Pills, Skills and Thrills

12 Sep 2019 - 28 Sep 2019

150 years of the Witham: from Mechanics’ Institute to Community Arts Centre

The Witham today is a thriving centre for the arts, creativity and business. Based on research in the archives and displaying a wealth of photographs and documentary material, this exhibition traces the Witham’s history from its foundation in the 1840s as a Dispensary, Mechanics’ Institute and Library serving the working poor of Teesdale.

Beginning with the remarkable philanthropy of the founders, Henry Witham and a group of local gentry, we follow its vigorous growth and expansion through the 1800s and 1900s, to its eventual flowering as the region’s main venue for cultural and social events.