Elgin Museum

2023 News

February 2023

Donation from Roseisle Hall

Museum Volunteer and Geology Group member Dave Longstaff gave a talk on the geology of the coastline between Burghead and Lossiemouth at Roseisle Hall on 1st February 2023. Following the talk, attended by more than 100 people, Roseisle Hall made a donation to Elgin Museum of £130. We extend out thanks for their generosity.

2022 News

December 2022

Vacancy – Development Officer (0.6 FTE, Fixed term for 2 years. Salary: £30,000 FTE)

Applications are invited from suitably qualified, enthusiastic and experienced individuals to take forward an exciting new role at Elgin Museum funded by Museums Galleries Scotland.

We’re looking for someone special who can bring a fresh and innovative approach to the funding of our Victorian museum, retaining all that is best in its current expression of heritage but fitting it for a new age, now with the additional challenge of adjusting to the Covid pandemic and its aftermath.

You will have a sound knowledge of finance and funding and a talent for building strong relationships. You will be able to work independently and to liaise successfully with other organisations and the staff and volunteers of the Museum.

You should either be educated to degree level or have equivalent qualification and/or experience. You should have proven experience in fundraising and grant management, and with the passion and creativity to develop and expand the Museum’s potential.

Please view the Development Officer job description for full information.

Elgin Museum staff can work a blend of office and home on agreement with their line manager

Application notes: 

Application is by letter, which should be sent with a supporting CV to: Vice-President, The Moray Society, Elgin Museum, 1 High Street, Elgin, Moray, IV30 1EQ, marked private and confidential or emailed to: elginmuseumevents@gmail.com Further information is also available from this email address.

We recommend applicants visit our website to learn more about Elgin Museum and The Moray Society, and to view our Forward Plan 2022 – 2026 on our Policies page which outlines our strategic aims for the next 4 years.

Closing date for applications: 30th December 2022 at 5pm. Interviews will be held (virtually) between 12th – 16th January 2023.

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2021 News 

March 2021 

Teens and Tweens Project Update

We’re delighted to welcome Rachael Forbes to the Elgin Museum team. Rachael will take up the Teens and Tweens Project Coordinator role this month. Rachael is passionate about history, the arts and facilitating education within the community. Her background is in mixed media arts with a BA specialism in Performance Costume and an MA in Textiles. She has years of experience working across various museum, art gallery, charity and education settings facilitating creative and community learning with people of all ages and abilities. Rachael loves making learning fun, engaging and accessible for all, she is very much looking forward to beginning her Project Coordinator role with Elgin Museum and engaging young people with their local and world history. The focus of the project will continue for the time being to be in the delivery of home-based and digital activities. We’re sure you’ll join us in welcoming Rachael to Elgin Museum!

2020 News

April 2020

All dressed up and no-one to see us!

As you will have seen in the current newsletter, the opening of our new exhibition At the Water’s Edge is one of the activities postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.  However, everything is almost ready for when the Museum does open – the cases are in place, the interpretation panels hung, and the models installed.

Two of the fossils on loan (those from Oxford University Museum of Natural History) are also in position and the staff at National Museums Scotland (NMS) are committed to couriering the remaining loan items at the earliest opportunity.  Dr Stig Walsh was due to deliver the loans from both the British Geological Survey and NMS on Thursday 19th March but the rapidly worsening situation meant that all non-essential travel was cancelled by NMS the afternoon before, just a couple of hours before he was due to leave the office.  We were so nearly there, but obviously the health and well-being of staff and volunteers takes priority.

The panel that explains the finding of the Elginerpeton material includes the photograph below, taken by Robert Clack in 1992, when a team from NMS visited the site at Scaat Craig.  Professor Jenny Clack (University of Cambridge) was Per Ahlberg’s PhD supervisor and the person that Per first showed the OUMNH fossils to when he realized that they were tetrapod bones, rather than the labelled fish material; Per is the photographer at the left of the picture.  Sadly, Jenny died last week (26th March) after a long period of ill health, but her help in the preparation of the exhibition has been invaluable; the EM Geology Group wrote to her husband, Robert, to offer our condolences and to let him see the finished artwork.

