Freya Samuel, Digital Learning & Interpretation Specialist, highlights a selection of objects showcased on the new Museum of the Highlands digital learning hub.
Over the last year, I have worked with fifteen incredible collections across the Highlands on the new digital learning hub ‘Museum of the Highlands’. The platform brings together around 350 objects from these collections into an immersive digital experience supported by a suite of exciting learning activities for schools.
A big part of this project has been drawing out the stories of people and places found within objects. The objects almost act as a vessel through which captivating stories of Highland history can be told. Before the big launch, I wanted to share a taster of some of the amazing objects that you will find.
Making a spectacle out of spectacles
Although these unassuming tortoiseshell glasses may not look special, they have quite the story to tell. They are said to have belonged to Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, (1667 – 1747). Chief of Clan Fraser, he was a Jacobite nicknamed the ‘Old Fox’ for his double dealings, violent feuds, and changes of allegiance.
Lovat was convicted of treason for his part in the 1745 Jacobite Rising and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered. His punishment was commuted to beheading. On 9 April 1747, he was the last person publicly executed on Tower Hill, London.
Such a crowd gathered for his execution that a stand holding spectators collapsed and killed nine people. Lovat was so amused by the incident that legend has it that this is where the origin of the phrase ‘laughing your head off’ comes from – quite the spectacle!
Korean connections in Balintore
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This beautiful porcelain vase reveals the unexpected links between the Seaboard village of Balintore, and South Korea.
In 1872, thirty-year-old Christian missionary, John Ross, was sent to northeast China. He founded the Dongguan Church in Shenyang and became acquainted with traders from Korea. Ross is a very important figure to modern-day Christians in South Korea, and the John Ross Centre, a key part of the history of the Seaboard villages, was funded by a South Korean Christian group.
This rare chinaware vase commemorates the founding of the Chinese Empire in 1916 by the Yuan Dynasty. It was donated by Elder Ahn Kee-Seok (a member of the group of South Koreans dedicated to preserving the history of John Ross) as a symbol of Korean culture and tradition.
A Celtic cushion with a tale to tell
The fascinating story behind this hand-embroidered Celtic-style cushion cover lies with its maker, Kay Matheson. Matheson (1928 – 2013) was a well-known Scottish nationalist and Gaelic language lobbyist, born on the shores of Loch Ewe to a crofting family. She was famed for her involvement in the recovery/liberation (sometimes called theft) of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1950 when she was age 22.
A 3 billion-year-old object
This may look like any ordinary rock at first glance. However, a well-trained eye could spot that this is actually a sample of one of the oldest rocks in the world – Lewisian Gneiss.
Formed three billion years ago, Lewisian Gneiss forms the basement rock for the coastal strip on which Gairloch is situated, as well as the Outer Hebrides, from which it takes its name. Over millennia, this area experienced numerous geological upheavals and now helps us to understand periods of intense volcanic activity when Europe began to split from North America.
These are only a few of the incredible stories the Museum of the Highlands will tell. From archaeology and ancient stones, to paintings, crofting tools, and complex colonial histories, there is so much to learn about the intricate, diverse, and fascinating heritage of the Highlands.
The Museum of the Highlands has been generously supported by the Art Fund and Museums Galleries Scotland. It is sponsored by Ilum Studio to help it grow and thrive post launch. We are grateful to all its supporters so far.
On 20th April 2023, as the sun beamed across the Highlands, museum and heritage sector workers, volunteers and representatives made their way to Inverness, gathering for Sealladh – Highland Heritage Conference.
Initiated and organised by Museums Heritage Highland, the event is a chance for our Heritage sector to assemble. With long distances to travel and work demands, folk across the Highlands’ museums and heritage sector don’t often find time to get together – an in-person gathering felt long overdue.
The two-day event is the first conference focused solely on heritage to take place in the Highland capital. The line-up of local heritage professionals presenting alongside representatives from national funding and support agencies was impressive. The topics on the agenda were varied and pertinent.
A warm reception from the MHH team, accompanied by refreshments, was a chance for our heritage colleagues to meet and catch up. After a welcome from MHH Chair Dan Cottam, small groups formed for the first session, sharing highlights and difficulties of the last few years, what worked, what changes they have implemented in their museums and where there were problems or failures. This session concluded with a discussion on skills, the diversity of skills in the sector, the professional needs of our heritage colleagues and how we bring those two together.
