A GRANT of almost half a million pounds has been awarded to help preserve the legacy of one of the Cotswolds' most famous sons.

The cash will be used to create a new museum dedicated to the work of Sir Gordon Russell and his company on the site of his original workshop in Broadway.

The award of £434,000 has been made by the Heritage Lottery Fund and when work is complete the new centre will display a unique collection of furniture, decorative arts and archival material spanning more than 60 years.

Although born in Cricklewood, London, in May 1892, Russell's working career followed a transition from his Cotswold Arts and Crafts training during the 1920s through to his conversion to a furniture maker of thoroughly modern styles and a commitment to design reform.

In 1938 he set up a retailing consortium, the Good Furnishing Group, for selling well-designed, mass-produced furniture.

He was the favoured candidate to spearhead the government's wartime utility furniture scheme using top designers to break the British public's tradition of reproduction furniture and bring in a more simple, honest, modern style.

Russell was director of the Council of Industrial Design from 1947 to 1959 and president of the Design and Industries Association.

The centre, which will inhabit the former workshop opened in 1924, will also pay tribute to all those who contributed to the firm, including the designers, cabinet makers, upholsterers, polishers and machinists.

The lottery fund's regional manager, Anne Jenkins, said: "The story of Gordon Russell and his company is one that Worcestershire is very pround of.

"The furniture was cutting edge in its day and was a leading force within the Arts and Crafts movement and it's vital that we protect it and celebrate the story of its success.

"It's wonderful news that the collection can be brought out of storage and displayed together for the first time in a dedicated museum."

Work on the centre is expected to start early in the New Year and it is hoped to be completed in late summer.

The trust has raised £100,000 through donations but a further £100,000 is still required to fully implement its plans and initiatives for the future.