Janet is further adding to the Elginerpeton story with a new display focusing on the discoverer of the Scaat Craig site, John Martin. Martin was a school teacher at nearby Clackmarras and subsequently became the first curator of Elgin Museum. In 1837, he made the first geological map of Moray and this subsequently appeared as Plate I in Patrick William Duff’s book ‘A Sketch of the Geology of Moray’, published in 1842.

As well as Martin’s map, the display will include additional fossil material from Scaat Craig, kindly being loaned by Bob Davidson, who is behind the camera in the centre of the 1992 photograph. Janet and Dave visited the Scaat Craig outcrop last month and went in search of the old school house. Completely unexpectedly, they were invited in by the current owners and given a tour of the house. Although much changed since Martin’s time, the original layout can still be determined, and both very much enjoyed the hospitality offered.

Although the exhibition is not yet open, the web pages remain live – have a look if you would like a taster of what is to come.  There is also a ‘Coasts and Waters’ quiz based on these web pages if you want to test yourself on our Education & Outreach page.

Dr Alison Wright

Elgin Museum Geology Group

2019 News

November 2019

Funding news!

The Moray Society is delighted to announce that project funding for Elgin Museum has been secured from The Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund, which is supported by the Garfield Weston Foundation.  This UK wide programme offers funding for museums and galleries to borrow objects from national collections for public display and, as the only Scottish recipient of an award, we are thrilled that our work is being recognised by such a prestigious organisation as the Art Fund.

Under the loan scheme, Elgin Museum will be working in partnership with National Museums Scotland (NMS) to exhibit fossil material collected locally in the late 19th Century of a very early tetrapod.  These animals were the first to show adaptations that ultimately allowed life to move out of the water and on to land.  No fossils of Elginerpeton pancheni are held by the Museum so this funding provides an exciting opportunity for us to exhibit these important finds.  Material will also be loaned by the British Geological Survey and by the Oxford University Museum of Natural History as part of the project.  These fossils have not been seen in Elgin since they were first discovered so we are pleased to be able to bring them home again and explain their global significance to a local audience.

The temporary exhibition entitled ‘At the Water’s Edge’ will run throughout the Museum’s 2020 season and will tie in with the Scottish Government’s designated Year of Coasts and Waters (#YCW2020). The Museum is closed to the public over the winter, but we look forward to welcoming visitors to the exhibition when we reopen at the end of March.  Admission to the Museum is free and more information about events and activities linked to the exhibition and to #YCW2020 will follow in due course.  Several local organisations and businesses will be involved in helping us deliver this exhibition, including Moray ReachOut, a social enterprise which provides space for vulnerable adults to gain training and work experience.

Money from the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund will be used to purchase two new display cases and to upgrade the Museum’s environmental monitoring system.  As well as facilitating the loan from NMS, the improvements will greatly enhance our ability to borrow other objects in the future and we are extremely grateful for the legacy opportunities that this funding will provide.

April 2019

Elgin Museum Reopens for the 2019 Season!

We’re delighted to announce that the Museum has officially reopened to the public for the 2019 season. This year we have a number of new displays, a wonderful programme of art exhibitions and new family friendly activities to explore. We also have a great programme of family events planned throughout the year – download the 2019 family activities programme (pdf 654kb) to find out more. We’ll also be open to visitors on Sundays throughout the summer after last year’s successful trial.

Opening hours for the 2019 Season are: Monday to Friday, 10 am – 5 pm; Saturday, 11 am to 4 pm. Entry this year remains FREE!

March 2019

International Women’s Day 2019

On Friday March 8th, we welcomed visitors to the Museum to celebrate International Women’s Day with coffee, conversation, and displays on women in Moray. Thanks, as ever, to our wonderful volunteers for all their hard work on the day.

January 2019

Carved Stone Balls Under the Microscope

Elgin Museum’s carved stone balls are of continuing interest to Chris Stewart-Moffitt, now a PhD student at Aberdeen University. This time he was following up an unreferenced comment he’d previously noticed on the catalogue card that the stone here under the microscope is “dubious”. This assessment may be because it is larger than the average size for these intriguing Neolithic artefacts. We await Chris’s appraisal.

