Frank Atkinson, who has died aged 90, was an inspirational museum director who held firmly to the belief that a museum’s collection should not be limited by the size of its doors. Shortly after the launch of his brainchild, Beamish, billed as "the living museum of the north", in County Durham, in 1971, he took delivery of Rowley railway station, lock, stock and barrel. This was followed by a tram track, a drift mine, a Co-op store, East Stanley board school, Eston’s medieval church, terraced housing, a fairground carousel, flocks and herds of local sheep and cattle and much else.
Beamish, which pioneered the idea of a “living museum”, set an immediate record on its opening day by attracting a two-hour queue. It has since ratcheted up awards including European Museum of the Year in 1987, the year Atkinson officially retired after an operation to remove a cancerous lung. His support and, crucially, his ethos continued unabated, and recent developments at Beamish have included the reconstruction of an original coal-fired fish and chip shop and a bakery.
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