Barnard Castle and the Bowes Museum

Built to resemble a French chateau the building was built exclusively to be a museum.  It has the best collection of fine art in all of England.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnard_Castle_(castle)

First William the Conqueror gave the lands to his friend as a gift.  They were bordering Scotland and he needed protection there from a friendly fellow.  He built the tower and battlements over years as he hands down the lands and castle to his sons and grandsons and their sons.

Then comes John Lyon-Bowes, a gentrified playboy. At one point his parents were not married when she gave birth.  So he fakes his death, all 5e way down to the horses and casket and choir and cemetery.  On his “deathbed” he asks the priest that he marry him and his mistress.  John miraculously survives.

But the boy does not have a good pedigree from the mistress and he was born before they were married he is not a legitimate heir and unable to claim the Title Earl of Strathmore. He is unable to claim status in the community, even though he is wealthy and landed.  His fathers brother takes that title.

John Jr had purchased for his mistress the Chateau du Barry in Paris which had been given by Louis XV to his mistress Madame Du Barry in 1769. She was arrested in the chateau in 1793 during the French revolution.

When they realized his gonorrohea would not allow them to have children they became obsessed with creating a museum and collecting great art.  Josephine sold the Du Barry house to finance the purchase of the lands of Barnard Castle and build the French Chateau Museum In 1869.   It is an incredible building in itself and houses such work as El Greco, de Goya, Emile Valle and this incredible silver swan.

Explore the collection here. https://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/Collections/Explore-The-Collection

The Mechanical Silver Swan was built in 1773.  It is as animatronic as the hints you see,at Disney world.  I will attempt to add the video.  After it is wound, It looks around, spies a fish and appears to eat the fish.  OMG!  While the swan is wound, glass rods rotate as if the water is flowing.  The swan turns its head side to side preening itself, then notices a silver fish.  It ends by bending down and catching the fish and returning to the upright position.   Lasting 32 seconds.it is operated once a day at precisely 2 pm.  It was built by John Merlin with James Cox.

The swan was shown across the world and parts were stolen.  At the 1867 worlds fair mark Twain saw it and included it in his book Innocents Abroad.

It is an amazing thing to see.