October 2018

National Museums Scotland Visit to Elgin Museum

We had surprise visitors last week who dropped in for an informal visit: Jilly Burns and Xerxes Mazda from National Museums Scotland. Xerxes has not been long in post as Director of Collections but had already heard a lot about us from Nick Fraser and Fraser Hunter, our informal mentors respectively in palaeontology and archaeology. He said: ‘I am really impressed with all you continue to achieve, and now have a much better idea of what my teams are working on with you.’
He was interested in everything and incredibly enthusiastic and positive about all aspects of our Museum. Serendipity – Dr Davide Foffa, who has just started working at NMS, was in the Rear Gallery studying our Triassic fossils and thus boss and employee met. Thanks Jilly for thinking of us!

The Elgin Reptiles

Davide Foffa, post-Doctoral student at the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, was in Elgin Museum in October 2018. This was the start of his project, examining our Triassic reptile fossils for specimens suitable for small scanning. New scanning methods are rapidly opening up fossil research. Specimens in our Recognised collection that have had little scientific attention since the 19th Century are receiving new evaluation and interpretation. We have welcomed researchers from Bristol, USA, Italy, Finland and Argentina in recent years and have a long history of collaboration with the palaeontologists at the National Museum.

There But Not There – commemorating World War I

Elgin Museum is celebrating the award of 6 silhouettes funded by the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust. These will be displayed in the museum for the centenary of the Armistice which ended the fighting of The Great War. The museum will open on Sunday, 11 November from 11.30am to 2.30pm to allow members of the public and the Armed Services a last chance to view the WW1 display and the Poppy Cascade, which has been added to throughout the year. Refreshments will be served in the Museum Hall during this time.

The award of the figures was made under the Armistice and Armed Forces Communities programme, which makes awards to bring communities together to remember and to think about the armed forces today. Elgin Museum has mounted a changing display over the past four years to show the events of The Great War, the social changes that occurred and the human cost of the conflict. It seemed appropriate to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice by opening on Remembrance Day and displaying these emotive figures and other reminders of this time. By calling our event “The Lessons of History” it is hoped that the community can learn from, as well remember, the price paid by our forebears.

Lt. Col. Grenville Johnston, Lord Lieutenant of Moray, said, “I was very pleased to learn that Elgin Museum had decided to create a display in Memory of World War 1. Moray lost many young men during the years of this conflict. I am proud of the way that local people have embraced the importance of remembering the history of the War. I was alerted to the figures and the Armed Forces Covenant by Councillor Graham Leadbitter. He has always been supportive of Elgin Museum and I passed this idea to them. I am delighted that they embraced it and have been awarded a grant to display the figures. I do hope many people will visit the exhibition.”

Pictish Arts Society Conference 2018: Moray and beyond

On Friday 5th and Saturday 6th October we opened our doors to the Pictish Arts Society (PAS) for their annual conference and AGM. The conference offered some fascinating insights into the Pictish world, and offered us the opportunity to bring out some of our Pictish stones not normally on display. The weekend was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all those in attendance.

Researching Viking Age Strap Ends

We were delighted to welcome archaeologist Craig Stanford to the Museum on Friday 5th October, continuing work on his project investigating a corpus of unique Scottish Viking Age strap ends. We look forward to his and Caroline Patterson’s upcoming publication on the subject.

Winter Lecture Series 2018-19: the life & times of mineralogist Matthew Forster Heddle

A very well received talk on Thursday 4th October by the great-great grandson of the renowned Scottish mineralogist Matthew Forster Heddle. Many in the audience were familiar with the then soon-to-be-designated Munros, but not climbing with a 14lb hammer. Hamish had tracked down the map of the Moray coast showing Heddle’s walk with one of the Museum’s founders, Rev Dr George Gordon in 1877.

September 2018

Elgin Museum to Host Pictish Arts Society Conference 

On Saturday 6 October 2018, the Museum will play host to the Pictish Arts Society Annual Conference 2018. This year’s theme is “Moray and Beyond”.  Full day ticket £25.00 // Half day ticket £15.00 – advance booking required via the PAS website. Speakers include Dr Jane Geddes, Dr Gordon Noble and Steven Birch. Topics range from updates on the recent excavations at Burghead Pictish Fort, the search for the monastery of Deer in Aberdeenshire, and the latest interpretation of Pictish stones from Historic Environment Scotland. The conference is open to PAS members and non-members. For more information on the conference and to book your ticket please visit the PAS website.

