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Campbeltown Heritage Centre
Campbeltown Heritage Centre - geograph.org.uk - 1571066.jpg
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Established 1995
Location 3 Big Kiln St, Campbeltown PA28 6JF, United Kingdom
Type Museum and Heritage Centre

The Campbeltown Heritage Centre is a fun museum and heritage centre located in Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland. It's a special place where you can learn all about the history of people's lives in the Kintyre area. The centre focuses on history from the 1700s right up to today. It is managed by the Kintyre Amenity Trust.

Discovering the Centre's Story

The Kintyre Amenity Trust (KAT) was started in 1998. Their goal was to create a new heritage centre. They took over the old Lorne Street Church from the Church of Scotland. This new centre would work alongside the existing Campbeltown Museum. That museum focused more on old objects and nature.

How the Museum Was Built

With help from grants and local people, the trustees built this amazing museum. It shows how Campbeltown became a successful town. At one point, Campbeltown had the highest income per person in all of Scotland! This success came from many things. These included herring fishing, coal mining, shipbuilding, and whisky making. Many local people gave items to the museum. Now, it has a fantastic collection of historical objects.

The Tartan Kirk Building

The Lorne Street Church, where the centre is, was built in 1868. It was designed by James Boucher from Glasgow. The church has a very unusual striped pattern on its front. This pattern comes from using different colored stones. Because of this, people quickly started calling it "The Tartan Kirk."

Supporting the Centre

In 2012, the Kintyre Amenity Trust opened Campbeltown Backpackers. This is a place for travelers to stay. It helps bring in some money to support the museum's activities. In 2016, the trust celebrated "The Year of Scottish Architecture." They showed pictures of important Campbeltown buildings. These pictures were taken by the McGory Brothers, who were early photographers.

What You Can See at the Centre

The Campbeltown Heritage Centre is packed with interesting exhibits. It tells the social history of Campbeltown. This means you learn about how people lived and worked.

Campbeltown's Industries

  • Shipping: Large ships called steamers often visited Campbeltown. Navy ships also came to the port.
  • Exports: Campbeltown used to export many things. These included coal, whisky, and herring.
  • Shipbuilding: Building ships was a very important industry here.
  • Coal Mining: People have mined coal in Kintyre since the 1400s. Even though the coal wasn't the best quality, it was popular for export.
  • Model Village: You can see a model village. It includes a small railway that ran between Machrihanish and Campbeltown.

Farming in Kintyre

A special display shows 400 years of farming in Kintyre. It highlights the dairy and meat industries. These industries are still very important to the area's success today.

Famous Local Artists

You can also learn about William McTaggart. He was a popular artist and one of Scotland's best landscape painters. His artwork was inspired by the beautiful coastal areas around Campbeltown.

The Minenwerfer Display

17 cm mittlerer Minenwerfer (n-A model) on display at Campbeltown Heritage Centre, Scotland
This n/A model is on display at the Campbeltown Heritage Centre.

In 2016, a special German 17 cm mittlerer Minenwerfer was put on display. This is a type of old bomb thrower or mortar. It was carefully preserved and is now in the grounds of the heritage centre. It is thought to be one of only eight left in the world!

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