ATTRACTIONS TRIO SHORTLISTED
THREE North East visitor attractions have been shortlisted for a total of four UK-wide awards.
The Museums & Heritage Awards this year single out a trio of County Durham venues as finalists.
Beamish Museum, Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens and The Bowes Museum have reached the finals in different categories of the awards.
The winners will be announced in May, after a round of public voting.
Beamish Museum is among five venues shortlisted for a Visitor Welcome Award, in competition with the likes of Gloucester Cathedral and The Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh.
The museum has just been named the most visited attraction in the region and last year saw its visitor numbers up four per cent.
The Bowes Museum, at Barnard Castle, is one of six finalists in the Restoration or Conservation Project category for its work on its showpiece exhibit The Silver Swan. The restoration of the 250-year-old masterpiece means visitors can watch it working again for the first time in three years. Its Cafe Bowes is also on a shortlist of three for the Cafe or Restaurant of the Year.
Up for Partnership of the Year, as one of six finalists, is Ushaw Historic House for its work with local St Leonard’s Catholic School, after the former priests’ training ground hosted pupils whose school building is affected by the construction material RAAC.
The venue, now a heritage and visitor attraction which opens three new exhibitions this weekend including A Century of Wedding Gowns, had further good news this month when it was awarded a grant of up to £400,000 from Historic England for emergency repair work to start to improve its historic St Aloysius Chapel.