THE County Gazette has teamed up with BBC Somerset Sound and Somerset County Council to back a bid for £4.75million of Lottery cash to restore Taunton Castle and turn it into a 21st Century museum.

Here we look at some of the history behind the building and what the cash together with a further £1.5m from other sources - would help fund.

TAUNTON Castle is one of Somerset's most important historical buildings.

The structure seen today, now home to the Somerset County Museum, began life over 800 years ago.

It contains a treasure trove of historical spaces that have been central to the story of Taunton, Somerset, and, at times, England.

Unfortunately, many of these spaces are currently unseen by the public.

As part of its bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund, Somerset County Council plans to open up many of these rooms and spaces so everyone will be able to see more of the fantastic heritage assets Taunton Castle has to offer and learn more about the story of Somerset.

One such space is the Adam Library, a wonderful 18th Century room created by Sir Benjamin Hammet, after whom Hammet Street is named.

Sir Benjamin rescued the Castle from destruction in the 1780s, ensuring the Assizes - the forerunner of the Crown Court - continued in Taunton.

Without this important legislative body, Taunton would have lost much of its trade and prosperity and no longer been recognised as the county town.

The Adam Library was the judge's dining room, to where many a hanging judge would have retired after a day condemning unfortunate Somerset folk.

It is now the reading room for the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society, which own the Castle.

Members are keen for the room to be seen by the public, and the museum and castle opened up to all.

Another room with important links to the history of Taunton is the Exchequer Chamber.

Currently a storage room, it would have been well known to Tauntonians 400 years ago.

It is where locals went to pay their rent to the Bishop of Winchester, who owned all the land in the great manor of Taunton Deane.

The fittings date back to this period and records charting the control of property in Taunton Deane were held in pigeonholes that can be seen on the walls.

If the county council's bid is successful, as well as opening up previously unseen rooms the HLF grant would also be used to improve and increase display space for exhibits in the museum.

Currently, some of the key exhibitions on display are there only in part, as there is not enough display space for all items in the museum's collections.

The museum was formed in 1849 by SAHNS - members submitted some of their own collections, rumoured to include a stuffed albino kangaroo, before starting to acquire exhibits in 1901, focusing on natural and human history.

The museum now owns over 2million items with some, like the Low Ham mosaic the floor of a large Roman villa - of international importance.

Other impressive displays include the Shapwick coin collection and canoe.

The museum has a large collection of bones from animals that used to wander the county, including mammoth, reindeer, wolf, cave bear and even a lion.

The HLF money would enable more of these fascinating finds to be seen by the public.

The museum also has an enormous textiles collection that is very light sensitive and needs to be stored in perfect conditions to stop any deterioration of the materials.

Tom Mayberry, head of Somerset's Heritage Services, said: "Our plans for a rejuvenated 21st Century museum will allow much more of the Castle to be made accessible to visitors.

"Creating more public space will also allow us to display more of the collections and attract important touring exhibitions."