Focus on Elginia mirabilis

We welcomed Marta Zaher, PhD student from Bristol University last week. It is always exciting when our fossils, most of which came into the Museum over a hundred years ago, are given a reappraisal using modern techniques – in this case photogrammetry of a cast of part of the spine. Even her supervisor, Professor Mark Benton’s research on the Elgin Reptiles was 35 years ago! Regular visitors will be more familiar with our model of Elginia. 

August 2018

Renovation Update

We’re delighted to announce that our programme of renovation works at the Museum is now complete. Our beautiful category A-listed building has been restored to its 1842 glory – as laid out in original Museum architect Thomas Mackenzie’s own hand written notes! (Which can be viewed, on request)
The work was made possible thanks to the generous funding support of Historic Environment Scotland and The Moray Council’s CARS (Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme) and Moray Leader. We are also indebted to LDN Architects for overseeing the project and to our contractor Harper & Allan for tirelessly doing such a spectacular job in challenging conditions.
It secures the future of the building as well as the exhibition displays. We can now work towards improving and expanding our displays for an enhanced visitor experience, safe in the knowledge that the building is secure.
Whether you’re a regular visitor or new, locals and tourists alike, now is the perfect time to visit Elgin Museum to see for yourself the wonderful transformation.
We’ll also be open as usual for the Scottish Civic Trust’s Doors Open Days event,this year on Saturday 22nd September – a great time to”get into buildings”!

Researching Matthew Forster Heddle

Also in August, we welcomed Hamish Johnston who is researching his great-great-grandfather, Matthew Forster Heddle, not only a famous mineralogist but also one of Scotland’s earliest mountaineers. Hamish is pictured above working through the (photocopies) of the letters of the Rev. Dr George Gordon of Birnie, aided by the excellent catalogue – the brown book on the table – co-written by Susan Bennett, our former curator. We look forward to hearing the results of Hamish’s research in his Moray Society lecture on Thursday 4th October 2018.

Roseisle “boy” revisits Roseisle Man!

We were delighted at the start of August to welcome Alastair Mackenzie to Elgin Museum. For those of you familiar with the “Roseisle Man” cist in the archaeology section of the Museum, you may remember the photograph of the cist at Roseisle prior to its removal to the Museum which showed a wee boy standing in the cist – well, Alistair is that “wee boy” and he is pictured above pointing to the photo in question. The cist burial was found by his father, Graeme, and Alistair was visiting the Museum with his own son, a dinosaur enthusiast!

July 2018

Visitor to our Recognised Fossil Fish Collection

Janet Trythall and Prof Mary Orr with the Recognised fossil fish collection

Our Vice President, Janet Trythall, recently had a very productive meeting with Professor Mary Orr from St Andrew’s University. Professor Orr is Buchanan Chair of French at St Andrews University, but among her many enthusiasms are Scotland’s fossil fish and the historiography of their discovery and contribution to the understanding of geology and evolution. She is therefore applying for funding for a European grant for a “humanities-in-science” project. One of the aims is to bring to international attention the un-researched intercultural significance of Elgin Museum’s Recognised collection of fossil fish, with the potential of funding for a post-doctoral post in our Museum. The project is very much in line with our aspirations, and we are very pleased to support her application.

June 2018

New Facebook Page!

This month we launch our brand new Facebook page “ElginMuseumMoray” – follow us to keep up to date with all of the latest news, events and activities at Elgin Museum.

March 2018 

Elgin Cathedral Armorial Panel – Can you help?

In 2016 Historic Environment Scotland (HES) opened a new permanent exhibition within the towers of Elgin Cathedral.  Prior to display, all the stones were expertly conserved by HES staff.  One of the panels has thrown up some unexpected questions that volunteers within the Elgin Museum Geology Group are trying to answer – can YOU help?

Elgin Cathedral Armorial Panel

The panel was located in a wall of the cathedral transept and displays a central coat of arms surrounded by foliate scrolls.  The coat of arms has four panels displaying three geese in the upper dexter quadrant, a rectangular cushion adjacent to possible traces of a lost star in the quadrant below, a cockerel in the lower sinister quadrant and a falcon’s head in the quadrant above.  The coat of arms is surmounted by a helmet and sits above two small heads with rings in their mouths. The panel measures 73 cm x 70.5 cm x 15.5 cm and weighs 138 kg. To date, the Lord Lyon of Scotland has been unable to identify the coat of arms; the Marjoribanks crest includes a single horizontally orientated cushion and the faint trace of the star in the same quadrant strengthens this possible connection.  This family is not known to be important locally and thus the panel is possibly linked to a 17th Century member of the Dunbar family.  Their crest includes three tasselled cushions, but orientated with the corners N-S-E-W.

