A businessman has come to the rescue of Dartmouth Museum in what could be the first step to unveiling a unique piece of heritage to the public.

Tony Hawken, who runs his furnishings business almost directly opposite the Dartmouth Museum in the town's ancient Butterwalk complex, has offered vital storage space to the museum operation.

And that means that museum bosses can clear artefacts out of the town's Jesse Room – which houses a one-of-a-kind plaster ceiling.

Once the unique room is clear, the museum association hopes one day to get permission from the town council, which owns the building, to open it to the public.

Meanwhile museum association chairman Brian Parker and museum curator Cdr David Lingard said thank you to Mr Hawken for offering them the vitally needed storage space.

And Cdr Lingard added: 'Perhaps now we can start to realise the dream that we have had for some years of creating an education and resource facility.'

The intricate plaster work in the Jesse Room is a 17th century portrayal of the Old Testament family tree of David called The Tree of Jesse – a depiction in art of the Ancestors of Christ, shown in a tree which rises from Jesse of Bethlehem, the father of King David.

The pattern of scrolls emerging from the reclining figure of Jesse holding a skull embraces rows of little figures ending with the mother of Jesus with the babe in her arm.

It is believed to be the only ceiling of its kind in the world.

In 1942, Hitler did his best to destroy the plasterwork when the Luftwaffe bombed the town, destroying neighbouring buildings and bringing the ceiling down.

But the council surveyor of the time managed to collect all the pieces together so that it could be restored.

However, for years now, it has been used as a storage space for artifacts not on show in the museum and hidden from the general public.

Mr Hawken has offered the museum the use of the Old Sewing Room in his shop complex for storage and the museum is now in the process of shifting the various stored artifacts across the road.

Mr Parker said Mr Hawken's contribution was 'critical to the development of the heritage scene in Dartmouth'. And he added: 'We are most grateful. We now hope we can get council support and enthusiastic agreement for the development of the Jesse Room in order that it can be shown off properly and indeed open for public viewing, perhaps a day a week.

'Further it will be available to be used by educational groups – schools, U3A and others for meetings etc.'

The museum is also hoping to install information boards in the room explaining the history of the ceiling.