A Pecha Kucha followed. Delegates presented a project and discussed how they have responded to the demands of the last few years. We enjoyed fascinating presentations by Gaelic museum and arts professional, Anna NicGuaire on the use of Gaelic in museums, the Coast team shared insight into a wonderful west coast community engagement, storytelling and mapping project, Racheal Thomas discussed Gairloch Museum’s ‘Warm Winter Wednesdays’ addressing community issues such as loneliness, isolation and inclusivity, and West Highland Museum told of their experiences with virtual reality as they develop an immersive experience partnered with St. Andrews University.
The first day concluded with delegates enjoying supper at Velocity and viewing the Gaelic documentary Dùthchas – Home, a touching exploration of the effects of population movement on the Gaelic language and culture of the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides.
The next day’s packed schedule kicked off with the Our People panel discussion focusing on the museum workforce and how this is changing. Tamsin Russell (Museums Association), Siobhan Beaton (Ullapool Museum), Ian Leith (Wick Heritage) and David Bell (National Mining Museum) talked about attracting, retaining and get the best out of our volunteers and when and how to engage additional staff.
Following, two concurrent group sessions took a deep dive into themes touched on in the panel discussion. David Bell discussed succession planning and, through examples of his own experience, as a museum volunteer and then employee, what we can do when volunteers with specific knowledge or skills stop volunteering and we can’t fill that gap. Meanwhile, Tasmin Russell led a workshop exploring well-being in museums sharing sage advice on how we best support our staff and volunteers day to day, in specific situations and through difficult times.
More tea and on with the next panel discussion.
Resourcing Our Heritage – a subject critical to all heritage organisations and museums dealing with further cuts in funding and increasing costs. How can we as a sector move from surviving to thriving in these difficult times? Chaired by MHH’s Andrew Mckenzie, Gillian Simmons shared Museums Galleries Scotland’s new seven-year strategy, Megan Braithwaite provided insight into applying to Heritage Lottery Fund, and Katie Mullen shared invaluable tips on securing support from individuals and sponsors. From the floor came tough questions and comments on core funding, funding feedback, funds now available and how to deal with failure in funded projects.
The following session, Capital Projects Discussion Group, talked about big projects, how to fund them, manage them, and how to not get overwhelmed. Delegates shared their experiences, offered guidance and found reassurance within the group.
Meanwhile, Andrew McKenzie and Yvonne Crook discussed Highland Tourism’s ambitious project to promote the Highlands as a premium environmental tourism brand and work they are doing involving the community and the heritage sector.
More Highland hospitality with lunch and a chance to chat brought us to the final leg of the conference. The afternoon focus was on collections – how we use them, care for them and how we tell the stories they hold.
The panel, Katey Boal (NTS), Freya Samuel (The Highlanders Museum), Rachael Thomas (freelance museum curator and conservator), Abeer Eladany (University of Aberdeen Museums) and Peter Knowles (Smartify) discussed a wide range of collection-related subjects from community engagement, representation, physical and intellectual accessibility, anti-racist practice and thinking about collections in a local and international context.
Delegates had the choice of joining three different groups for the last sessions of the day.
Our Collection Care workshop shared our positives and negatives about collections care, storage, display and use with invaluable advice from conservator Racheal Thomas. Digitising Collections workshop with Peter Knowles from Smartify provided insight into digital as an opportunity to bring in different voices, connect to people who can’t visit a museum, and generate income. At the Decolonisation of Collections workshop, Freya Samuel and Abeer Eladany guided our delegates in identifying and recognising the colonial structures and approaches in heritage and advised them on taking action.
The conference closed with a round-up from Dan thanking all the speakers, facilitators and everyone who came along.
As an informative and inspirational two days ended, friends and colleagues dispersed with helpful insights and practical advice, accompanied by a real sense of mutual support across the heritage community.
Feedback from delegates has been overwhelmingly positive. We all enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere and the chance to meet people in the MHH network and, of course, will benefit from learning from sector colleges. We also hope that similar events will take place in the future.
