The UK’s new Faith Museum is opening to the public in Bishop Auckland, County Durham on Saturday (7 October).
Housed in a 14th-century wing of Auckland Castle and a new extension by Níall McLaughlin Architects, the museum will explore 6,000 years of faith in Britain.
It features gallery spaces for rotating displays and temporary exhibitions, as well as more than 250 objects from public and private collections across the UK. Half of the museum is dedicated to the work of contemporary British artists and their personal responses to faith.
Highlights in the galleries include:
- The Gainford stone, dating to 4,000-2,500BC and on loan from the Bowes Museum. This suggests signs of Neolithic faith in the Durham Dales.
- The Binchester ring, a silver ring with carved carnelian stone excavated in 2014 at the Vinovium Roman fort. This provides rare early evidence of Christianity in Britain.
- The 13th-century Bodleian bowl, on loan from the Ashmolean in Oxford, is an early example of evidence of Jewish communities in Britain.
- A rare copy of William Tyndale’s English translation of the New Testament from 1536.
- A set of 20th-century prayer beads owned by Lord Headley, believed to be the first Briton to have completed the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, having converted to Islam.
- An altar hanging made from fragments of embroidered blue velvet, probably assembled after 1600 from garments worn by pre-Reformation priests.
- A wooden pulpit made around 1760 for a chapel in Teesdale built by its congregation of minors. English cleric, theologian, and evangelist John Wesley visited the chapel and preached from the pulpit.
“The objects and contemporary artworks on display tell the story of how people in Britain have expressed their faith throughout history, often in a very personal way,” said Clare Baron, head of exhibitions at the Auckland Project.
New museum in Bishop Auckland
In addition to its own collection, the Faith Museum will display objects from institutions such as the Jewish Museum London, the Imperial War Museum, and National Museums Scotland. The British Museum has loaned 18 objects to the new museum.
The Faith Museum is part of the wider restoration and redevelopment of the Auckland Project, made possible with a £12.4m grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The Auckland Project is a cultural destination in the historic town of Bishop Auckland. It includes historic buildings, art galleries, gardens, parkland and a heritage railway.
“The Faith Museum turned out to be the hardest piece of our jigsaw,” said Jonathan Ruffer, founder of the Auckland Project.
“We have tried to tell stories which put into context 6,000 years of human endeavour and the restlessness of the human spirit.”
Images courtesy of the Auckland Project
