The Brighton museum and art gallery will reopen on 4 May following a £10m refurbishment, including £7.5m donated by the Heritage lottery fund.

The museum, which originally opened in 1875, has been closed for two years to allow the building work to take place.

The new-look museum, owned by Brighton and Hove council, covers 4,000sq m and houses 11 galleries.

The listed building, built on the site of William IV's stables, has retained its original features of mosaic floors and tiled corridors, but the overall look has been updated to bring the museum into the 21st century.

Head of collections and exhibitions, John Roles, explained: 'The transformation is so staggering we are almost providing a new museum. The colour scheme has been up-dated, the Victorian mahogany floor lightened and steel and glass cabinets with fibre optic lighting have replaced the original display cabinets.

The whole look gives a clearer, brighter feel and removes the dark and gloomy image museums sometimes have.'

The museum's redevelopment is part of a city-centre regeneration scheme. Roles said: 'The sum of money granted by the lottery has enabled us to do a lot of behind-the-scenes work that we wouldn't usually have the resources to do. We have been given a very unique opportunity.'