The exhibitions bring to life the fascinating history of Durham from pre-history through to the modern day, alongside an exciting activity programme with storytelling sessions, kid’s takeover days, behind the scenes tours, volunteering opportunities, and community projects.
Mather & Co's responsibilities included exhibition design, technical detailing, interpretative planning and design, conceptual thematic and story development, object co-curation with the collection teams, graphic design and artwork, temporary exhibition design, café design, and interpretative landscape design.
Archives charting
years of County Durham's history and the entire Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Collection
The Story brings together five different collections which include historical records, photographs, newspapers, objects and more. The five collections are: Durham County Council Archive, Archaeology, Local Studies, the DLI collections and Registrar. So, we worked with representatives from each collection to develop the themes and stories that they wanted to tell. These included Changing Landscapes, Living Together, Hidden Treasures and more.
People were at the forefront of our displays, with each story exploring the lives of the People of County Durham. We realised during our workshops that collectively, the different collections were able to tell full life stories – from birth records to newspaper articles, physical objects to death certificates. So, we decided our interpretation approach would be “Records of a Lifetime”. The collections speak of people’s attitudes and adventures, difficulties and differences, connections and communities, all holding unexpected items and hidden treasures.
One of the star objects is the Wakenshaw Gun, which is also the largest object on display at The Story. Named after Private Adam Herbert Wakenshaw, the gun had been sued in the Battle of France and the North African Campaign. Wakenshaw was a member of the crew of the 2-pounder anti-tank gun. During the attack, 2 members including him were injured. The private crawled to the gun, left arm blown off, to load the gun and fire five round before being killed.
The Story brings together
different collections of historic records, documents, and objects.
The main ground floor exhibition is thematically led exploration of the stories and collections. Split across 8 zones and designed around the main café area, the exhibition uses a blended mix of interactives, digital media, and collections to celebrate the lives and stories of the people in the region.
As a public resource, the building is used for a wide range of functions including registrars, weddings, and functions. We positioned the café to maximise views across the landscape and to provide a welcome respite in a bright and airy space that contrasts with the light sensitive displays of the exhibition.
