A gallery has beaten world-famous museums including the V&A and the Natural History Museum to an award recognising the UK’s best permanent exhibition.

The William Morris Gallery in Forest Road, Walthamstow, beat its renowned rivals to the Museum and Heritage Awards’ Permanent Exhibition award on Wednesday.

It was honoured for the display of artefacts celebrating artist William Morris’s life, housed in his former home.

More than 100,000 people have flocked to see the exhibition since the gallery’s reopening after a multi-million pound refurbishment in August 2012.

The gallery has featured work from Turner Prize winner Grayson Perry and photographer David Bailey.

Judges praised the exhibition for the way it had transformed the grade II-listed building.

Its top floor was turned into a learning and research centre for people to find out more about the artist and his works, while a new extension houses an expanded collection.

It is also one of ten finalists in the running for the prestigious Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year, the winner of which is to be announced on June 4.

Cllr Ashan Khan, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “As the only public gallery solely dedicated to William Morris it is fantastic that it has received an award for the exhibition which brings his works to life.”

The news represents a change in fortunes for the gallery, which was put under threat from proposed council cuts in 2007.

Waltham Forest Council had planned to cut £56,000 from its budget but the proposal was met with fierce opposition from hundreds of campaigners.

It also proposed to move the artefacts to a museum in Lambeth, but abandoned the ideas after the public backlash.

Instead the authority invested millions of pounds - partially sourced from arts organisations - to refurbish the gallery, which has met with acclaim since its reopening last August.