THE doors may currently be closed, but inquisitive visitors to The Bowes Museum can find out more about the landmark thanks to a group of volunteer guides.
Daily outdoor tours are being staged for those who would like to know more about the building, its founders and the grounds.
Among those happy to show people round is Millie Stoney, who has been visiting the museum since she was a child and whose husband, by coincidence, is a distant relative of Andrew Robinson Stoney Bowes who married Mary Eleanor Bowes – museum founder John Bowes’ grandmother.
“When I was young, I used to get 6d a week pocket money and when I came here I would stick a penny in to see the Silver Swan perform,” she said.
Ms Stoney is one of a dozen volunteers who will host the outdoor tours daily until May 16, after which it is hoped the museum will reopen to visitors in line with the Government’s planned lifting of restrictions.
Social distancing is observed on all tours and groups are limited to a maximum of five people.
The tours run at 10.30am and 11.45am. It costs £3 to take part.
See www.thebowes museum.org.uk for further details.
