Flood damage caused to artefacts in a museum is “less severe than first thought”, with hopes the facility will reopen next month.

Stevenage Museum, which is underneath St Andrew and St George’s Church on St George’s Way, was flooded following torrential rain in July and consequently closed until further notice.

Water was nearly two feet deep in some places and, to limit the damage, most of the artefacts were moved to North Herts Museum in Hitchin, with many people volunteering their help.

Curator Jo Ward said: “The clear-up is going really well. The damage is less severe than we first thought for the collections and there is slightly less damage to the building than we thought.

“Our beautiful parquet flooring has bowed though, so we can’t open to the public until that’s fixed.

“Originally we thought there was a huge task ahead of us, but the building is drying out quite well so I’m really hopeful we will be open by mid-September.

“The main problem will be behind the scenes - sorting out the stores of collections - but that doesn’t affect visitors quite so much. That could take up to a year to sort out, but being open is the most important thing for most people.”

The museum galleries remain closed but the shop is now open from 10am to 4.30pm, Wednesday to Friday. People are advised to call 01438 218881 before going.