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Museum Makeover Gains Momentum thanks to latest millions
03/07/2008
The Bowes Museum is delighted to announce that a bid for just over £2 million to One NorthEast through the County Durham Economic Partnership has been successful. This success is joined by £200,000 awarded from the European Regional Development Fund and follows on from the Museum’s recent announcement of £3.3 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Over the next two years a series of projects will see a complete transformation of visitor amenities, the creation of new galleries and other refreshing ways of engaging with the collections as well as completing the much needed roof restoration work. The Museum’s Silver and Precious Metals collection will have a permanent home, to include many items previously unseen. The Silver Swan will be redisplayed with new interpretation and the Museum’s outstanding textile collection will be on show in a stunning new Textiles and Dress Gallery.
On the upper reaches of the Museum ‘state of the art’ storage facilities are being created, topped off with a spectacular Reading Room where researchers and students can access the Museum’s archive and library. A space for lifelong learning is to be shaped on the ground floor with the creation of a new education suite as well as an upgrade of service facilities to The Jubilee Room; the Museum’s striking function room, a flexible space that is used for an array of events including lectures, meetings and weddings.
Adrian Jenkins, Director of The Bowes Museum, said: “These generous awards complete the funding jigsaw required to commence this phase of the Museum’s development programme. We now have the challenge of implementing the work and continuing to provide a quality visitor experience throughout.
This is a thrilling time for the Museum as it moves towards becoming a world class visitor attraction in the North of England.” Stacy Hall, Director of Communications and Tourism, One NorthEast said: “Tourism is a major part of the economy of North East England, worth £3.5bn to the local economy. Last year the region saw a 5% increase in visitors to its attractions, and it is through investment such as this in The Bowes Museum that we will continue to see tourism develop in the region and an increase in the number of visitors to North East England.”
The works are being managed by Turner & Townsend, with Turner & Holman as Quantity Surveyor and Colin Williams Design contracted as Interior Architect. The Museum is poised to appoint contractors to make the planned makeover a reality. The new Silver Gallery has been designed by Continuum and the Textiles and Dress Gallery by Blue, the design company. The completion of the roof restoration will be managed by Peter Pace Architects.
