Being a Friends’ volunteer opens up many interests and provides the opportunity for involvement in the Museum and Friends' activities. These include occasional help with events, mail shots and translation.

The Friends’ volunteers often become tour guides who offer visitors free tours round the Museum twice daily during the summer months and also for visiting groups, on request.

Some Members help with the extensive archive collection which includes John Bowes’ bills and receipts and many antique prints. These are being catalogued for a database that will enable easy access for the public.

Other volunteers have offered their skills and services regularly for many years, working in the Library and assisting with valuable research. The preservation and conservation of the Museum’s collections is a never-ending task.

A new feature is a Friends' Welcome Desk in the foyer of the Museum. Volunteers are always very welcome.

A particular and pressing need is for a person who can operate audio/visual equipment. Training can be given.

Also a volunteer with some knowledge of woodwork and an interest in antique machinery is required to maintain a weaving loom in working condition.

To offer your help please contact the

Friends Office in The Bowes Museum  by telephone, email or letter.

Friends Office, The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 8NP

email friends@the bowesmuseum.org.uk

Tel. 01833 690606 extension 233(voicemail)