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John Bowes (1811-85) was the illegitimate son of the tenth Earl of Strathmore. He spent many years living in France where he met and married Josephine Benoite, Countess of Montalbo. The couple amassed a large collection of objets d'art before returning to England and the Bowes Museum was designed to receive this collection and display it to the public. Bowes acquired land for the museum in 1869-70 in an area immediately east of Barnard Castle shown on the 1856 OS map as open fields.

Both Bowes and his wife died before completion of the project, but work was continued by the trustees and the museum was opened in 1892. Trusteeship of the museum was transferred to Durham County Council in 1956 and remains open to the public.

List Entry Number: 1000728 Link
The Bowes Museum website: Link