A remarkable building born of a passionate devotion to art

Indeed, one comes upon it almost as a surprise, tucked away in parkland on the outskirts of the town, and one of the fascinating things is that it was built specifically as a museum. It is not a fine country house which has been converted for its current role.

Not surprisingly, there is an aristocratic influence behind its construction and design, while equally evident are the French links which produced its distinctive appearance. The museum was built by John Bowes and his French aristocratic wife, Josephine (nee Josephine Benoite-Coffin-Chevalier), the Countess of Montalbo. Josephine was a highly competent artist and many of her works are on display in the museum. She was also a determined collector of other artistic works.

John Bowes was born in 1811, the illegitimate son of the tenth Earl of Strathmore. The earl had an affair with Mary Milner, an employee on his estate, but when John was born from this liaison, the earl brought him up openly as his son. In an attempt to legitimise the boy, the earl married Mary one day before his death, but English law at the time did not support the earl's paternal hopes. Although John was acknowledged as the son of the earl, he could not inherit the title, but he was left vast estates and huge funds by his father. This enabled John to travel, living for a time at his home in France, where he met his future wife, Josephine. They married in 1852, but there were no children and the couple devoted themselves passionately to collecting world class works of art.

Together, they decided to endow a museum in England which they would fill with their collection and which would be available to the general public. They returned to live permanently in England, their home being Streatlam Castle, which was near Barnard Castle along the road to Staindrop. This was the Bowes family seat, rebuilt in the 15th century by William Bowes, then in the form of a pele tower. This was later incorporated in the huge three-storey mansion built by Sir William Bowes in the 18th century. This was home to the Bowes family until it was sold in 1922. It was demolished in 1927 and only a pair of reproduction lodge gates remain.

To build their museum, they commissioned a French architect called Jules Pellechet, who had worked for them in France and, using his knowledge and experience of famous Renaissance buildings such as the Tuilleries in Paris and the Hotel de Ville at Le Havre, he designed the famous museum.

The actual construction work was supervised by John Edward Watson, an architect from Newcastle upon Tyne, with the foundation stone being laid in 1869. But Josephine's health was poor and, although she was supposed to lay the foundation stone with a silver trowel, she was too ill on the big day. She did, however, symbolically touch the stone later with the trowel which is now on display in the museum.

Work on the building continued for about 14 years and it was a sad twist of fate that neither John nor Josephine Bowes lived to see the opening ceremony. Josephine died in 1874 and John in 1885. To a massive reception, "amid tumultuous cheering and waving of hats", however, Bowes Museum was finally opened in June, 1892. Today, it is an independent charitable trust and relies on visitors to ensure its future.

Within a short article of this kind, it is impossible to do justice to the entire display within Bowes Museum, but it does contain some astonishing works of art by El Greco, Canaletto, Goya and other masters. There is a dressing table from the Chateau de Trianon made for Marie Antoinette and what is regarded as the most important collection of European ceramics in Britain, with a special emphasis on French pottery and porcelain.

English furniture ranging from Tudor times to the reign of Queen Victoria can be seen in a suite of eight rooms and there is also a wonderful show of local archaeological discoveries, including Roman artefacts. In addition to its own displays, the museum acts as host to touring exhibitions and we enjoyed a 1950s show of fashions, along with supporting music from the period.

An exhibition of the work of John Sell Cotman, virtually ignored in his time but now considered England's finest watercolour landscape artist, runs until July 31. I was especially intrigued to learn of his close links with Brandsby in North Yorkshire and with Rokeby and the River Greta in County Durham. His works have been described as the most perfect examples of pure watercolour in Europe. Also on display until June 26 is Raphael's famous painting of the Virgin and Child known as the Madonna of the Pinks. Believed to have been created about 1506-7, the colours are astonishingly brilliant in the immaculately-preserved painting. For many years, the picture hung on the walls of Alnwick Castle when it was believed to be a copy of the original, but subsequent detective work proved it was the original.

But no account of the wonders of Bowes Museum is complete without a reference to the amazing silver swan. This is a life-size working model of a swan whose neck feathers are all separate pieces. Although it dates to the 18th century, it is mechanically operated so that the bird simulates the action of a swan bending its neck to catch and swallow a small fish. When we arrived, however, the poor old swan was tired and was having a brief holiday from performing! As I write, it is hoped it will make a full recovery, albeit with lots of tender, loving care.

The museum is open daily from 11am until 5pm (except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day) and there is special provision for young visitors, along with a caf, shop and exterior parkland. The museum's web site is www.bowesmuseum.org.uk and its energetic, far-sighted and benevolent founders are buried within sight of their dream. Their graves are behind the sanctuary of the Catholic church near the museum's entrance.

Other nearby places of interest include Rokeby Park, about three miles south-east of Barnard Castle. Dating from 1735, Rokeby was built by Sir Thomas Robinson and altered several times before he sold it in 1769 to the Morritt family.

They have owned it ever since and it achieved fame when Sir Walter Scott used it as the setting for his ballad, Rokeby. Scott spent some time here with John Bacon Morritt, exploring the surrounding area and enjoying the scenery along the banks of two rivers, the Tees and the Greta, which merge nearby at the Meeting of the Waters. One of Scott's favourite working places was Bertran's Cave, which he probably renamed Robbers' Cave in his poem, and he also immortalised the nearby Mortham Tower, legendary haunt of the Mortham Dobby.

That is an ancient legend about a ghost which haunted the underside of nearby Dairy Bridge, but one of the enduring folk stories of Rokeby is the jolly, comic tale of the Felon Sow of Rokeby. The tale is too long to repeat here, but it concerns a ferocious sow which attacked anyone who dared to cross her path and Ralph de Rokeby felt the only way he could get rid of the troublesome pig was to donate her to the Grey Friars of Richmond. But the monks had to come and collect her. What happened afterwards was pure farce, a merry chase indeed.

Also nearby is Egglestone Abbey, standing on a grassy knoll close to where Thorsgill Beck enters the Tees. It was founded for the Premonstratensian Canons towards the end of the 12th century and, in spite of the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the Reformation, a surprising amount remains.

This includes much of the nave and chancel, the latter having very elegant, early English double lancet windows, although some of the abbey remains were later converted into a private house. In spite of the ever-present rush of traffic along the A66, there is much to see in this part of the North and lots of surprisingly quiet and beautiful places.