COUNTY Durham Community Foundation has awarded its biggest ever donation of £250,000 to the new Mining Art Gallery which opens in Bishop Auckland next month.

The grant – the largest single donation in the charity’s 22-year history – will fund two gallery rooms dedicated to everyday life in mining communities, including hobbies, workingmen’s clubs, domestic duties and Durham Miners’ Gala.

It was made possible thanks to an unrestricted grant to Durham-based CDCF by the Northern Rock Foundation when it disbanded in 2016, which was then allocated by the foundation for heritage through the arts projects.

The Mining Art Gallery, created by Auckland Castle Trust in partnership with the Gemini Collection of Mining Art, will pay tribute to the North-East’s mining heritage and explore why miners, unlike many other industrial workers, chose to express themselves uniquely through art and creativity.

It will feature works by artists such as Norman Cornish and Tom McGuinness, with an active learning and engagement programme giving visitors different ways to engage with the region’s past.

David Maddan, chief executive for Auckland Castle Trust, said: “It is highly fitting that CDCF, which strives to bring people together and empower the local community, is now a key part of the project and Auckland Castle Trust is grateful for the charity’s generous support.”

The gallery opens on Saturday, October 21, with community previews from Saturday, October 14. It forms part of Auckland Castle Trust’s £70m plans to create an arts, faith and heritage destination of international significance and to revitalise Bishop Auckland. For more information visit www.aucklandcastle.org/mining-art-gallery.