£500,000 Funding Joy

March 18th 2016

Beamish is overjoyed to have received an amazing £500,000 grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation.

A Georgian coaching inn, offering overnight stays for visitors will be part of Remaking Beamish

The funding is for the Remaking Beamish project, which includes exciting plans to build a 1950s Town and a Georgian coaching inn where visitors can stay overnight.

Richard Evans, Beamish’s Director, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled about the generous grant from the Garfield Weston Foundation. The museum team is leading a campaign to secure the match funding for our £10.75million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and I’m delighted to say that this is the largest match funding award to date.

“It’s great to see the Foundation play such a decisive role in the project, which will help us to create an even more sustainable museum to be enjoyed by generations to come.”

Philippa Charles, Chief Executive of the Garfield Weston Foundation, said: “The Foundation is delighted to be supporting the Remaking Beamish project, which will significantly add to the already excellent visitor experience at Beamish.

“What’s so exciting about the scheme is the wide-ranging social and economic benefits it will create for communities in the North East – from involving local people in the design and development of the new exhibits to creating 95 new jobs on completion and supporting 50 apprenticeships. We are proud to be supporting such an innovative and impactful scheme.”

The £17million Remaking Beamish project features a 1950s Town, including cinema, homes, shops, community centre and cafe. Aged miners’ homes will provide a dedicated centre for people living with dementia and their families and carers. The expansion of the museum’s Georgian area includes craftsmen’s cottages and the coaching inn.

Dated: 20/05/2014 NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED 1950s life at Beamish Museum, County Durham #NorthNewsAndPictures/2daymedia

Some of the buildings will be moved to the museum, while others will be replicas of buildings from around the region. Beamish has been working closely with communities to ensure their heritage is shared with the hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

The project aims to create 95 jobs, 50 apprenticeships and attract an extra 100,000 tourists to the region each year.

The Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded, grant-making trust which has been supporting charities across the UK for over 50 years. The foundation supports organisations and activities that share a commitment to making a positive impact to the lives of the communities in which they work, and that are driven by a desire to achieve excellence.

The museum has received initial support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a £10.75million grant for the Remaking Beamish project. A decision on the funding is due this summer.