A North-East museum is getting ready to pump more than £200,000 into bringing their historic attraction to life.

The Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, is to use its share of a £5.2m grant from the Government to introduce actors and guides to bring their tour of the attraction to life.

The 19th century Chateau-style building boasts some of the finest collections in the country, and the Government grant means it has been highlighted as among the best 49 non-national museums in the country.

The grant comes as part of the Government's Designated Museum Challenge Fund, which was created in 1999.

Last year the Bowes Museum received £20,000 under the scheme. A share of the latest grant hand-out has also gone to Beamish, which will share £500,000 with Tyne and Wear Museums, as revealed in The Northern Echo on Wednesday.

Bowes Museum director Adrian Jenkins said: "At a time when the plight of regional museums through lack of financial resources has become a matter of national governmental debate, funding like this can make a real difference to what we can offer the visitor.

"Museums, like the Bowes, want to be as relevant to as many people as possible and this funding will help us to engage more people in the stories about man's past and present that our great museum has to tell."

Part of the £222,000 will also be used to re-label items on display.