The outgoing director of Manx National Heritage says more than £1million has been spent on maintaining the House of Manannan since 2009.

Edmund Southworth is set to retire next month after being in the post for more than a decade.

He says investment has gone into refurbishing the museum, installing a cafe and creating a new education space, as well as a temporary exhibition area.

He added that the shop had been remodelled and the front desk moved, and a meeting room added alongside a new gallery on the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles.

Mr Southworth concluded that about a third of the building had been refurbished during his tenure.

Speaking about the upkeep of MNH sites, Mr Southworth said: ’I liken sometimes the role of an MNH director to the director of a shipyard, who is maintaining a fleet and as soon as one boat goes out of the dock, another one comes in.

’And you try your best to keep them all sparkling, shipshape and fit for purpose.

’Maintaining a fleet - whether it’s buses, trains or museums - is never ending.

’It’s not just that the standards go up, it’s that the buildings grow older.’