THE community of Teesdale has been leading the tributes to the Queen Mother since news of her death was announced at the weekend.

Flags have been flying at half mast on churches and public buildings out of respect for the 101-year-old who was held in high esteem and affection by the dale's residents, whether they had been privileged to meet her or not.

The Queen Mother was the ninth child of Lord Glamis, the heir to the Earl of Strathmore, a leading landowner in the dale. She held fond memories of childhood holidays spent at Streatlam Park near Barnard Castle, which has long since been demolished.

Her connection to the Bowes Museum stems from her kinship to the founder, John Bowes, the illegitimate son of the 10th Earl of Strathmore. In an attempt to legitimise his son, the earl married his common law wife Mary Millner just 16 hours before his death. Two long court cases ensued, finally settling the Durham estates on John, but not recognising him as the legitimate heir to the Strathmore title.

This passed to Thomas, the 10th earl's brother and it is from his line that the Queen Mother was descended. And so it was with great sadness that the death of Her Royal Highness was received by all who were associated with the museum.

Former curator Mrs Elizabeth Conran, who met the Queen Mother three times, described her as a very lively patron.

"She first became involved in Bowes Museum when it ran into financial difficulties in about 1950. She made a donation and her support and interest from that time cannot be underestimated," she said. "When the management of the museum was taken over by Durham County Council, it was the Queen Mother who re-opened it in 1956.

"She made a belated visit to the Friends to mark her 80th birthday, which coincided with our Canaletto appeal. It was the day following Prince William's birth and she knew her presence would attract national attention. She was always thinking how she could help us," she said. "She was in constant touch with the museum through her staff and always read the Friends' newsletters.

"In the 90s when the museum was struggling financially she did her best to bring pressure to bear on the relevant people in London in the nicest possible way and was always asking, How is the dear Bowes?"

Mrs Conran, along with many others whose thoughts have been recorded elsewhere this week, said the Queen Mother was able to make you feel like the only person in the world when she was speaking to you.

"She was always interested in people and very good at connecting," she added. "She had a lively sense of humour and could make a party. Her visit to the museum in 1992, when it was the centenary year, was very relaxed and she was as delighted as ever by the silver swan. I told her that children loved it and she responded by saying, Don't we All?"

Mrs Conran said the Queen Mother could tell when people queuing to meet her were nervous and afraid of offending, but she was capable of empathising with them.

"If someone had put a foot wrong unintentionally the Queen Mother knew they had tried their best and that was more important to her than protocol," she added.

In a further tribute from the museum, Friends' chairman Lesley Taylor said it would have been 40 years this month since the Queen Mother agreed to become their patron. She had planned to celebrate that fact in the next newsletter, instead of which she has had to write the sad news of the Queen Mother's death.

"Her passing has brought to an end an historical association which can never be repeated," she said. "She took a keen interest in the Friends from our inception in the 50s, visiting on numerous occasions over the years and supported the Bowes in many ways, particularly in times of crisis.

"Her last visit during the centenary year was to open the exhibition Royal Style, for which she loaned her wedding dress, coronation robes and many other outfits."

Her Majesty's most recent contribution to the museum was when she, along with other members of the royal family, allowed textiles curator Joanna Hashagen to visit her London home at Clarence House to select hats for the highly successful Royal Milliners exhibition held at the museum last year.

"Despite her many commitments she has truly been an involved patron," said Mrs Taylor. "We will miss her genuine interest in the museum's development and that of the Friends."

Mrs Taylor has been invited to represent the Friends at the Queen Mother's funeral next Tuesday and has accepted.

"I did not meet the Queen Mother when she was alive, and although this is an extremely sad occasion I am sure that attending her funeral will be an historic moment that will stay in my mind forever," she added.

District and town councillor John Hinchcliffe, who as mayor of Barnard Castle was twice presented to the Queen Mother, described her as very gracious and easy to talk to. Photographs of him shaking hands with Her Royal Highness, which hang in his local business The Castle Cafe, have been the subject of much discussion since Her Majesty's death, with many customers commenting that although her death was not unexpected at 101 it was nevertheless the end of an era.

But her visits to Teesdale were by no means confined to Barnard Castle. Mr Jack Ellerton of Middleton in Teesdale, who is now 91, recalls how as a boy he and a gang of others used to stand outside Laithkirk church on Sunday mornings to watch Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, as she was then, attend services. "She was a regular visitor to Holwick with her parents in those days," said Mr Ellerton.

In the 1920s he played the trombone for her at Holwick Lodge, where, as a member of Middleton and Teesdale Silver Band he accompanied the dancing.

"During the interval when the guests went in to dinner, we sat down to exactly the same food," recalled Mr Ellerton, who still attends band practices. There was almost a 70-year gap between the first and last time he played for her, but he remembers her gracious manner as unwavering.

Former chairman of the band, Mr Roy Thomas, also has fond memories of the Queen Mother. "Whenever she visited Holwick she always asked for the band to play. The occasions were very informal and she would stroll about and speak to everyone," he said.

Her Majesty always kept up to date with the band via its newsletter and helped with financial support.

"You never asked for money," said Mr Thomas. "But out of the blue a cheque would descend on us, unexpected but very gratefully received. The Queen Mother was a wonderful supporter, as is her family at Holwick Lodge. There are many fond memories of her in Teesdale."

The 18th Earl, the great nephew of the Queen Mother, issued a statement following her death. Although the earl lives at Glamis Castle near Dundee, the family is frequently in residence at Holwick.

"It is with deep sadness that I have learned of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, especially so soon after the death of her daughter Princess Margaret," he said. "I know I speak on behalf of all my family, all of whom hold the Queen Mother in great love and affection. Although it is a time of great sadness, it is also a time of great thankfulness, for the long life of someone who dedicated her life to the service of the nation, and who will always be remembered with so much respect and gratitude."

In paying his tribute, Lord Barnard said, "It's an enormously sad thing to happen to us all, particularly in this area where she was known so well. I think most people who met her particularly admired her great sense of duty, which has meant really so much to this nation."

She also gave her support to small projects, knowing that her name would ensure they thrived. Robin Rackham, chairman of the Teesdale Buildings Preservation Trust, said, "She gave her recognition to our very small buildings preservation trust and I think it was probably because of her roots up here. She gave her name to the trust and I think it helped us sell the properties because of the press coverage we got from her visits."

The Bishop of Durham, who led an Easter service where prayers were said for the Queen Mother, spoke of her love for the region and remembered her ability to connect with people. The Rt Rev Michael Turnbull met the Queen Mother formally and informally on several occasions, remembering her as someone who always had a twinkle in her eye and was able to transcend social barriers.

"She was a woman with a great sense of duty and had an amazing natural interest in people," he said. "She had a transparency and almost innocent appeal to people that put them at their ease when she talked to them."

He echoed Mrs Conran's sentiments, saying, "She felt very much at ease with people who were at the other end of the social scale from her and would go out of her way to make sure that people were spoken to, even if it meant rearranging her timetable."

The bishop said such was her fondness for Durham Cathedral that legend had it that every time she went to Scotland she asked the royal train driver to slow down over the Durham viaduct, so she could see the building.

As well as being remembered for her compassion with people, the bishop said her death held wider significance for the nation, as an icon of a bygone era.

"She lived through the whole of the 20th century and that's a remarkable thing, when you think that most people were getting about by horse and cart when she was born. And of course she was an immense inspiration throughout the Second World War when Buckingham Palace was bombed. Life had changed a lot, but she remained a rock of stability throughout."