The panel is carved in a dark grey, very fine-grained sandstone that appears to be exotic to Moray as it does not match any of the local lithologies or stone used elsewhere in the cathedral.  Analysis shows that the rock contains an unusual clay mineral, sepiolite, which staff at HES and the British Geological Survey have been unable to match.

Have you seen this crest, or its components, elsewhere in your travels?  Perhaps on a tombstone or carved above a doorway or mantelpiece? If so, please contact us and let us know!

“Your Musuem Needs You“

Elgin Museum is hoping to build a Poppy Cascade to commemorate the centenary of the last year of WW1. The people of Moray are invited to make a poppy, no bigger than A5, in paper, card, fabric or yarn,  to add to the cascade. To ensure inclusion in the cascade, all poppies should be handed in to the Museum by the 31st March 2018. Not sure how to make a poppy? Find ideas online for paper poppies, knitted poppies, or crochet poppies.

January 2018

We’re pleased to announce a great start to 2018 – a new Education Officer has joined the team! Jen Kelshaw joins for a 3-year period, and has previously worked at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther and as a volunteer for the Society of Antiquaries at Kelmscott Manor and at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock. Jen says “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to use my professional museum training and to work with my new community in Moray. With 2018 being the Scottish Year of Young People we’re working on some spectacular events and activities!”

December 2017

Elgin Museum CARS Building Works

During the “closed” period, thanks to funding support from the Elgin Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) the Museum will be undergoing an extensive programme of repair and restoration. The roof to the main building and rear extension will both be overhauled, the stone work will be restored, and in places, replaced, the lime pointing will be fixed and there will be works to the rainwater goods and windows. Please bear with us while these works are ongoing!

In other December news, we have appointed a new Education & Outreach officer who will begin planning the 2018 programme of events and activities for children and young people in the New Year.

November 2017

We opened November with our keynote event of the Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology, our archaeology conference: Forgotten, Hidden & Lost – unearthing Moray’s archaeology. The event was a great success with wonderful insights on the region’s archaeology and heritage, culminating in a lively group discussion. The audience heard first about the “hidden” side of archaeology in Moray from archaeological contractors working on building developments including the extensive prehistoric settlement uncovered at Grantown Road, Forres, recent excavations at Macallan distillery which uncovered post-medieval activity, and the fascinating prehistoric cemetery discovered during works at Lesmurdie on the edge of Elgin. Next was Prof Leif Iskasen revealing details of the recently rediscovered “lost” hillfort at Cluny Hill, Forres, an update from Dr Gordon Noble on the Northern Picts project, and a thought provoking consideration of the Iron Age in Moray through its artefacts from Dr Fraser Hunter. The last session of the day took us from Prehistoric Pyromaniacs through the impact of World War II on the Lossie Forest, the prominence of ironworking in Iron Age Moray ending with Underworld Encounters in the Covesea Caves. We are grateful to all who attended, to the staff of the Alexander Graham Bell Centre at Moray UHI, and to our sponsors and supporters: Heritage Lottery Fund, Event Scotland, Glen Moray and Walkers. A publication of the proceedings of the conference is currently in progress, more details will be circulated to conference attendees and Moray Society members once it is available.

Following on from the conference, with thanks to Historic Environment Scotland, we were able to offer a guided insight tour of Elgin Cathedral – many hardy souls braved the cold to hear from experts about the carved stones and medieval stained glass from the Cathedral, as well as the “Elgin Pillar” Pictish stone. This was followed in the afternoon by “Elgin’s Hidden Treasures” a guided walking tour of Elgin’s architectural and archaeological heritage from Museum stalwarts Mary Byatt and Claire Herbert.

November concluded with a walking tour from another familiar face at the Museum. Local historian Morag MacDonald’s walk “On the Urban Trail of the Trades in Elgin” brought events and local characters to life as we learnt about the important role of the Incorporated Trades in Elgin.

