A Bradford landmark has officially reopened after being restored to the way it was decorated nearly 100 years ago.

Bolling Hall has had a major revamp, with walls painted, electrics replaced, antiques restored and the grounds improved.

It has also seen a nearby public library move into the house, bringing a fresh set of visitors.

Stalwart museum assistant Paul Hodgson said it was like the place had been reborn.

He said: “It is looking better than it has done for years. Even if you are a regular visitor, it’s well worth coming again to see it now. People say it looks a lot better, it looks a lot fresher and it looks like it has been re-born.”

A team of expert restorers gave the building a different colour scheme, aiming to return it to the way it looked when it first opened as a museum in 1915.

The colour scheme was inspired by old photographs of the building, as well as other historic buildings from similar periods which still have their original decor. Much of the entrance area has now been painted a dark brown.

Mr Hodgson said: “Previously there was a lot of magnolia, it is very different to how it was. It gives it a more period feel to the building.”

He said while the new electrics weren’t something visitors would notice, the 40-year-old wiring had needed replacing as it had been causing lightbulbs to blow.

He said: “It has been needed for a long time. It is a completely different system now and we are having fewer problems with the bulbs.”

And antiques, from delicate chandeliers to sturdy tables, are gleaming after a careful clean.

Mr Hodgson said: “We have been open for 98 years as a museum. It is nice to say that as we are approaching our 100th anniversary we have been refreshed, as it were, to move into our second century.”

The East Bowling library, formerly in Flockton Road, re-opened in its new home in January.

Mr Hodgson said early signs showed visitor numbers to the museum were increasing as a result, with people coming to borrow a book and then deciding to look around the building too.

He said: “Initially people were saying, ‘Open a library in a museum?’, but it’s worked, it really has worked. The library has been a major success.

“We are getting visitors coming to the library, we are getting visitors coming to the museum, but we are noticing more and more that we are getting people coming to both. It’s working really well.”

Librarian Dara Muranka said: “When we re-opened, all the regulars came back, which was really wonderful, and other people now come in from the museum, so it works really well together.”

The new look was officially unveiled by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Dale Smith, at a family fun day on Saturday.