BEAMISH ARCHITECTS CHOSEN FOR LAMP CABIN BUILDING  

Beamish the North of England Open Air Museum has announced the winning firm of architects for an authentic period style 1913 Lamp Cabin building. It is intended that building will get underway in the next year.

The firm of architects who won the tender to design the Lamp Cabin building, which was such an important part of life for miners a hundred years ago, is Purcell Miller Tritton.

Miriam Harte, Director of Beamish, said: “The Lamp Cabin will be an important addition to the Beamish experience for visitors. We were vigilant in our research to ensure we invited architects with suitable status and strong track records to put forward proposals for the lamp cabin.

“The response was most rewarding, and we are delighted to announce Purcell Miller Tritton as the preferred architect. The quality of their work is absolutely outstanding and we know they will be fully committed to producing a superb building for Beamish.”

The lamp cabin will stand at the entrance to the drift mine. It will hold the museum's internationally important lamp collection and other remarkable historic mining items. An exhibition area will illustrate the daily routine of miners a century ago.

As a period style building, correct materials and building techniques will be used throughout. Visitors will be able to see the old building crafts at work as the lamp cabin is constructed.

Beamish staff would like to hear from members of former mining communities who remember using lamp cabins in earlier times, and who may have accounts of incidents involving lamps, mine safety and rescue, which would assist them in developing the new displays. Chris Scott, Curator of Industry at Beamish is also always interested to hear of surviving lamps, or other related equipment, which might help to fill gaps in the large and nationally important collection that the museum already owns.

The Lamp Cabin is part of the £40million project at Beamish that will bring it to the forefront of museums throughout the world for the outstanding, unique experience it offers visitors. A number of fascinating new features of the 1913 town, the Colliery Village, and Pockerley Manor, which have been unfulfilled aspirations for many years, will be realised through the ‘Vision' project. A £6 million landmark visitor centre will also be developed to provide the highest possible standards of welcome for everyone at Beamish.

Purcell Miller Tritton is known for its work with the National Gallery, the Courtauld Institute Gallery, the Museum in Docklands and the Wallace Collection at Hertford House, London. The firm has over forty qualified architects in offices throughout the UK.

Issued November 2006