October 2017

During October, we had three jam-packed family friendly event, first creating Ogham inscribed pendants before we moved further afield with a morning of Ancient Egyptian themed activities – standing room only at this event! At the end of October, we welcomed a myriad of ghosts & ghouls for our Late Night Spooktacular as we celebrated the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival.

September 2017

HHA Guided Tour of Duffus Castle

In September, as part of our Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology programme of events, we travelled back in time to the medieval period as we toured Duffus Castle. Thanks to David Weinczok, “The Castle Hunter”, the castle’s history and inhabitants were brought to life, while Mike Pendery, District Architect for Historic Environment Scotland, shared some of the challenges of managing this much-loved historic site. Sadly, we were once again plagued by rain but persevered with the tour nonetheless!

Doors Open Days 2017

The Museum was also open for this year’s “Door’s Open Days”, and we held a special event, open to all ages, to try their hand at a variety of architectural paper crafts – the room was filled with Eiffel Towers, Roundhouses and Pyramids!

August 2017

HHA Guided Walk of Aberlour

At the end of August, we hosted a guided walking tour of Aberlour, with fascinating insights into the architecture and history of the town provided by local architect Andrew Wright – the weather was typical of a Scottish summer but the event was well attended and generated much discussion on the day.

Young Marvels Medieval March

The summer’s Young Marvels programme in ended in style in August, as our Young Marvels marched through the town centre in their medieval costumes to launch a raid on Elgin Castle. They were regaled with fascinating insights into medieval Elgin along the way thanks to volunteer Mary Shand, and welcomed to Elgin Castle by its knightly owner (otherwise known as volunteer Claire Herbert).

July 2017

July saw the first of our Children’s Activities and Young Marvels events, which continued into August. Thanks must go to the tireless efforts of Mary, Frances and their band of (mostly) willing volunteers, for delivering such a great programme of activities.  The Young Marvels activities were delivered on the theme of Medieval Moray, while other drop-in activity sessions were run on themes from the Vikings to the Victorians. It was great to see such a good attendance at these events, which were enjoyed by all, and to see our Young Marvels membership increase to 224! We would take the opportunity to thank The Art Society (formerly NADFAS) for their generous support of this summer’s Young Marvels project.

June 2017

In June, our focus moved to Forres as the University of Lancaster’s Dr Leif Isaksen led an excavation on Cluny Hill, supported by Elgin Museum’s Year of HHA project, to find out more about this possible prehistoric fort. The excavation allowed locals to try their hand at excavation and archaeological survey; three free guided walks of the site were delivered (and oversubscribed!); and a number of local school groups has their first experience of a real “dig”.

May 2017

Treasure Trove

May began with a finds identification day, with a representative from the Scottish Treasure Trove Unit.

Dinosaur Invasion!

We also held our first late night opening event of the year, to celebrate the Festival of Museums, where we showcased our magnificent geology & fossil collections and offered a variety of dinosaur-themed crafts, including dinosaur origami, and even a dinosaur “photo booth” which was a real hit with the crowds.

HHA Guided Tour of Kinloss Abbey

May ended with the first of our outside activities – a guided tour of Kinloss Abbey. The event was oversubscribed, and enjoyed by all – we even managed to offer a “live” video of part of the tour through Twitter/Periscope, which is now available to view on our dedicated YouTube channel.

Viking Invasion!

April ended with a Viking invasion where record numbers of visitors attended the museum to participate in various Viking-themed craft activities and meet Shetland’s Up Helly Aa Jarl Squad.

Easter Holidays Family Drop-in Activities

In April we hosted the first of our Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology family drop-in activities. Over two days, more than 200 children and adults “dropped-in” to try their hand at throwing their own prehistoric pots and creating their own Neolithic carved stone balls out of clay. Some wonderful artworks were created, lots more “Young Marvels” joined up, and a good time was had by all! More family drop-in activities and Young Marvels activities are planned for the summer – keep up to date online and via Twitter and Facebook.

Season Opening 2017

Three Jesters

It’s no joke – 1st of April saw the Museum reopening for the season, with an April Fool’s Day theme complete with jesters, jokes and jugglers (thanks to Theatre Modo‘s circus skills workshops). We had craft activities, a jester treasure hunt and more – thanks to all who attended!

