Friends of the Bowes Museum group to close after 75 years

A charity that supports the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham, has announced its closure after 75 years.

Members of the Friends of the Bowes Museum voted to close and wind up the affairs of the charity at an extraordinary general meeting on 16 April, citing falling numbers and income, and a lack of volunteers to run the organisation. 

The decision was agreed by 92% of the members present.

Chair Colin Hardy said the decision to recommend dissolving the charity, which is independent of the Bowes Museum, had been difficult but was unanimously agreed by the Friends trustees following professional advice and “much consideration and discussion”. 

“This is a bitter-sweet moment,” said Hardy. “We are celebrating 75 years of existence with a vote to close. It should be stressed this is not a time of regrets. While sad to say goodbye to Friends, our ‘friendship’ with the museum continues.”

Hardy said the charity’s 1,300 members, including 500 or so Life members, will be looked after by the museum and will be known as Friends Alumni.

The organisation’s assets of £170,000 will be held in a Friends Legacy Fund by the museum and used to support the production of the Bowes Museum’s programmes.

The Bowes Museum also intends to make an acquisition that will publicly celebrate the legacy of the Friends’ support over the past 75 years.

The Friends Alumni will continue to enjoy unlimited access to the museum for the duration of their membership and will receive the Bowes Arts newsletter until its final issue in September this year.

When annual Friends memberships expire, individuals will be invited to join the museum directly as members. 

Last year, the charity announced that it was facing a “crossroads”, saying that in common with many similar voluntary and charitable groups, its ability to operate effectively was becoming “increasingly impossible for various reasons”. 

“Over several years, we have seen steadily declining memberships, a fall in income, a rising age profile of members, and increased difficulty recruiting volunteers to become trustees,” said the charity in a statement.

“These factors, set against a wider context of changing societal pressures and a post-Covid shift in people’s leisure habits, prompted us to take independent advice from consultants experienced in the museum and heritage sector. They presented options, and we deemed the closure option to be in the best interests of our members. 

“The prospect of seeing Friends slide deeper and deeper into decline was not the way anyone of us would want the story of such an important group to end. This vote to close allows the group to wind up its affairs with dignity while honouring the achievements of the past 75 years. 

“Friends have played a significant part in the history of the museum. It is well documented that Friends kept the museum open when it was threatened with closure and we as a group have supported the museum in so many ways, both financially and practically, over the years.

“Although our chapter has now come to an end, we will forever be a part of the museum. Going forward, we will offer our support as individuals from within rather than as an independent group. It is now time to look ahead as friends – time to start writing a new chapter.” 

The Friends of the Bowes Museum said it would be touch with members in due course regarding the closure. 

Modelled on the style of a French château, the Bowes Museum was built to house the art collection of John Bowes, son of the 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and his wife Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier. It opened in 1892.