bettyhill

Funding Success for Strathnaver Museum

Nicola Henderson Blog , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Museum set in a graveyard by the sea

Bettyhill based Strathnaver Museum secures funding from Wolfson Foundation

Strathnaver Museum, a popular visitor attraction on the North Coast 500, has been awarded £75,000 from the Wolfson Foundation towards their important refurbishment project. The community run museum has secured more than £2m in capital funding to refurbish the existing museum, create exhibition and workshop space to the rear of the Clachan graveyard, install accessible interpretation across the site, and deliver community research projects.

The group’s vision is to safeguard the future of the regionally important B listed historic building and the collection it houses while securing its important place in the community. For almost 46 years Strathnaver Museum has played a vital part in the community gathering, interpreting, and sharing the story of northwest Sutherland.

The refurbished centre aims to reveal the depth of human activity in northwest Sutherland over its 8,000 years of human occupation; create an engaging environment for formal, informal and lifelong learning; and improve accessibility to the heritage.
Thought to have been a site of ecclesiastical importance for over a thousand years the building more recently played a key role in the story of the Highland Clearances.

The Farr Stone (c.850AD) sits to the western gable of the building indicating the early Christian significance of the site; while the earliest written record of a church on the site dates from 1223. Recent archaeological investigations as part of planning conditions associated with the work have uncovered a wealth of late Iron Age / early Medieval material including a bronze pin, thought to be ecclesiastical in origin.

Bronze pin covered in mud, recently discovered from the ground

The land surrounding the site mark significant historic events that were pivotal to the establishment of Scotland as the unified nation we recognise today. A series of battles, at nearby Dalharald and at Farr close to the manse, between the forces of William and Harald of Orkney were instrumental in driving out the Norse Kingdom in the area to unify Scotland.

In more recent times the building is the site of eviction notices being read out to the congregation at the height of the Strathnaver Clearances in 1819. Later it was where crofters gathered in 1883 to give evidence to the Napier Commission which led to them receiving security of tenure through the Crofters’ Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886.

Tom Mackay, Strathnaver Museum Chair said: “We are delighted to have received this support from the Wolfson Foundation towards our vital refurbishment work. Strathnaver Museum is at an exciting crossroads, where our vision for a refurbished facility offers the opportunity for the museum to secure the future of our important historic building and reimagine its place in the community by expanding the services we can offer”.

Paul Ramsbottom OBE, Chief Executive of the Wolfson Foundation: “Wolfson places a great emphasis on providing funding across the whole of the UK. Strathnaver Museum is a place of significance for Scottish history and is deeply rooted in the community of northwest Sutherland. It is also a place of considerable beauty – and we are delighted to support a refurbishment project that will bring alive both history and location, as well as providing exciting opportunities for the local area.”

The capital funding package includes support from Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund, National Lottery Heritage Fund, SSE, Museum Galleries Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Dounreay and the Caithness and North Sutherland Fund.

Strathnaver Museum secure major funding boost

Nicola Henderson Blog , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Strathnaver Museum secure major funding boost

Strathnaver Museum has taken a major step forward in realising their vision for creating a world class visitor attraction on the north Sutherland coast after securing £113,157 from Museum Galleries Scotland’s Recovery and Resilience Fund.

As well as supporting the future aspirations and recovery of the popular visitor attraction the funding will help cover operational costs during the 2020 closure as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project Manager, Fiona Mackenzie said “Strathnaver Museum secures 76% of its income from admissions and retail sales so the closure of the museum has had a significant impact on our income generation over 2020. The closure could have had a significant impact on our reserves which have been built up over many years to help fund our much-anticipated refurbishment programme. This welcome funding from MGS will ensure that we enter 2021 in a strong position and are able to carry forward our essential refurbishment programme”.

The funding granted towards recovery will enable Strathnaver Museum to undertake crucial survey work to progress plans for the refurbishment and repair of Strathnaver Museum. The development project will make much needed repairs, improve access to the site and its collection, create additional spaces for community projects and help the Trust to improve its sustainability. 

Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland said:

“We are pleased to support Strathnaver Museum through the Recovery and Resilience Fund. They have faced severe difficulties caused by the pandemic, but none the less have continued to make exciting plans for their substantial refurbishment programme to become a heritage hub for North West Sutherland.

We are delighted that this fund will support the museum to continue their development as an important hub for regional heritage and an asset for their rural community.”

Strathnaver Museum’s building dates from the mid-18th century and is an important part of the Highland Clearances story. From the pulpit which still dominates the main room, Rev David Mackenzie read out eviction notices to his congregation. Later in 1883 crofters and cottars gathered to give evidence to the Napier Commission which eventually led to them gaining security of tenure.

Strathnaver Museum have secured £1.06 million of the £1.9 million capital funding costs which will secure the building, create a new agricultural annex building and see new interpretation installed across the site. The group are awaiting the outcome of a number of funding applications and have launched a Crowdfunder to help meet an anticipated £30,000 funding gap.

