Previous News and Exhibitions
Do you want to exhibit?
We encourage local artists and heritage groups to show their work in our temporary gallery. It’s free, but we ask you to set up your exhibition. Please get in touch if you’d like a slot in our programme.
We also have two temporary exhibition cases for displaying smaller guest collections. Just drop us a line if you have a collection you’d like to share with the local community and visitors to the area.
Our temporary exhibitions for 2018 include:
- The Womens Institute 100th Anniversary exhibition will be retained during April;
- In May and June our focus is on the Band of Hope, the History of the Temperance Movement;
- July and August sees our North British Railway Exhibition with a book due out soon to coincide with the Exhibition;
- In September and October we will have an exhibition looking at the 100th Anniversary of the end of the First World War.
We will publish more detailed news and information nearer the time of each exhibition. We hope to see you at the Heritage Centre during these exhbitions and of course you are welcome any other time we are open.
Classic and Vintage Vehicle Day
The annual "Classic and Vintage Vehicle Day" will be held on Sunday 22nd April 2018 between 10am and 4pm. This popular event is an important fund raising event for the Heritage Centre. In recent years we have attracted over 70 vehicles comprising cars, tractors, motor cycles and commercial vehicles. During the day a "lighthearted" competition is held with visitors and exhibitors asked to vote for the best turned out vehicle. The winner receives a cup and trophy which are donated by friends of the late Ian McInnes, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the event.
For further details please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 0780 085 3475.
(Image courtesy of one of our volunteers, Mick Maughan)
Children from Bellingham Middle School have recently premiered their film "Take the Lead" to much acclaim. The film is the culmination of two projects funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and is the result of a collaboration between the Heritage Centre in Bellingham and Bellingham Middle School. The children involved worked closely with filmmakers Marc McKiernan and Vicky Jones from Haltwhistle Film Project. Children planned, and shot the film, and the editing group also learnt how to use some special effects during post-production.
"A tremendous effort! So creative; really something to be proud of.
Congratulations to all involved."
John Grundy
"It was an inspiration to see how the children explored the Centre's many different themes and animated the collections so creatively using the Carriages as their 'journey'. For four days the Heritage Centre was transformed into a studio, full of blue screens, green carpet, blackouts sound and video equipment, lighting and miles of gaffer tape."
David Walmsley, Education and Curatorial consultant to the Heritage Centre.
"Over the past three years our school has developed a sound working relationship with the Heritage Centre and our children have benefitted from some fascinating creative learning opportunities."
Headteacher, Dafydd Jones, who supported his pupils in one of the filming days.
In addition to the film pupils from Bellingham Middle School have produced a trail around Bellingham created by children for children. David Walmsley said "The creation of the trail required the children to look closely at what's around them, examining their own surroundings and analysing their own heritage. They devised the route, took the photographs and researched the stories of the places and buildings they agreed should be featured. The real challenge was to condense and present the text in less than 50 words – a cause of much anguish and frustration."
A specially commissioned illustrated map was produced by celebrated Northumberland artist, David Hall, whose stunning natural history prints are currently on show at the Heritage Centre.