'Delight' as home found for museum's treasures

The idea has been to create a sort of mini cultural quarter

- TONY HENDERSON

ITEMS from an extensive collection which tells a city’s story will go back on public show after their previous historic home closed last year.

For more than 50 years, the volunteer-run Durham Museum, which has also been known as Durham Heritage Centre, was based in the Grade I listed Church of St Mary le Bow, near Durham Cathedral.

The accredited museum has told the story of Durham's history, with a particular focus on life in the city from the 17th century onwards.

Durham Heritage Centre was established in the disused church, which closed in 1968, in 1972 and has been an important location to learn about social, cultural and economic life of the city, especially between the 18th and early 20th centuries.

However the costs of maintenance and repairs for the building proved too much for the Bow Trust, the charity which ran the museum.