Revamped military museum's new name revealed

7 December 2025

News image — The redeveloped military museum is due to open in 2026, though an exact date has not been announced

Durham County Council Durham County Council councillors Karen Allison and Joe Quinn standing inside the museum. They are both wearing hard hats and the background is a dim, virtually empty room. Allison is in a yellow hi-vis waist coat and Quinn has on an orange hi-vis jacket. There are two strip, white lights on a wall behind them. Allison has shoulder length dark hair and Quinn has short hair and glasses. Both are smiling. — The redeveloped military museum is due to open in 2026, though an exact date has not been announced

The new name of a revamped military museum has been revealed.

The former Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum in Aykley Heads, which is due to reopen in 2026, will be called Light.

Durham County Council said the name was inspired by the county's associations with light, including Durham University's involvement in the James Webb Space Telescope.

Reform UK cabinet member for leisure, Karen Allison, said the art and science venue would help cement the county's reputation for being a "cultural base" and would hopefully boost tourism.

The DLI Museum opened in 1968 and told the story of the Durham Light Infantry, with particular emphasis on World Wars One and Two.

It shut in 2016 due to cost-cutting measures but plans to refurbish it were approved in March last year.

Durham County Council A digital image of what the DLI building will look like. It is a white, rectangular building with a glass front. There is a grassy field in front of the building. People are gathered in groups around the building. — The DLI Museum closed in 2016 and will reopen as an art gallery, science hub and cafe

The local authority said the building had been stripped down to its basic structure and almost completely rebuilt.

It will be a multipurpose cultural space with links to its military history retained through a DLI gallery telling the regiment's story through objects, documents and film footage, it said.

The venue's new name was also inspired by the creation of Bede's lunar calendar in the region 1,300 years ago.

Allison said: "It's been fantastic to see the venue taking shape and, now that we're able to announce its name, it really feels like we are getting closer to opening day.

"County Durham has a long history of culture-based regeneration and we are committed to building on its reputation as a culture county."

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