

Chris Brockbank, fundraising committee member, said: “We set up a sub-committee for the remainder of the cost for the refurbishment and re-equipping the museum. It will be a big effort, but we are confident we can raise the money. Abingdon is the oldest known town community in Britain; it covers many centuries of interest.”

Museum administrator Kay White said: “It will enable us to have better artefacts on show. It generally isn’t really suitable to have delicate fabrics on show. It is either very, very hot or very, very cold.”

The head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East England, Stuart McLeod, said: “This project will breathe new life into a much loved historic building and help us to underpin its future as a visitor attraction, venue and educational resource.”