Preston Hall

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Preston Hall is a Victorian mansion house in Stockton-on-Tees, England. It has been a museum since 1953 and is owned by Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. The grounds of the house form Preston Park.

The house was built in 1825 for local industrialist Robert Ropner, and stands in 100 acres (400,000 m²) of parkland. It is adjoined by a large and recently renovated winter garden (conservatory). The museum also includes a recreated period street of the 1890s, period rooms, an armoury and a toy collection. It costs only 50p for children to enter and £1 for adults. Once bought, tickets are valid all year, so repeat visits are possible simply by showing the ticket bought previously.

Contents 1 The Dice Players 2 Restoration grant 3 Thefts 4 References

[edit] The Dice Players

The museum contains a valuable painting called The Dice Players by Georges de la Tour housed in a special room with dimmed lighting and a protective glass screen. The painting has occasionally been lent out for exhibition elsewhere and is regarded as a very fine example of the artist's work.

The painting was part of a collection left to the borough by a local resident in 1930 but the significance of this item was not realised until 1972.

[edit] Restoration grant

In April 2008, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded a grant of £3.7 million towards a major refurbishment of the building and the museum's collections.^[1]

[edit] Thefts

Several years ago a large collection of antique snuff boxes was stolen during a robbery at the museum. In 2007, a Nazi dagger was also stolen.^[2]

[edit] References