Beccles Museum is opening its doors for the season just in time for the Easter weekend on March 26.

The 16th century building in Ballygate houses a host of exhibition rooms and a number of temporary displays are planned for the year ahead.

The first one ‘Out of the Ground’ will portray a number of objects unearthed in Beccles and the local area by people in their gardens, on building sites and in various other places. It will include a wide range of objects such as coins and fossils and will launch the same day as the museum reopens on Saturday, March 26, running until June 5.

A first world war exhibition will replace it on June 7 and continue until July 31. It signals the third of five commemorative displays, this time focussing on Beccles in 1916 and the introduction of conscription.

From August 2 to September 4, an exhibition entitled Agincourt to Joan of Arc will be on show in the temporary display room.

Organised by the Beccles Twinning Association, it will mark 38 years of friendship between Beccles and Petit-Couronne. The exhibition will catalogue key events in Beccles and Petit-Couronne during 38 years from 1415 to 1453.

The final exhibition of the year will take place from September 6 to October 30 and will feature children’s clothing through the years organised by Pam Finch.

The launch on Easter Saturday, will begin with a reception from 1pm attended by Waveney district councillor Chris Punt, who has allocated £1,000 from his locality budget towards new carpets. The museum will be open Tuesday to Sunday from 1.45pm to 4.30pm.