Independent Elgin Museum tries to keep its head above water with £2m appeal
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ELGIN Museum has launched a £2 million appeal as it gets ready to celebrate its 180th anniversary.
The independent museum opened to the public on October 25, 1843.
It will kick off the celebrations with a Victorian-style soiree on that date when guests will be encouraged to wear period costume.
And that will be followed up by a Victorian Bazaar over the weekend of November 4-5 when people can bag themselves a bargain.
That event will be a nod to the women of Elgin who 180 years ago organised a bazaar to help the Elgin Moray Literary and Scientific Society when it ran out of money to complete the building of the museum – despite the fact that women were not allowed to be members at the time.
Claire Herbert, vice-president of Moray Society, which remains the independent volunteer-led custodian of the museum, is looking forward to the 180th anniversary soiree.
"It will be a really big celebration and a chance for everyone to come in, have a bit of fun and get dressed up and mingle with other interested and like-minded people," she said.
The Victorian Bazaar (12-4pm Saturday and Sunday) will be complete with a fortune teller and side show stalls.
The museum – which has just two paid members of staff – is planning a number of fundraising events and grant applications to help maintain the current building, which was purpose-built in 1843, and enhance the facilities for the future.
"It's an ambitious target," said Ms Herbert of the £2m, "and it may not be achievable but we've got to push ourselves and try and get things moving."
The museum is currently trying to keep its head above water, literally, with a leaky roof causing major problems every time there is heavy rain.
"After Covid and with water coming in through the ceiling it's quite amazing that we're still open," she added.
"We're still here, we're entirely volunteer run, we're Scotland's oldest continuously independent museum so we've never been in ownership of a local authority.
"We are really looking forward to trying to improve the building and our own sustainability both financially and in terms of thinking about climate change and our transition to net zero.
"It is pretty difficult to heat, pretty difficult to insulate and at the moment we've got water coming in different places so that is a challenge in itself."
Improved lights and heating, better toilet facilities for visitors and staff, and possibly even solar panels are part of the plan going forward, and the addition of a lift for better access to the upper floor.
The side hall, which is used for lectures and other special events, will be refurbished to allow for greater community use and No.3 High Street, which the museum owns, will be transformed into a commercial unit on the ground floor, with two flats above, which will provide a regular income stream, making the museum less reliant on external grants.
"Without our volunteers we wouldn't be able to open at all so, you know it's testament to them that we're still here," said Ms Herbert.
The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday (1-4pm) until the end of October, and needs a minimum of three volunteers for each session, except a Saturday when two can manage alongside the a paid weekend steward.
A real surge in overseas visitors has given the museum – which has 36,000 items in its collection – a boost this season.
Its fossil collection is recognised as a 'Nationally Significant Collection'.
It regularly gets visits from local groups, including the likes of the Beavers, Brownies and UHI Moray.
Local support is vital for its future, although very few of the current pool of volunteers actually live in Elgin.
Ms Herbert, an archaeologist with Aberdeenshire Council, added: "We're always happy to have more volunteers because you know that's what we need to run, whether it's front of house or helping with some of the collections care in the background.
"We have a finance committee, a geology committee, a learning group, a policy group, there's lots of different ways that people can be involved depending on what their interest is."
Many of the items in the museum were donated by its early founders who travelled the world for business and came back with collectable items.
"We are looking to try and put our full planning permission application in hopefully this calendar year, certainly if not this year by the early part of 2024 and ideally I want us to be starting our building works in 2024.
"The whole reason we want to get the building fixed is so that people can come in, they can see these objects, they can understand their local history and their local heritage."
Tickets for the Victorian soiree are on sale from the museum at £5 for adults and £3.50 for under 18s. That includes prosecco, home bakes made by the volunteers and a Victorian portrait picture. Costumes will be available for people to wear on the night.
There will also be a raffle with afternoon tea at Innes House and Glenallachie whisky among the prizes.
You can get tickets and find out more about the work of the museum and how to become a member of a volunteer at www.elginmuseum.org.uk
Also, any donations of books and other bric-a-brac for the bazaar weekend will be very welcome.
