Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle

Background information
The Bowes Museum has been called 'the Wallace Collection of the North', but architecturally, and to a certain extent culturally, it should perhaps be described more accurately as the 'Waddesdon Manor' of the region.

It was built by John Bowes and his wife Josephine (nee Josephine Benoite-Coffin-Chevallier) as a museum for their art collection. It is in the style of a magnificent and highly ornamented French chateau, and in choosing as their architect the Parisian Jules Pellechet (I829-I903), the patrons ensured that something quite outside the indigenous experience of the district rose like a large-scale Chateau de Chambord above the little town of Barnard Castle. Pevsner called it 'that bold incongruity, looking exactly like the town hall of a major provincial town in France. In scale it is just as gloriously inappropriate for the town to which it belongs (and which it gives some international fame) as in style.' The scale of the building is indeed vast: a hundred yards long and a hundred feet high, topped with three pavilions, each large enough to contain an average-sized house, it matches the imposing background of the Pennines on the horizon. But in spite of its size the Museum is so discreetly sited that it does not dominate the town, but sits in a world of its own, surrounded by a spacious park, the landscaping and planting of which is now being returned to its 19th century formality

John Bowes was born in I8I I, the son of the 10th Earl of Strathmore and Mary Millner: his parents were only married when the Earl was on his deathbed in I820. In English law at that date the belated marriage did not legitimise the child. Nonetheless, John Bowes was the acknowledged son of the Earl, and his heir, and was therefore possessed of ample funds to collect and to build the palatial Museum. Bowes's wife, whom he married in 1852, was French and an artist of some competence. Although Bowes himself was a natural collector with acquisitions of note to his credit before their partnership, it was later to be pointed out by Bowes himself that the land at Barnard Castle for the Museum and its park was 'bought for Mrs Bowes and indeed with her money'.

The foundation stone of the Bowes Museum was laid in I869. Pellechet, who had been employed by the Bowes' in France, was the designer of the original plan, but the actual task of supervising the work over the years of building fell to the Newcastle upon Tyne architect, John Edward Watson. The design incorporated borrowings from buildings in the French Renaissance style, notably the Tuilleries in Paris and the Hotel de Ville at Le Havre. In 187I an article on 'Mrs Bowes's Mansion and Galleries at Barnard Castle, Durham' appeared in The Builder, but the building was by no means completed, and fourteen more years were to elapse before the last touches were put to the interior decorations. Ironically, neither of the founders lived to see it. Josephine Bowes had died in I874, only two weeks after the celebrations for the roof-raising had taken place. Bowes himself died eleven years later, with the work still not entirely finished and the mass of contents in a state of considerable disarray. Future generations were not to be disappointed once the displays were finally put into order, and the massive doors were opened 'amid tumultuous cheering and waving of hats' in June I892.

The paintings collectionÑnow over a thousand worksÑcontains good treasures of European art from the late I7th century onwards. Unique to any public collection in this country is the large, delicately coloured Rape of the Sabines by Guiseppe Salviata, which came from the Orleans Collection and which cost Bowes twenty-four guineas. When he was only nineteen years old he bought his first picture, The Temptation of St Anthony by Cornelius Saftleven; thereafter the collection grew apace. It now encompasses two Goyas, a portrait and a study of a prison interior, and an El Greco, which Bowes bought for £8 only as an afterthought in a deal involving a number of paintings by lesser artists; unusual for this country, the Spanish School is noticeably well-represented in the Bowes Collection.

The I8th century is also particularly well-represented, with Venetian pictures by G. B. Tiepolo (The Harnessing of the Horses of the Sun) and a pair of fine Canalettos, as well as French paintings by Francois Boucher, three by Hubert Robert and five examples by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes, whose works are rare in this country. Josephine Bowes understandably showed a predilection for the landscape painting of her contemporaries, since this was the field in which she herself practised. There are paintings by Courbet (View of Ornans), Boudin and Fantin-Latour. The attractive sculptures enhance the displays. There is a collection of Old Master drawings and English watercolours, but it is in the field of decorative art where the resemblance to the Wallace Collection is marked. The textiles, and most outstandingly, the tapestries, are very fine; the ceramic and glass collections contain rare examples, as well as a representative holding of the leading factories such as Meissen and Sevres. The furniture is of somewhat uneven quality: in the period rooms pieces used by the Bowes' have a personal interest, and there are some fine examples of early carving and marquetry inlay, as well as attractive French I8th century documentary cabinet work, including a dressing-table made for Marie-Antoinette from the Chateau de Trianon.

Last, but not least, is the Bowes Museum's most celebrated exhibit, the famous silver swan: so fragile now that it can only be activated once a day, the bird, made entirely of silver, is fitted with an elaborate mechanical movement which allows it to simulate the action of catching and swallowing a fish. The swan takes pride of place in the centre of the great entrance hall, but should not distract the visitor from the great treasures in the galleries of the Museum.

Particularly interesting for Notable Buildings   Ceramics   Drawings and Watercolours   Furniture and Woodwork   Paintings   Children's Toys and Dolls  

Listed under Hidden Treasures  

Highlights of the Collection

Other artists represented in the Collection

Visitors Forum

A superb place to visit, a beautiful building with fantastic contents. The paintings defy description, the desplays of china and glass are truly magnificent, and the silver swan is a must. Very good value for money. A must for visitors to the area.
Mr M Rann - 2005-03-17