Frank Atkinson

Dr Frank Atkinson (13 April 1924 – 30 December 2014) was a British museum director and curator. Atkinson is best known for creating the Beamish Museum near Stanley, County Durham, an open-air 'living' museum on the history of the north of England with a focus on the changes brought to both urban and rural life by the industrialisation of the early 20th century.

Early life Atkinson was born in Barnsley, West Riding of Yorkshire on 13 April 1924, the oldest son of Ernest, a labourer, and Elfrida, a school teacher and later headmistress. An early interest in fossil collecting later saw him become the youngest member of the Barnsley Naturalist and Scientific Society. and at Barnsley grammar school. During the Second World War he obtained a science degree from the University of Sheffield, whilst also serving as a volunteer with the paratroops. In 1952, Atkinson became Director of Halifax Museums and Art Gallery with responsibility for Shibden Hall, Bankfield Museum and Belle Vue. In 1958, he was appointed curator of the Bowes Museum, an art museum in Barnard Castle, Teesdale.

In 1966, Atkinson was instrumental in the setting-up of the working party that resulted in the creation of Beamish with him as its first director. The aim was to create an "Open-Air Museum for the purpose of studying, collecting, preserving and exhibiting buildings, machinery, objects and information illustrating the development of industry and the way of life of the North of England". To this end, Atkinson initiated a policy of "unselective collecting", saying: "you offer it to us and we will collect it". This method of building up the collection proved highly successful and in addition forged links between the institution and the surrounding community. Beamish was also innovative in its operational arrangements, receiving funding and administrative assistance from a consortium of four neighbouring county councils – Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, Cleveland, and Durham; it was the UK's first museum to be run in this way. Following his retirement, Atkinson was Commissioner with the Museums and Galleries Commission (MGC) and Chairman of the Commission's Registration Committee, until December 1994. He had previously worked as an advisor for a number of national bodies in the museums and galleries sector. He also acted as an advisor to the Thomas Bewick Birthplace Trust, overseeing the handover of its archives to the National Trust in 1991. They had three sons and from 1982 they lived in Ovingham, Northumberland, where Atkinson assisted in fundraising for repairs to the church tower and later became Vice-Chairman of the Parochial church council. Atkinson's hobbies included potholing, an interest he had discovered at the age of 12, as well as photography and collecting Natural History specimens such as beetles, ferns, fossils and minerals.

Durham county councillor Carl Marshall, chairman of the board at Beamish, said: “Frank’s death is really, really sad news for everybody associated with the museum and culture across the North-East. The work he did and the vision he had for the museum in selecting the site and bringing all of the local authorities together in those days was virtually unheard of. His vision for the museum was for it to be immersed in the culture of the region and that is what we have got. It is magnificent and that is his lasting legacy”.

Publications As well as an autobiography, The Man Who Made Beamish, Atkinson also wrote several books on the history and traditional pastimes of the North East – amongst them leek growing and pigeon fancying.

Books

Atkinson, Frank (2001) The Story of Ovingham on Tyne. A village History. Northern Books .

Articles Atkinson also wrote a number of articles in journals and magazines.

http://pubs-newcomen.com/tfiles/33p031.pdf