The team are offering some exclusive rewards as part of their Crowdfunder including money off vouchers, behind the scenes tours and the chance to have your name displayed in the refurbished museum. You can contribute to the Crowdfunder here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/refurbishment-of-strathnaver-museum


2019-01-30 Strathnaver Museum volunteers with architect Catriona Hill at a consultation event discussing refurbishment plans in January 2019

Lost At Sea

Nicola Henderson Blog , , , , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments
Lost At Sea

Despite the current lockdown restrictions Strathnaver Museum is continuing to carry out community research projects and are appealing for members of the public to submit their stories about those ‘Lost at Sea’ along the north Sutherland coast.

As part of the Year of Coast and Waters Strathnaver Museum will be staging a digital exhibition ‘Lost at Sea’ exploring the stories of those who lost their lives at some of the wreck sites to be found along the north coast. These include the SS Ashbury (1945), fishing disasters at Kirtomy (1910), the 1890 storm which saw losses of fisherman from Port Vasco, Portskerra and Melvich, alongside the Portskerra drownings of 1848 and 1918 and ‘The Thorvaldsen’ (1858).

The most recent disaster the team are researching is that of the SS Ashbury. It represented the worst loss of a merchant ship during World War II not due to enemy action. The steamer foundered and sank at the mouth of Talmine Bay with the loss of the 42 strong crew on 8th January 1945.

The SS Ashbury had been traveling as part of a convoy from Lochewe, but falling behind, it became unmanageable in heavy seas. Twenty-six bodies were recovered with fourteen of the crewmen buried in war graves in Thurso Cemetery.

In 1910 the village of Kirtomy was devastated when a fishing boat was swamped within sight of the harbour. Three boats had been out taking in their creels when they were caught in a sudden storm. Two boats were able to make the safety of the harbour but the third, the “Rival”, sailing against the storm was swamped and sank. All five crewmen were lost that day leaving behind four widows and five children.

One of the worst local fishing disasters occurred twenty years previously when a storm swept into Scotland catching many fishing boats out at sea. Three boats from this area, the ‘Excelsior’, ‘Lively’ and the ‘Diadem’ were lost along with the lives of 20 of their crew.

Nearly all of the seven crewmen on the local boat “Excelsior” came from the small hamlet of Port Vasco. The other two boats the “Lively” and the “Diadem” were crewed by fishermen from Portskerra and Melvich. A memorial on the road to Portskerra harbour commemorates the local fishermen who tragically lost their lives at sea in the storms of 1848, 1890 and 1918.

The museum holds 3 objects relating to one of the earliest tragic shipwreck stories to be explored as part of the research project.

The Thorvaldsen with a crew of 12 and 2 passengers left Cardiff for Trondheim in Norway with a cargo of coal on 26th February 1858. The 300 ton Norwegian barque was captained by Hans Berg accompanied by his English wife Eleanor, who was one of the passengers.

From leaving port the ship was beset by heavy gales which led to them mistakenly thinking they were off the coast of Shetland when in fact they were heading towards Strathy Point. On the evening of 9th March Captain Berg, seeing land, ordered the anchor to be let go. Unfortunately, this action resulted in the ship swinging round broadside, her mast going over, tearing out the ships side and breaking the hull in three pieces.

The scene was witnessed by a crowd on shore but with the nearest boat, a coble, being 4 miles distant a rescue attempt was delayed. Four local men bravely rowed the coble to the stricken ship but it took three attempts before they managed to reach and bring ashore the 4 exhausted survivors. Captain and Mrs Berg are buried in Strathy graveyard.

The Board of Trade awarded bronze medals to the rescue party, one of the recipients was Angus Macdonald. His grandson, the late Angus Macdonald of Bettyhill, donated the medal to Strathnaver Museum.

The figurehead of ‘The Thorvaldsen’, sculpted by Hans Michelsen (1789-1859), a student of Bertel Thorvaldsen, an internationally famous Danish sculptor based in Rome, is displayed in Strathnaver Museum.

The final item relating to ‘The Thorvaldsen’ is timbers from the hull of the ship which forms the roof over the croft house display. The cruck frame was retrieved from a croft house in Strathy when it was renovated in 1985. Several of the neighbouring croft houses had adapted parts of the hull to use as roof timbers. This demonstrates just how important the reuse of materials would have been for people on the coast, particularly for scare materials such as wood.

Researcher and Strathnaver Museum Director, Robert Mackay said: “There are many fascinating stories attached to these wreck sites and we are keen to explore these further. We would like to hear from descendants who may have personal family reminiscences about the men and their loss so we can uncover the stories behind the names”.

If you have a family story about these events Strathnaver Museum would like to hear from you. Please contact the team at genealogy@strathnavermuseum.org.uk to submit your stories or to get more information.