The Heritage Centre at Bellingham
The Heritage Centre tells the stories of the people of the North Tyne and Rede valleys through text, imagery, sound and, of course, objects. Our displays present the social, agricultural and industrial history of the area as well as a small section about the earlier Border Reivers.
We opened in 1994 in a former garage on the main street in the village and renovated a redundant depot in Station Yard in 2000. Funding in 2008 allowed us to extend the centre to incorporate the Stannersburn Smithy and a new farming gallery. In 2011, another grant from the Heritage Lottery helped us buy two historic railway carriages which volunteers restored and fitted out as a tea room and a flexible learning space.
We rely entirely on volunteers to run the Centre as we don’t receive any local or government funding. Admissions, sales, donations and bequests help us to preserve our heritage and share it with visitors.
We’d be delighted if a business, organisation or individual would like to sponsor a temporary exhibition or a new display case so can we better present our special collections.
The Heritage Group Bellingham is our official name and our registered charity number is 1192769.