March 2017

2016-17 Winter Lecture Series – “What is Europe?”

March ended with another of our series of Winter Lectures, this time from Dr Lester Borley discussing the Cultural Landscape of Europe. His talk was fully illustrated and put forward the stance that Europe is not divided west to east (which is the common perception), but is really divided north to south, and looked at the geomorphology of Europe as well as the religious and cultural interrelationships which have developed over time.

Embroidering the Past – new exhibition launch

On Friday 31st March, textile artist Ruth Black’s new exhibition exploring the Pictish stones of Moray was officially launched to a specially invited audience.  The exhibition, which runs until the 28th April 2017, employs many different textile techniques to explore the wealth of Pictish sculpture in the area. Ruth is a textile artist specialising in embroidery, felt making and weaving, with a particular interest in Celtic & Pictish art which she translates into designs for a wide variety of wearable art and items for the home.

Launching the Year of history, Heritage & Archaeology 2017

At the end of March, we officially launched our year of HLF-supported Year of History, Heritage & Archaeology programme of events with the help of Angus Robertson, MP, Richard Lochhead, MSP, and Visit Scotland’s Regional Director, Jo Robinson.

Commenting, Lucy Casot, Head of HLF in Scotland, said:

“The Heritage Lottery Fund is a key partner in the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology and it’s our ambition that people of all ages will have the chance to discover something new about the heritage they care about. We’re delighted that, thanks to funding from the National Lottery, Elgin Museum will be opening the door to fun, learning and everlasting memories for many people as we celebrate this special year.”

Jo Robinson, Visit Scotland Regional Director for Moray Speyside:

“From World Heritage Sites to ancient monuments, cultural traditions to our myths, stories and legends – Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017 will spotlight some of our greatest assets and icons as well as our hidden gems.

The historic environment forges connections between people and the places where they live and visit. I’m certain both visitors and locals will be inspired be the variety of things to see and do at the exciting and educational programme of activity at Elgin museum.”

Janet Trythall, Vice-President, The Moray Society:

“It’s great to have the backing of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the exciting programme of activities and events we have planned for the Year of History Heritage and Archaeology, especially as it means we’ve been able to engage archaeological experts to run hands-on training”

The programme is available online but more events are to come – stay up to date with all of our events on the website, Twitter and Facebook pages.

February 2017

2016-17 Winter Lecture Series – The Pattern and Distribution of Early Medieval Sculpture on the Spey

Also in February, we welcomed back an old friend of the Musuem, John Borland from Historic Environment Scotland. John talked to us about Pictish art in Moray, with particular reference to the Spey Valley.

John Borland delivers his talk on Pictish Art in the Spey Valley

A Visit from the Engineers

In February we opened our doors to some of the Engineers stationed at Kinloss Barracks, who enjoyed a guided tour of the Museum with Janet Trythall.

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On Thursday 8th September, Dr Rona Walker, Regional Collections Manager (North) for Historic Environment Scotland (HES), kindly gave us a personalised tour of Elgin Cathedral.

The visit was a follow-on to the donation by the Museum of a collection of carved stone originating from the Cathedral that had been languishing in our cellar for many years. After detailed study and recording by carved stone specialist, Dr Mary Markus, the stone fragments are now housed in the “Bishop’s House” where they are available for study and comparison with other Cathedral stones. The Museum also has a collection of Medieval glass from the Cathedral, now on loan to the Cathedral and forming part of a new and stunning display.

It was wonderful to learn more about the Cathedral, as well about the construction of the new exhibition and the huge amount of work that Dr Walker and her HES colleagues have put in to bring it together. The stones and medieval stained glass are beautifully and innovatively displayed within the Cathedral towers, and the brilliantly imaginative display of “Bishop Archie”, created in association with Napier University (Edinburgh), has to be seen to be believed! Even the “biblical” rain couldn’t dampen our spirits on the day!

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August 2016 – Young Marvels Trades Banners project

We have been running a special project for our junior membership, the Young Marvels, based on the theme of the ‘Incorporated Trades of Elgin’.  This has involved the children and their parents making modern day ‘Trades’ banners.  The project ran for six weeks over the summer holidays and resulted in a march around Elgin Town Centre on 9^th August 2016 to show off the banners that have been made.  This was followed by a ‘Trades Trail’ for families in conjunction with the C2C2C Project.

