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Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service is one of 31 museums and galleries in England to benefit from grants totalling 拢4m to improve displays.

The money, aimed at enhancing visitors' experiences, has come from the Department For Culture, Media And Sport (DCMS) and the Wolfson Foundation.

The 拢70,000 grant, will be used to make new displays telling the story of Norwich Castle鈥檚 500 year history as the county jail.

鈥淢any of the vivid and extraordinary stories about the people imprisoned in the castle are not being told in our current displays," said Norwich Museums' development officer Emma Taylor.

"This generous award gives us a wonderful opportunity to tackle the prison history in more depth and to create a more interactive experience for our visitors,鈥� she added.

Murderers and thieves

Visitors will have the chance to find out about the murderers hanged in the castle, the petty thieves who were transported to Australia to make new lives, the prison governors and staff, as well as the prison reformers who fought for changes to the system.

The money will allow two new reconstructed prison cells to be built, showing visitors how attitudes to punishment and imprisonment have changed over the centuries.

This is the seventh year of the DCMS/Wolfson Foundation Museums And Galleries Improvement Fund which has awarded a total of 拢24m to institutions around Britain.