A MEMORIAL to the Queen Mother has been unveiled at one of her favourite museums.

An armillary sphere, dedicated to the memory of the Queen Mother, was inaugurated at the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, yesterday.

The Queen Mother, who was born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, was patron of the museum from 1962 until her death in 2002.

She began visiting the museum as a young girl when she holidayed at nearby Streatlam Castle with her parents, the Earl and Countess of Strathmore.

The sphere was commissioned by the Friends of the Bowes Museum.

Chairman Lesley Taylor said: "The choice of a suitable memorial was not taken lightly by the friends and, after a wide consultation by the membership, an armillary sphere was a perfect permanent memorial.

"I would like to think that John and Josephine Bowes (the founders of the museum) would have approved of this and, in the future, it will come to be seen as a symbol of the beginning of renewed interest and development within these beautiful grounds."

The sphere was originally designed by the Greek astronomer and philosopher Ptolemy, and depicts the Earth with the equator, the tropics and the poles.

It was crafted by sundial maker David Harber, of Oxfordshire, and as well as acting as a sundial, it also acts as a calendar, showing the month.

The sphere gives details about the distances to the Queen Mother's former homes, including Streatlam Castle, and Glamis Castle and the Castle of Mey in Scotland. A stone plinth for the sphere was donated by Dunhouse Quarries, which also provided the stone for the museum when it was built.

Published: 14/05/2005