A RARE shrine which is more than a 100 years old will soon go on show at Colchester Castle.

The Pageant Shrine – created as a stage prop for an open-air event in Castle Park in June 1909 – is now being worked on by expert conservationists, ready to be shown to the public again.

Staff from Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service have been working on the wooden shrine, which was built to hold relics of St Helena.

Conservator Emma Hogarth said: “To make sure it was safe to be stored with our other objects, it was deep frozen to guarantee it did not have any woodworm.

“The colour is now much brighter, as it has been thoroughly cleaned using various conservation methods.

“Because of this we have also discovered the panels are metal foil, not dark paper as originally thought.

“Once on display, it will be in a climate-controlled case.”

The pageant featured scenes each retelling a different period of Colchester’s history, from Roman times to the 1648 Siege of Colchester.

The shrine will be displayed as part of an exhibition about the pageant at Colchester Castle which starts on Saturday and runs until June 26. Other items on show will include old tickets, programmes, scripts and photographs relating to the pageant.

The wooden shrine, which is 48ins tall and 33ins wide, was bought at auction by the museum service last March, with help from the Friends of Colchester Museums.