When Neil Cole first happened upon the idea of transforming his home, in the tranquil Northumberland town of Allendale, into a fully functional Museum of Classic Sci-Fi - he had no way of perceiving the transformative effect it would have on his life. 

A treasure trove of over 200 original props, costumes & artwork from classic SF film & television - including an extensive section devoted to '70s & '80s Doctor Who - this officially designated "small" Museum has a heart and soul which is bigger on the inside. Fast forward nine years since the initial building project began, Neil has witnessed his Museum feature in a Netflix series, received visits from numerous radio & television programmes, and met many of his artistic heroes.

" I wanted to create that excitement. "

" I can tell you exactly where and when, " Neil declares as I ask about the inspiration behind his Museum, “ 1975 - I was five years old. My family had a holiday to a friend's flat in Blackpool, and my Dad took me to the Doctor Who exhibition on the promenade. It was a bright summer’s day, beautiful day, and there was the TARDIS. “ What happened next would leave an indelible mark on young Neil and shape the course of his entire life, “ You headed down a flight of stairs, there was a glass Dalek, coloured lights and radiophonic sounds. From a hot summer’s day, you were suddenly transported somewhere else, a blur of reality and fiction. A Santa Claus moment, but it was better than Christmas. All the monsters of that time were there - Styre the Sontaran and the Wirrn. It blew my mind. And as I never got a chance to go back, I wanted to recreate that excitement. "

" I know they are probably one of the worst Doctor Who monsters ever, but I didn’t give a monkeys! "

It's a quest which has driven Neil for more than 40 years, and one which has seen its fair share of obstacles, “ I was a student when the first big sale of props came up, and I remember thinking I’m never going to be able to own any of these. “ Yet Neil persevered and through some good old-fashioned hard graft, began to amass his collection of monsters, “ What happens is, people tend to buy these big props and then don’t really know what to do with them, and so they filter back onto the market. Once I qualified as a teacher, I was finally in a position to buy a few things. I’d self taught myself a lot of multimedia art disciplines, and realised I could restore and look after props. I thought, I can do something here. I can recreate that excitement for people.” Neil remembers perhaps more fondly than others the very first monster he managed to obtain, “ It was a Plasmaton!  I know they are probably one of the worst Doctor Who monsters ever, but I didn’t give a monkeys! And I’m quite fond of Time-Flight. “ - the final story of Peter Davison’s first season of Doctor Who. “ I actually put the costume on the day it came, tripped over the feet, and spent three hours trapped inside it, rolling around on the kitchen floor!' ' Neil never wore another costume again.

Following the Plasmaton, Neil spent 3 years painstakingly restoring a Terileptil before rescuing one of his personal favourites - The Garm, which he discovered rotting away in a private collection. 

Maintaining his intention to put these icons on display for others to enjoy, Neil had to locate a premises large enough to house his ever-growing collection, and he seized the opportunity when a derelict grade II listed building came up for sale in the town of Allendale, “ I didn’t realise it was a listed building, and if i had, I probably wouldn’t have bought it! “

If the rigours of restoring a derelict grade II listed building whilst working full time as a teacher, and looking after young children, weren't hard enough for Neil and his wife - matters were made worse thanks to machinations of the local council. 

" There were times when I thought I was just going to shut. The stress was horrific, but that was kind of the making of it. "

While the council appeared happy for the property to lay derelict for years - and exploited by more nefarious types - they objected to Neil’s restoration at every turn. Once the museum opened those objections only intensified, as Neil housed a Dalek on the streets outside of the Museum, culminating in the now infamous row - where the museum was threatened with closure if the Dalek wasn’t removed. Neil's plight made local, national and then international tv, radio and news - with the sci-fi community rallying to his cause.

After winning an appeal against the initial removal order, Neil proceeded to construct an all-weather Dalek which could withstand the winter months without the need of a structure. Embarrassed by the publicity, the council maintained it was the structure used to house Skaro’s finest they had objected to, and not the Dalek itself. Neil maintains his own beliefs as to the true nature of their intentions, “ The actual motivation came from one person on the parish council who has stopped countless projects from going forward. They are very wealthy and this one person didn’t like it. Science Fiction is not for Allendale. Allendale is mining, heritage and history. Snobbery. They hated science fiction and the Dalek. But they couldn’t get us for the Dalek, so they objected to the structure. Well, there is a permanent Dalek they can see everyday now.  We’ve brought in several thousand visitors to the valley, and won the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award. The village needs it. ”

Although a tense and stressful period, Neil can finally look back and appreciate the exposure the whole incident afforded the Museum,“ It’s a bit of a dream now. There have been film rights kicking around and that is still ongoing. There’s talk of a book which I might write.  I look back on it kind of fondly. There were times when I thought I was just going to shut. The stress was horrific, but that was kind of the making of it. The support we received was tremendous. " Support which continues to this day with new items donated to Museum regularly and patrons signing up for exclusive benefits.