The Ashmolean was founded by Oxford University in 1683

Curators at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford plan to put the windfall towards doubling the amount of display space and opening 30 new galleries.

The transformation of the neo-classical building will cost a total of �50m and also include a new education centre.

The Ashmolean opened in 1683 when Elias Ashmole presented Oxford University with his collection of antiquities.

'Exciting time'

Its treasures now include early Chinese and Islamic ceramics, Renaissance sculptures and paintings by Turner and Uccello.

The revamp will bring its Roman and Greek collections under one roof for the first time.

Nicholas Barber, chairman of the board of the museum, said: "This is an exciting time in the long history of the Ashmolean.

"We are proposing nothing less than the total transformation of the oldest museum in Europe and these generous grants will go a very long way towards helping us."