MUSEUMS chief Sir Richard Foster, who committed suicide last month, had been due to visit one of the region's leading attractions.

Sir Richard, who was found dead on a beach near his home in Swanage, in Dorset, on March 8, had agreed to visit the Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, the following week.

The 59-year-old director of National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside maintained a close relationship with the County Durham museum after beginning his career there in 1967.

He had planned to become a trustee of the museum on his retirement, which he was due to take next year.

His death has come as a complete shock to staff at the museum.

Adrian Jenkins, director of Bowes Museum, said: "I had spoken to Richard the week before he died and he agreed to visit the museum soon to offer advice and help with our exhibitions.

"We will be marking his lifelong connection with Bowes in some way, because it was his help and advice that gave the museum new life."

Sir Richard, who was knighted in the millennium honours list, was assistant curator at the Bowes and later keeper of Durham Light Infantry Museum, Durham, between 1968-70.

In 1998, Culture Secretary Chris Smith brought him in as an independent advisor to help guide Bowes out of financial trouble.

His proposal of a new board of trustees to replace local authority control was adopted, and the museum has since enjoyed a revival.

Yesterday's inquest, at Bournemouth coroner's court, where a verdict of suicide was recorded, heard how Sir Richard had drunk a bottle of whisky and filled his pockets with sand before he drowned.

The inquest heard how he had spoken of feeling overworked and under pressure from his £80,000-a-year job, before he took his own life