The Light, Durham

The building was originally commissioned as a regimental museum for the Durham Light Infantry. The site selected was in a large rural setting known as Aykley Heads just to the southeast of County Hall. The building was designed in the modern style, built in concrete and glass and was officially opened by the Minister for the Arts, Jennie Lee, in 1969.^[1] The design involved a rectangular three-storey main block with a single-storey semi-circular section which projected forward at the southwest corner. The museum was located on the first two floors, with the Durham Art Gallery located on the third floor.^[2][3][4] It was refurbished to a design by Gareth Hoskins Architects, with interpretative displays about army life, in 1999.^[5][6]

In October 2015 Durham County Council announced the closure of the D.L.I. Museum as a cost saving exercise; it closed the following year.^[7] This decision sparked the formation of a campaign to see the museum saved led by John Richardson.^[8] In 2017,^[9] Durham University, in partnership with Durham County Council, opened a new D.L.I. Collection Gallery at the Palace Green Library^[10] on Palace Green in Durham (where the Regiment's final parade had taken place in 1968).^[11] In June 2019 Durham County Council revealed plans to move the Durham Light Infantry Collection to Mount Oswald, where a new history centre, named "The Story", opened in June 2024; it houses the DLI Archive and "the entire DLI Collection", but only a fraction is on public display.^[12]

Notwithstanding these developments, in 2021 the County Council agreed "to review options to reopen and repurpose" the old building at Aykley Heads.^[13] The plan was approved in 2024.^[14] As of 2025, an extension is being built, which will almost double the size of the old building; the revamped venue is scheduled to reopen in spring 2026.^[15] Renamed "The Light", this will include a dedicated DLI Gallery alongside other galleries and event facilities.^[16][17]