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Joy at funding to fix crumbling museums

Pamela Tickell
BBC News, North East and Cumbria
Hartlepool Borough Council Pamela Hargreaves stands in front of the Christ Church clock tower. It is a stone structure with a clock on it. She has long blonde hair and is smiling at the camera. Hartlepool Borough Council
Councillor Pamela Hargreaves welcomed plans to fix the "much-loved" Hartlepool Art Gallery tower

Funding for museums to fix their crumbling buildings and stay afloat has been greeted with joy.

Five attractions in the north-east of England, including Hartlepool Art Gallery, will receive a share of £24.8m as part of the government's Museum Estate and Development (MEND) Fund.

Land of Iron in Skinningrove, Redcar and Cleveland, was awarded almost £656,000 and will use the funding to protect and stabilise its mining tunnels and reveal a previously unseen section to the public.

CEO Marie Wood said the funding was "huge" and the heritage sector faced "many challenges".

Twenty-nine "local" museums across the country were awarded money, as part of a wider funding boost for arts and culture.

Ms Wood said the team was "shocked" when the funding was announced, adding that the museum celebrated Teesside and North Yorkshire's mining heritage.

"This cause is worthy," she said.

Land of Iron The entrance to the mine is boarded up. A grassy field surrounds the entrance below surface level.Land of Iron
Some mining tunnels at the Land of Iron museum will be made safe for public access

Other museums in the north-east of England to receive funding were:

  • Weardale Museum - £499,665
  • Sunderland Winter Gardens - £488,705
  • Preston Park Museum, Stockton-on-Tees- £366,300
  • Hartlepool Art Gallery - £302,383

Weardale Museum also announced an additional grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

It said it would use the money to complete renovations on its building, the adjoining High House Chapel and create a home for its growing Methodist tapestries collection.

Trustee Allan Percival welcomed the funds saying the museum "provides a sense of place for those who live and those who visit Weardale by telling the stories of its history".

Weardale Museum The chapel is a working site with the fixtures stripped out and a work table in the middle.Weardale Museum
The High House Methodist chapel is adjoined to the Weardale Museum
Weardale Museum The chapel is almost complete the walls have been painted yellow and wood carvings decorate the space. An organ sits on the balcony.Weardale Museum
Renovation work is already under way to restore the chapel

MEND funding will "safeguard and expand access" to Hartlepool Art Gallery in Christ Church.

There are plans to repair and reopen the clock tower of the Grade II-listed building for the first time since 2018.

Chair of Hartlepool Borough Council's Economic Growth and Regeneration Committee, Councillor Pamela Hargreaves, said it was a "much-loved town landmark".

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