Blaydon Races arrives at new home

William Irving painted The Blaydon Races in 1903

A gaudy piece of Geordie history has found a new home after almost being lost to the North East.

A painting of the Blaydon Races was bought by Tyneside museum bosses for more than £124,000 earlier this month.

The 1903 William Irving painting was hung in its new base at the Shipley Art Gallery in Gateshead on Wednesday.

The Tyne and Wear Museums service successfully bid for the painting at Sotherby's after it was put up for sale by the Marriott hotel group, which had it on display at the Gosforth Park Hotel in Newcastle.

The painting is based on the music hall song The Blaydon Races, which describes a colourful 1862 bus journey from Newcastle to the former racecourse in Gateshead.

A fighting fund was set up to save the painting for the North East when the Marriott Group announced its sale.

Tyne and Wear Museums bought the painting using cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Gateshead Council, private trusts and donations.