A North East museum is to get more than £250,000 as part of a national funding pot worth £4m.

The grants, handed to a total of 33 museums and galleries in England from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Wolfson Foundation, will fund projects in places like Hampton Court Palace in London and National Motor Museum in Hampshire.

The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle will use its grant of £254,900 to develop four new gallery spaces – bringing more of their collections to the public.

The new galleries will be created together with the local community to make sure they are fully accessible for people with reduced mobility and sensory impairments.

In 2019, conservators discovered at the museum a 16th Century painting of a nativity scene hidden beneath a 400-year-old painting depicting the beheading of Saint John the Baptist.

X-ray analysis by Northumbria University experts revealed another image underneath, with a baby in a manger, angels with halos and the outline of what appears to be stables.

Arts Minister Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay said: “The DCMS/Wolfson Fund aims to make sure more people can access our brilliant museums and galleries right across the county.

“Thanks to this combination of public funding and private philanthropy, these awards will help people who may have previously found visiting museums and galleries difficult and make sure everyone can enjoy and engage with the wonderful collections and exhibitions they offer.

“With 80 per cent of the money going to museums outside the capital, this funding is further evidence of the Government’s commitment to levelling up and widening access to culture.”

Arts Minister Lord Stephen Parkinson said the funding contributes to the “government’s commitment to levelling up” agenda as 80 per cent of it goes to 26 museums outside the capital.

A grant of £140,100 will also be used to create What The Butler Saw: Revealing Treasures and improve access at Temple Newsam in Leeds.

Principal keeper of Leeds Museums and Galleries, Maya Harrison, said more of their Grade I listed Tudor-Jacobean estate will be available to the public and it will support “the development of heritage craft and conservation skills”.