The event was organised by Museums and Heritage Highland, a charity formed in 2019 to promote collaborative working and provide a supportive voice for the Highland heritage sector. It is supported through the Museums Galleries Scotland Forums Fund project and is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. The event was also supported by Smartify, the world’s most downloaded museum app, and Highland Tourism CIC, who are working with the sector to create a world-leading sustainable destination and premium environmental tourism brand.
You can watch the pecha kucha talks and panel discussions on our YouTube channel here.
With a launch date set for the end of May, The Museum of the Highlands digital learning hub is almost ready for you to explore. MHH Innovation and Network Manager, Nicola Henderson, offers a little background on how we got to this point and the aims of the project.
When the country went into lockdown in 2020, museums across the Highlands (like museums all over the world) looked for new ways to engage with their audiences. Many already had a digital presence, but it was very much secondary to the physical. Now digital was everything. This was particularly true for museum education content. How do you engage with young people and schools when your core asset – your museum – is closed? As a sector, we experimented with downloadable pdfs, online activities and virtual visits, to name a few initiatives. These were very successful, not just with our local audiences but with schools and families across the world. Suddenly, we weren’t just offering resources and activities for our local communities but for anyone, anywhere, who was interested. The potential was huge.
However, many of our small – medium-sized museums already work over capacity. As we began to open up our buildings and demand for in-person interactions rose again, maintaining and capitalising on the opportunity offered by this global reach was challenging.
Museums across the Highlands get together through monthly online ‘Heritage Cafes’ – informal gatherings on Zoom to share challenges, and successes, ask questions and meet with colleagues. The focus of one session was education and our museums. How could we meet this challenge, grabbing the opportunities while maintaining and nurturing local relationships?
Through discussion, we decided that a collaborative approach – a central hub that could host content and point to museums and their unique offers – could be the answer. Sharing the work, sharing the learning, sharing the reach and potential. This idea grew arms and legs. And, thanks to funding from Art Fund and Museums Galleries Scotland, has become the Museum of the Highlands digital learning hub.
Over the last year, we have worked with museums across the Highlands to create a dynamic digital learning hub enabling children, young people and teachers to discover and engage with museum collections in new and exciting ways. Fifteen museums from across the region have collaborated and worked closely with our Digital Learning and Interpretation Specialists by bringing objects from their collections together to create a digital portal into the rich history and culture of the Highlands.
The learning hub will allow users to access museum collections and learning resources related to objects and topics for use at home or in the classroom, with the functionality to contact museums directly to set up virtual or in-person learning visits.
The site is sponsored by Ilum Studio to help with ongoing maintenance costs and to develop new activities in the future. This ongoing support is essential to the project, ensuring that it doesn’t fall to our already overstretched museums to maintain – it will also allow the website to grow and adapt as feedback is received and we are very grateful to the team at Ilum Studio for supporting us through year 1.
The team of Rosie Goodwin and Freya Samuel as Digital Learning and Interpretation Specialists, have led the curation of the objects and designing the associated learning games and resources in partnership with teachers and young people. In the lead up to the launch of the website, Freya and Rosie will introduce you to the process and types of activities you will find on the site.
I am excited to share the project with you – it is no small task working with the collections of fifteen museums and ensuring content and activities meet the needs of teachers and parents. I believe we have created an engaging, fun and, most importantly, user-friendly site that will support schools, families and museums to engage meaningfully with museum collections in the classroom.
Many, but not all, Highland Museums close or reduce their hours during the winter season, giving them time to care for their collections, research new exhibitions and take time to plan for the future. As Easter approaches many of our museums are getting ready to welcome visitors once again.
Whether they close completely, reduce their hours or keep on going as normal, Highland museums always see the Easter holidays as a chance for a re-awakening. A chance to encourage you to rediscover their collections, visit a new exhibition, attend some exciting events or just pop in for a chat. Whether you are a local or a visitor to the area, you can be guaranteed a warm and friendly welcome. We have a handy map on this website that can help you see where our museums are located as you plan your visit and their listings have contact details so that you can reach out directly to see what is happening and when they are open. Visit the map here.
Two of our museums have some very exciting events coming up. Clyne Heritage Society are celebrating 25 years in existence and have an extensive and fascinating series of events to mark the occasion. You can view a full list of what’s happening here.
