AN open day at an Evesham museum will be held to mark its 50th anniversary.

The Evesham Almonry Museum is housed in the only remaining building of the former Evesham Abbey and today is also the venue for the tourist information centre.

However, it first welcomed visitors in April 1957, and to celebrate its long-standing success, people have been invited to tour the museum for free on Saturday, March 17, between 10am and 5pm.

Viewers will be able to see artifacts from the pre-historic, Roman and Saxon times, until the later 18th and 19th centuries and the Second World War. It will also be a chance to view a temporary display of Evesham bank notes from the 1800s and to ask questions of members of the Vale of Evesham Historical Society (VEHS). The society is also planning a private reception at the town council-owned building on Thursday, March 15, for guests such as Wychavon District Council chairman Councillor Jean Dowty, the Evesham town mayor Coun Jo Sandalls, town councillors and other society members.

VEHS chairman Gerald Heath said: "It's quite an achievement for a museum to be open for 50 years and together with the town council, are proud of it so we thought we'd celebrate." He said there was still work to be done in the future to improve the museum's exhibitions.