Arts Council gives £435k to Head of Steam project and Brunel Museum
ARTS Council England has given a £300,000 grant to Darlington Borough Council’s project to create a major new visitor centre at the Head of Steam museum as a focal point of the Stockton & Darlington Railway 200th anniversary celebrations in 2025.
Opening in 2024, the attraction will include a café and shop, show field and a new live engineering building, alongside temporary exhibition space, an archive, and extended car parking.
The grant will help fund state-ofthe-art virtual reality experiences to bring history to life, a new immersive ride, and new railway-themed play areas.
Work officially began on the construction of Darlington’s £35 million Railway Heritage Quarter on March 3 when, as reported in issue 291, borough council leader Coun Heather Scott cut the first turf.
Also supported by £20 million of funding from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, essential improvements will be carried out on several historically significant buildings on the site, linking them together to create a cluster of attractions including the Skerne Bridge, the oldest working railway bridge in the world.
Coun Andy Keir, the borough council’s cabinet member for local services, said: “This money will go far in helping to provide the amazing facilities and improvements we have envisioned for Head of Steam.
“Once reopened, the museum will offer an incredible experience for visitors and will breathe new life into an area that was once at the forefront of world rail engineering.”
The grant is part of £22.7 million awarded from Arts Council England’s Capital Investment Programme to 66 organisations nationwide since 2021.
Another beneficiary is the Brunel Museum at Southwark, which has been handed £135, 674 to facilitate vital building updates to ensure it is fully accessible, as well as creating improved gallery spaces for the display of the Thames Tunnel watercolours.
Museum director Katherine McAlpine said: “This investment in our site means that we’ll be able to offer a much better experience to so many more people. We can’t wait to share the story of the Thames Tunnel with even more people in future.”
Arts Council England chief executive Darren Henley said: “World class creativity and culture needs a resilient and sustainable infrastructure to allow it to flourish.
“With these investments in the buildings, equipment, and digital systems of cultural organisations across England, we are helping to secure the future of that infrastructure, and making sure that people from every part of the country can continue enjoying all the benefits it delivers for years to come.”