A heritage charity which recently revealed it must undertake “significant work” to ensure its “stable future” has admitted its loss of £21,096 in an embezzlement scandal is “distressing”.

Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 26 Sep 2025


A heritage charity which recently revealed it must undertake “significant work” to ensure its “stable future” has admitted its loss of £21,096 in an embezzlement scandal is “distressing”.
The Bowes Museum, which receives more than £350k a year as part of the Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio, is seeking to recover the missing money after its former finance manager, Tracey Sell, was handed a 12-month suspended prison sentence for the theft earlier this month.
ACE told Arts Professional it has no concerns about the organisation, in which it expressed “confidence”.
In its most recent accounts, published before Sells’ crime came to light, museum leaders had outlined a pressing need to improve the organisation’s “financial resilience”.
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