And just a little further north in Castletown, Castlehill Heritage Centre is launching a new exhibition to also celebrate an anniversary. Mucking in for 100 years! will feature themed displays of stories, photographs, tools and implements from CHC’s local Olrig parish farming heritage. The exhibition is being run in conjunction with the Caithness District Young Farmers Association which is celebrating its centenary this year.
Museum and heritage representatives will gather in Inverness for our first Highland Heritage Conference. Sealladh will take place at Inverness Creative Academy on the 20th – 21st April, 2023.
The conference will focus on issues impacting our heritage sector. Alongside presentations by delegates from across the Highlands, speakers from national organisations Museums and Galleries Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund and Museums Association will share invaluable insights into resourcing our heritage and empowering our workforce.
Anyone who works or volunteers in the heritage sector is welcome to attend.
The event is organised by Museums and Heritage Highland, a charity formed in 2019 to promote collaborative working and provide a supportive voice for the Highland heritage sector. It is supported through the Museums Galleries Scotland Forums Fund project and is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, thanks to National Lottery players. The event is further supported by Smartify, the world’s most downloaded museum app, and Highland Tourism CIC, who are working with the sector to create a world-leading sustainable destination and premium environmental tourism brand.
Nicola Henderson, Museums and Heritage Highlands Digital Innovation and Network Manager, said:
“The conference schedule is packed with sessions focusing on innovation and digital skills, managing capital projects, caring for collections and fundraising. There are also discussions around tourism in the Highlands underpinned by rich heritage as well as well-being in museums.
“The first session will be a fun ice breaker, where we will learn more about the diversity of skills in the sector, the professional needs of our heritage colleagues and how we bring those two together. We are planning a ‘Pecha Kucha’ inviting delegates to present a project and discuss how they have responded to the demands of the last few years. We will also discuss complex issues such as the decolonisation of museums and how we ensure our collections are accessible and representative of all society today.”
“The event is an opportunity to discuss and develop plans for the future of our heritage sector. That’s where the event name came from, Sealladh, meaning perspective or view in Gaelic.”
Helen Avenell, Museums and Heritage Highlands Projects and Partnerships Manager, added:
“Our network of museums, galleries and heritage organisations reaches from Strathnaver on the North coast to Gairloch, Granton and Glencoe. Over the past few years, we have held regular online meet-ups, this is the first conference we have organised. We are excited to see our colleagues from across the Highlands in person and looking forward to meeting new members. I encourage anyone working or volunteering in museums or heritage organisations to come along.
“Although we are a Highland-based organisation, many topics we will focus on are relevant to every heritage organisation. We hope to attract heritage delegates from beyond the Highland region to Inverness for this event.”
There will be a screening of Dùthchas – Home, a touching and emotive exploration of what it meant, and still means, to people, especially women, to have to leave the island of their birth to get an education, work, and live. In this, the third documentary feature film ever to be made in Gaelic, Co-directors Kirsty MacDonald (Comas Creative) and Andy Mackinnon (UistFilm) explore the effect this movement had on the Gaelic language and culture of the Isle of Berneray in the Outer Hebrides.
Sealladh – Highland Heritage Conference, takes place 20th and 21st April, 2023 in Inverness. Programme info and tickets are available via Eventbrite
More information on our sponsors:
Highland Tourism CIC
Together we will create a world-leading premium environmental tourism brand. With communities, our ambassadors and partners, we will build on the Highlands’ natural, historic and cultural assets and showcase them to the world. We will work in partnership with stakeholders across all sectors to create a dynamic environment in which tourism businesses and their communities are supported and encouraged to become conscious hosts, ready to deliver the exceptional, immersive and authentic experiences that the growing conscious tourism market is now seeking. Ultimately, we will leverage this vision of a sustainable, wellbeing destination to position The Highlands as one of the world’s most inspiring and welcoming places to live, work, visit, study and invest. highlandtourism.org
Smartify
Smartify connects people to art. Trusted by cultural organisations around the world; we entertain, enliven and enrich audiences. Because when we’re inspired, we’re unstoppable.
Smartify’s innovative technology and engaging storytelling makes cultural heritage accessible for a global audience. Our expert creative team delivers the best mobile experiences with highly engaging stories through audio, video and podcasts. Smartify productions are contemporary, thoughtful and entertaining.
