A 75-year-old museum charity has voted to wind up in response to a decline in income and a lack of volunteers to run the organisation.

The Friends of the Bowes Museum, which aims to promote the collections of the connected charity, the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, County Durham, held an extraordinary general meeting on 16 April, at which 92 per cent of members voted for the charity’s closure.

In a statement, the charity said the vote was held in response to falling membership numbers and income, as well as a lack of volunteers available to run the organisation which, according to its latest annual accounts, does not have any paid staff.

According to the charity’s accounts for the financial year to the end of December 2024, it recorded a total income of £34,803 and expenditure of £18,531.

Colin Hardy, chair of the Friends of the Bowes Museum, said the decision to recommend dissolving the charity was difficult but was unanimously agreed upon by trustees following professional advice.

“This is a bitter-sweet moment. We are celebrating 75 years of existence with a vote to close,” Hardy said.

“Over several years, we have seen steadily declining memberships, a fall in income, a rising age profile of members, and increased difficulty recruiting volunteers to become trustees. 

“These factors, set against a wider context of changing societal pressures and a post-Covid-19 shift in people’s leisure habits, prompted us to take independent advice from consultants experienced in the museum and heritage sector. They presented options, and we deemed the closure option to be in the best interests of our members.”

Hardy added that the prospect of seeing the charity slide deeper into decline was “not the way any one of us would want the story of such an important group to end”, saying: “This vote to close allows the group to wind up its affairs with dignity while honouring the achievements of the past 75 years.”

He said: “It should be stressed this is not a time of regrets. While sad to say goodbye to friends, our ‘friendship’ with the museum continues. 

“Our 1,300 members, including 500 or so life members, will be looked after by the museum and will be known as Friends alumni.”

Friends alumni will continue to benefit from unlimited access to the museum for the duration of their membership and will receive the Bowes Arts newsletter until its final issue in September, the charity said. When annual memberships expire, individuals will be invited to join the museum directly as members.

Hardy said the charity’s £170,000-worth of assets would be held in a Friends Legacy Fund by the museum and would be used to support the production of The Bowes Museum’s programmes. 

“The Bowes Museum also intends to make an acquisition that can publicly celebrate the legacy of the Friends’ support over the past 75 years,” Hardy said.

He said the charity had played a “significant part in the history of the museum”, saying: “It is well documented that Friends kept the museum open when it was threatened with closure and we as a group have supported the museum in so many ways, both financially and practically, over the years. 

“Although our chapter has now come to an end, we will forever be a part of the museum.”

The Friends of the Bowes Museum has not responded to Third Sector’s request for further comment.