West Durham

Andy Guy is from Essex, but took his degree at Durham University andsubsequently lived near Darlington for nearly thirty years. After working as an antiques dealer, he became a researcher at Beamish Museum and is now a consultant and author with a particular interest in the early railways and industry of the North East.A member of the Early Railways Conference Committee, he jointly edited the first publications of its papers, Early Railways, and hascontributed papers to all three of its volumes. With the architectural historian Peter Ryder, he has compiled two 'Virtual Exhibitions' for the British Library, 'Durham: Echoes of Power' and 'Grimm's Northumberland Sketchbooks', both centred on the drawings of the 18th century artist Samuel Grimm. Steam & Speed: Railways of Tyne & Wear from the earliest days was the co-winner of the Alan Ball Award for local history publications given by the Library Services Trust.Frank Atkinson began life in a pit village in West Yorkshire. He started his own museum when he was ten. He helped to put the marvellous Bowes Museum at Barnard Castle back on its feet after Durham County Council rescued it in the 50s. He was the founder and original Director of Beamish Open Air Museum. Around the same time he wrote The Industrial Archaeology of the North East, followed by a number of other publications on local history. His interests include geology, vernacular architecture and industrial archaeology. He has been awarded a CBE and given an Honorary Doctorate by Durham University.