SATURDAY saw the Dunster Museum and Doll Collection hold a well-attended opening ceremony in the refurbished Dunster Memorial Hall.

Julian Luttrell, accompanied by two other generations of his family, unveiled a plaque and a new sign commemorating the Molly Hardwick Gallery, a new feature of the refurbishment.

Julian, who is the grandson of Alexander Luttrell who gave the hall to the village in 1921, and his wife Anne, were joined by Hugh and Hannah, great grandchildren of Alexander, and their baby daughter Hermione.

A large crowd was there to enjoy a fun afternoon with wine and nibbles and take the chance to explore the new gallery, which is upstairs on the new mezzanine floor.

Work is progressing with the new Heritage Museum on the ground floor of the building and will be completed in the near future.

Volunteers and members of the Museum and Doll Collection committee were on hand to inform the guests of all the work that has taken place over the years.

The ceremony marked completion of the six-year project and celebrated all that had been done since the inaugural meeting in Dunster in 2012.

At that meeting, villagers decided that the memorial hall with its doll collection was struggling to attract visitors and provide a venue for village events.

The Memorial Hall was given to the village by the Luttrell family in thanks for the service given to the country during World War One – more than 100 villagers fought during this war and 11 had paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Various grants and many fundraising events have resulted in a completely revamped hall, most notably the new mezzanine floor housing the doll collection, with a lift to provide access for the disabled.

There are new hand-made cabinets for the dolls, a museum, a meeting room, a multi-use toilet, CCTV, a new alarm system and solar panels.

The snooker room on the top floor has also been redesigned as a Victorian snooker room and supports several teams.