STAFF at Barnard Castle’s arts centre described their sadness at having to close The Witham on Friday afternoon.
The decision was taken prior to the prime minister’s order to close all bars, cafes and places of entertainment later in the day.
Centre manager Susan Coffer said the team had worked tirelessly to keep going despite the Covid19 crisis.
She said: “I cannot express how hard it is to face this situation in light of the tremendous progress we’ve made as a company over the last 18 months, following the Investing in the Witham campaign.
“But we are determined to overcome these challenges with the help of you, our amazing community.”
She added: “It has been humbling to receive your kind messages of support in response to this crisis – thank you to everyone who has taken time to get in touch, to donate the value of tickets and generally for your understanding.
“We are all now facing uncertainty, but we will work hard to help mitigate the financial impact on The Witham as much as possible.”
Ms Coffer said the centre would keep in touch with supporters with updates on the website and social media channels.
“With regards to the events we had planned, we will be sending specific emails relating to individual events,” she added.
“Where possible, we are working to postpone events and will communicate the new dates to you. If you have booked and are unable to attend the rescheduled date, you will have the option of a cancelled event.
“Like many other businesses, I’m sure you will appreciate The Witham is in a very difficult position if it is to weather this pandemic and continue to be a part of the community.
“Given the financial impact cancelling events will have, we are asking customers, if able, to consider donating the value of their tickets instead of having a refund.
“Another valuable option would be to leave the value of the tickets with us as credit towards a future event.”
The Bowes Museum closed its doors to the public last Wednesday.
A spokeswoman said: “Unfortunately, due to the continuing development of the coronavirus situation, we have made the decision to close The Bowes Museum from 5pm, Wednesday, March 18, until further notice.
“The park and gardens will be open to pedestrians.
“The health and wellbeing of both our customers and our staff is our priority.
“Where events can be rescheduled we will endeavour to do so but please be assured that all ticket holders for cancelled events have options on refunds and can contact info@thebowesmuseum .org.uk, however, by not requesting a refund you would be making an exceptionally generous and much appreciated charitable donation to The Bowes Museum during these unprecedented times.
“While the museum is closed, we will be working on other ways of sharing our story and collection via our digital platforms. Stay posted for online videos, conversations and more.
“We thank you for your patience and your continued support for The Bowes Museum during this unpredictable time.
“We hope to come back to you with a reopening date shortly, for now, please stay safe and help protect the vulnerable.”
Through in Darlington, officials at the Hippodrome are offering free resource learning packs for teachers and parents from the theatre’s website.
The online heritage learning resource packs include whiteboard slides, activity sheets, teacher notes and a wealth of resources across four subject areas: Pepi and his Palaces of Variety; Darlington Hippodrome; Pantomime Magic; and Around the Hippodrome – A Local Study.
Each subject area has four sets of information which can be downloaded and used together or individually – Teacher Notes, Read and Explain, PowerPoint Slides and Resource Folders.
The Heritage Learning Resource Packs can be downloaded for free from the “Take Part” section of the Darlington Hippodrome website www.darlingtonhippodrome .co.uk.