The Young Marvels march through Elgin town centre proudly displaying their trades banners.

After much discussion, five modern day ‘Trades’ were selected by the children to focus on:

• Military – some of the parents involved are from the local RAF/Army bases
• Medical – the area has a large base of medical personnel, both military and civilian
• Sport – the local football team and sport venues in the area are popular
• Engineering – links with military and civilian engineering work
• Elgin Museum – the children thought that this was a good opportunity to showcase the museum itself

Banner making in progress – Engineering

As well as creating their own banners based on these trade themes, the group learned about the conservation of an original trade’s banner in the Museum’s collection, the “Hammermen’s Banner”, from Museum Assistant Heather Townsend, and were given a short talk on the history of the Elgin Trades from Museum volunteer Sara March.

Historic Environment Scotland also very kindly sponsored a group visit to Elgin Cathedral to look at the links with the Trades that could be found within the Cathedral grounds.

Young Marvels visit to Elgin Cathedral

The culmination of the project was the march around Elgin with the banners that the children had created.  They had a hard time controlling the banners due to the strength of the wind but managed to keep their banners – and their feet – firmly grounded.  One of our Young Marvels carried the replica of the Town Drum and used this to great advantage to get the attention of shoppers around the town.

The children and their parents worked really hard over the previous six weeks and we would like to thank them for their efforts and their creativity.  We would also like to thank Museum volunteers Sara and Louise for their support with the project and Liz from the C2C2C project.  We are looking forward to our next project with the Young Marvels – it’s going to be a challenge to top this!

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School Takeover

On Wednesday 27th April, we at the Museum were delighted to welcome Mosstowie Primary School to the Museum.  School pupils took over the running of the Museum for the day, having found out, before then, all that had to be done to welcome visitors etc during the day.

The school issued a press release for the occasion:

Press Release: Elgin Museum

Take-Over the Museum Day 2016

On Wednesday the 27 th April 2016 Mosstowie Primary School had the opportunity to run Elgin Museum. Before the day the pupils worked hard to organise their morning: tour times, practising pop-up exhibitions and learning how to promote the morning through social media. The morning started quite slowly but the Viking pop-up exhibition found themselves with quite a big audience. Miltonduff Nursery provided the pupils with a younger audience. However they were captivated by the Fossil Handling Box and exhibition, who gave them the opportunity to do some fossil rubbings. The morning flew past and the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to take the reins and run the museum. From the comments in the visitor book, they did a fantastic job!

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The Dandaleith Stone

The stone arrived at the museum on 1st March 2016. It was brought by Graciela Ainsworth and two colleagues from Edinburgh where it had been conserved. Also returned were the majority of the museum’s existing carved Pictish/Early Medieval stones that had also been with Graciela for conservation. With the help of the Elgin Marble Company the Dandaleith stone was lifted into position the following day. The Elgin Marble Company provided a lifting frame and manpower free of charge and their assistance is greatly appreciated.

The new carved stone display

New shelving to display the museum’s carved Pictish/Early Medieval stones had been manufactured by Graciela Ainsworth and was assembled in the Rear Hall and the stones fixed in place. Two Burghead bull carvings together with a cast of another Burghead bull have been mounted on the wall. The display shelving has integral lighting that illuminates the stones very well. The overhead lighting has been configured to illuminate the entire reimagined display.   Brown coir matting covers the dais and new interpretation panels are in place.

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Opening Day 2016

As well as the excitement of opening with our new Dandaleith Stone, we also had the opening of a small exhibit in the Upper Gallery about Albert Bonici, who did much in the Sixties and Seventies to further the entertainment scene in the North of Scotland.

The exhibit was researched and assembled by David Dills, who hails from San Francisco.  He had heard much of the ‘Beat’ scene created around the Park Cafe and the Two Red Shoes Ballroom, which were opened by Albert Bonici and as well as the publishing of a blog (scotbeat.wordpress.com), he wanted to display some of the artefacts from the time.   To commemorate the exhibit, a local band from that time, Windy Miller came to play a short set to give us a flavour of the era.  It gave an excitement to the opening day, especially when three members of Johnny and the Copycats, another group from that time, also played a few numbers.

Windy Miller playing on opening day 2016

Johnny and the Copycats playing on opening day 2016

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