A new Silver and Metals gallery will open at the Bowes Museum in April. Pic © Continuum
The most dramatic changes in more than a century at Durham’s world-renowned Bowes Museum are making steady progress.
Part of a £10 million phased programme of improvements which began in 2007 with Sophie Wessex opening a new suite, the Streatlam Galleries, the Valentine’s Day unveiling of the building’s glitzy new interior is both a cause of excitement and, according to Museum Director Adrian Jenkins, long overdue.
“We have a magnificent building here with a fabulous collection to go in it, yet the amenities haven’t significantly altered since Victorian times,” points out Jenkins, who is looking forward to developing both the display scope and commercial drive of the site which, donning his business hat, he defines as “important economic drivers” in the pursuit of more visitors to Teeside.
The opening will reveal a "more user-friendly" main entrance. Pic © Colin Williams Design
The outside of the building has largely escaped the toolkits – prohibited by the Grade I-listed status of the 1892 building – but the roof is being fixed and, inside, no carpet has been left unturned.
“Our food has been described as the best museum food in the North East by one critic, so we are delighted to be bringing the surroundings into line with their culinary reputation,” says the museum’s Sheila Dixon of the Bowes Café, which is being expanded as part of a £1 million investment in the complementary facilities on offer.
“We have also extended the adjacent retail area and created a glass corridor, giving a light, airy feel to what was quite a dark corridor. The café and shop will also be accessible directly from the entrance hall, making them much easier for visitors to find. In the entrance hall we are relocating the reception desk to be nearer the main door, so that it’s much more user-friendly.”
The retail area has been extended. Pic © Colin Williams Design
Visitor evaluation schemes repeatedly flagged up the old-fashioned toilets, which are being overhauled and relocated to the ground floor, and a lift which previously required a key-wielding attendant will now be visitor-operated.
Updates on the renovations have been presented to visitors via an information cabin, and the Streatlam Galleries have been on display free of charge during the closure of most of the rest of the museum over the past month.
They’re currently showing off two important new acquisitions, Lucien Levy-Dhurmer’s The Autumn Bride and Philip Wilson Steer’s A View of Barnard Castle from the River, with a major new gallery on the horizon in the form of a new £350,000 Silver and Metals Gallery, scheduled to open in April.
The popular café will have room for an extra 34 culinary connoisseurs. Pic © Colin Williams Design
“It’s a sparkling gallery featuring a display of the museum’s silver and metalware collections which have not been on public view for many years,” enthuses Principal Keeper Jane Whittaker, highlighting a multimedia interactive show exploring the Museum’s most popular piece, the Silver Swan, a lifesize music box automaton in the shape of a swan created 230 years ago.
An in-depth focus on the museum’s pair of Canalettos follows the opening, and an £815,000 Textile and Dress Gallery is planned for the autumn. Toy Tales, an exhibition charting 60 years of BBC children’s TV programmes, also opens in May.
Re-opens on February 14 2009. Call the Museum for opening times and details until then.
