Newarke Houses Museum in Leicester has reopened to the public following a £1.5m refurbishment.

The museum – which comprises two 16th century buildings called Wyggeston’s Chantry House and the adjacent Skeffington House – features two new history galleries under an umbrella theme called Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives.

The ground floor of the museum accommodates a gallery on the story of how the city and its inhabitants have developed since 1945. It includes a recreated 1950s and 1970s living room featuring post-war radio and TV footage on the multi-cultural development of Leicester since the 1970s, as well as an exhibit on childhood and growing up in the area.

The first floor is devoted to a permanent exhibit on the history of The Royal Leicestershire Regiment called The Tigers.

Haley Sharpe Design developed the new galleries.

The revamp was funded by a £1m Heritage Lottery Fund grant and a further £250,000 each from Leicester City Council and the Royal Leicestershire Regimental Association.

Photograph: The children’s gallery courtesy of Harley Sharpe Design. Details: www.leicestermuseums.ac.uk