West Highland Museum facts for kids
The West Highland Museum is a cool place that tells the story of the Scottish Highlands and Islands. It's located in Fort William, a town in the West Highlands. The museum wants to show you everything about the history of this amazing area. You can also see exhibits about old discoveries (archaeology) and local wildlife. This museum has always been independent, meaning it runs itself!
Contents
History of the Museum
The West Highland Museum was started in 1922 by a person named Victor Hodgson. He collected many interesting items and books. At first, he showed them in a public reading room. In 1925, people helped raise money. The next year, part of the building where the museum is now was bought. This building used to be a bank! Later, in the 1960s, more money was raised. This allowed the museum to buy the building next door. The museum building is one of the oldest in town.
In 2011, the museum stopped charging for entry. This was because fewer people were visiting. In 2010, about 9,000 people visited. After it became free, over 31,000 people visited the next year! The number of visitors kept growing. By 2019, over 60,000 people came to see the museum. Between 1979 and 2014, the museum welcomed a million visitors! Today, the museum has a few paid staff. They get a lot of help from about 40 volunteers.
What You Can See (The Collection)
.jpg)
The museum has eight rooms spread across three floors. It has a huge collection of items about the Jacobites. The Jacobites were supporters of the Stuart royal family. One special item is an 18th-century "secret portrait" of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Victor Hodgson found this portrait in a junk shop! It looks like random marks on a base. But when you look at it through a special cylinder mirror, you see the Prince's image! This painting trick is called anamorphosis. The mirror could be removed to hide who the owners supported.
The museum also has items from later royal times. You can see a collection of things from the time of Queen Victoria. This includes special items she gave to her favorite helper, John Brown.
The museum also tells stories about military history. It focuses on the Commando Basic Training Centre. This center was set up during World War II. It was located near Achnacarry Castle and Spean Bridge. In 1936, the museum received the wooden walls from the governor's room of an old fort. They used these to create their own "Governor's Room." This room also has a special table. It belonged to the town council of Fort William. This table was used to hold people still when they were being punished. This type of punishment was last used in 1948. There's also a round, wooden table in this room. People say it belonged to Colonel Hill. He was the governor of the fort during the Massacre of Glencoe in 1692. Colonel Hill met the chief of the Glen Coe MacDonalds at the fort before the massacre.
The museum shows items collected by Alexander Carmichael. He was a Scottish person who studied Gaelic stories and traditions. He is famous for his book Carmina Gadelica. The museum also has a collection of bagpipes. Some people say the oldest bagpipes were played at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Another pair is said to have been given to Bonnie Prince Charlie. But experts aren't sure if these stories are true!
In 2020, the museum got a new important painting. It's called Autumn in Knoydart. It was painted by Sir David Young Cameron. He was a member of the museum during his life. Cameron also helped buy the Strange Plate in 1928. This was a copper plate used to print Jacobite bank notes. The Prince had ordered it, but it was lost. D. Y. Cameron printed some notes from the plate. More notes were printed in 2021 for the museum's 100th birthday!
The Rough Guide travel book says the museum is "splendidly idiosyncratic." This means it's wonderfully unique!
Getting Around (Accessibility)
The museum is in an old building. This can make it a bit tricky for people who have trouble moving around. But don't worry! There is a stairlift. This helps many visitors with limited movement get to both floors of the museum. It can even help people in wheelchairs reach the upper floor.
How the Museum is Run (Governance)
The West Highland Museum Trust is the group that runs the museum. It became a company in 2017. It also became a registered charity in Scotland in 2017. This means it's a non-profit organization that does good work. The Trust started running the museum in 2018. Before that, a different group managed it.
Awards
In 2021, the museum received a special award. It was the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. This award is given to groups that do amazing volunteer work. The award was presented by Donald Cameron of Lochiel. He is a local important person.
Future Plans
The museum has exciting plans for the future! With help from the Scottish Land Fund, they recently bought a shop next door. They also bought an old barn behind the museum. They plan to connect these buildings to the museum. This will create more space for new exhibits, storage, learning activities, and offices.
|
