Excursion Exclusive visit - the bowes museum tour at Newcastle upon Tyne

In the ancient market town of Barnard Castle, Teesdale, stands the magnificent Bowes Museum, a grand, striking structure, purpose built in French Renaissance style and opened in 1892 to exhibit the Bowes’s collection of valuable treasures. Today it is the perfect edifice to house internationally significant collections of fine and decorative arts. The Bowes Museum is also recognised for its contribution to conservation, and has a team of dedicated conservators working to protect and delay the deterioration of precious objects.

In the mid-18^th century, John Bowes, an aristocrat and owner of a Parisian Theatre, fell in love with and married a beautiful actress, Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier. Joséphine aspired to being a patron of the arts and in John Bowes found a likeminded companion. The couple settled in the North of England, close to John’s ancestral home and pursued their dream of creating a public museum.  Their generosity and vision created something remarkable to be enjoyed by future generations.

John and Joséphine Bowes added with enthusiasm to their extraordinarily rich and varied collection, which soon boasted over 15,000 exhibits and included many of Joséphine’s own paintings.

Today The Bowes Museum showcases temporary exhibitions along with its superb permanent exhibitions. One of  its most famous permanent exhibits is the over 250-year-old automaton Silver Swan, an invention by James Cox, the renowned clockmaker, jeweller and owner of Cox’s Museum.

On this exclusive visit to the Bowes Museum, enjoy a cordial welcome and an exclusive ‘behind the scenes, privileged access’ tour with one of the museum’s curators. Venture to the museum’s vaults, an area usually out of bounds to visitors. Within the three secure vaults find ceramics, paintings, textiles, furniture and other rarely seen artifacts, and hear how these precious objects are stored and cared for.

And there are more hidden treasures to discover! The Fashion & Textile Gallery boasts an extensive collection of antique quilts and a collection of delicate antique lace. Take this rare opportunity to step inside Bowes Glass Cube. The Cube is a place of preservation for fragile items of clothing, shoes and fabrics. Inside the Cube, the curator will explain how it is used to display and store items. Discover some of the treasures in the drawers, boxes and cabinets and hear how the museum’s Textile Conservator cares for and conserves historic and contemporary textiles and costumes.

Conclude your visit to the Bowes Museum with some time to explore more of the galleries displaying permanent and temporary exhibitions.

Leaving behind this magical place of treasures, relax on your return journey to Port of Tyne.

Points of interests

Points of interest seen on this excursion include: Bowes Museum, Silver Swan automaton

Note

Please note: The Bowes Museum is fully accessible with elevators to all floors. Wheelchair users must be accompanied as guides cannot take responsibility. The museum features stairs, but accessible toilets are available on the ground and first floors. The famous Silver Swan automaton is displayed daily at 14:00. Cancellation deadline for this tour is 7 days before the cruise starts, after this date, the tour is non refundable.

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