A museum featuring brutal war weapons used in Bronze Age and Jacobite uprisings has reopened after a £380,000 facelift which took almost two years to complete.

The Brechin Town House Museum, first created in the Scottish city 164 years ago, stars a set of 200-pound boulders fired by Edward I’s deadly War Wolf juggernaut more than 700 years ago and a prehistoric sword discovered when the Caledonian Railway Station was built in the 19th century.

Early records mention a Tollbooth on the site in 1450, but the current building replaced it with a shop, courtroom, debtors’ prison and pair of cells for criminals in 1790.

Only one room was fit for museum use when it was closed in October 2008 for a dramatic refit complete with displays throughout the building, two new gallery spaces, a ground floor full of local history and scale models and swanky new access facilities.

"The museum building has been carefully and sensitively restored and adds to the ongoing improvement of the oldest part of Brechin,” said Angus Provost Leslie Melville.

“It is an excellent showcase for many interesting displays and artefacts which shed light on the history of Brechin from the earliest times to the 20th century.

"I am sure that the people of Brechin and the wider population of Angus, as well as our many seasonal visitors, will find much to interest them in the museum."

Opening exhibitions include work by 20th century artist David Waterson, insights into reading and writing from 600 years ago and re-imaginings of the day-to-day life of the cleric who worked in Brechin’s Cathedral Scriptorium.

Open 10am-5pm (except Sunday) until the end of September, when winter opening hours begin. Call 01356 625536 for more information.