More than 2 million artworks from the world’s greatest museums have been scanned on the platform, accessed by more than 3 million registered users through state-of-the-art object recognition, digital wayfinding and augmented reality. That, combined with speed, reliability and depth, makes Smartify the world’s most successful museum application. smartify.org
There have been a few changes on the MHH board recently. At the end of last year we sadly said goodbye to our secretary Graham Watson. Graham was a great asset to the organisation and helped us find our feet in the early days. His advice and cander was very much appreciated and we wish him well in his next endeavours. We have had a few free places on the board for a while and so undertook a campaign to encourage new people to join the network – in particular with skills in marketing/audience development, tourism and HR. We received a positive response to this call out and have added 4 new members in recent weeks. Welcome to Ben Thomas, Joe Derry Setch, Sophie Foot and Jason Martin. We are delighted to add such a variety of skills and experience to the board and look forward to working with them on our shared mission of helping Highland heritage to thrive.
Ben Thomas Ben is Research Manager at Historic Environment Scotland, where he undertakes and supports research to understand the values and benefits of Scotland’s heritage. He is particularly interested in community heritage and intangible cultural heritage, and is Principal Investigator on the Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded Outreach to Ownership community research pilot with Historic England. Ben has previously worked at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and the University of Dundee. In his spare time, Ben is a board member of Gairloch Museum, and the editor of the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness. He grew up in Gairloch, and lives and works in Inverness.
Joe Derry Setch Joe is a Marketing and Communications Officer at Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS), the national development body for museums. His work at MGS involves creating digital content, planning campaigns, taking photos, and offering marketing advice. He is interested in exploring how museums can improve the accessibility and inclusivity of their digital and physical spaces, particularly with regard to LGBTQ+ history and culture. As a member of the MHH board, he hopes to support museums which are exploring their approaches to marketing, accessibility, and inclusivity. Previous jobs include front-of-house work at National Museums Scotland and a museum assistant role at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. He has a background in Scottish early modern history, and spends his free time drawing, gaming, and playing badminton.
Joe Derry SetchBen Thomas
Sophie Foot Sophie is originally from the Scottish Highlands, north of Inverness and now lives in The Hague, The Netherlands. Her academic background is in Ancient History and Egyptology, but she is fascinated by most areas of global history, ancient or modern and connections that are visible across cultures and time periods. I moved to Edinburgh for my Bachelors Degree in Ancient History, and then to The Netherlands for my Masters in Egyptology. Sophie brings experience in the creative and technology industries. She is interested in combining technology with history and heritage in innovative ways, to encourage audiences to be more engaged in heritage, especially using immersive technology to allow the audience to feel like they are participating in historical events. Sophie is our new secretary.
Jason Martin Jason recently returned to his hometown of Inverness having lived in Edinburgh for several years. He originally studied MA in historical studies at the University of Glasgow. He started his career in heritage as a volunteer at Culloden battlefield before joining the team as a learning assistant for a season, primarily guiding and working with school groups. Jason went on to work for Mercat Tours, 5 star award winning walking tour company in Edinburgh, before moving on to tour operator with Absolute Escapes, in their operations department planning holidays around the UK. His current position is Destination Development Manager at the Cairngorms Business Partnership, the Chamber of Commerce and they operate VisitCairngorms. Jason is involved in various projects around the National Park, leading the development of CBP climate action plan, product development, business engagement and brings experience in marketing and working with travel trade.
The long-buried stories of extraordinary Highland women have found themselves amplified to a new audience thanks to a podcast series which goes live this week.
Commissioned by Museums and Heritage Highlands and in collaboration with Highlands and Islands creative business support organisation XpoNorth Digital, the podcast series is hosted by Pauline Moore, formerly from the BBC who is now an award-winning freelance podcast host and producer. Focussing on uncovering the previously obscured stories of remarkable Highland women, each podcast uses archived material to highlight fascinating individual narratives.
The first in the series, for example, recounts the intriguing rags-to-riches story of Mary Marjory MacDonald, who became a prolific jewel thief after having been orphaned as a teenager. Subsequent episodes, meanwhile, spotlight artist Margaret Swanson, who was ahead of her time when she became a champion of women’s creativity in the 1800s, and Orkney-born doctor and photographer Beatrice Garvie, who blazed the trail for women in medicine when she became one of the UK’s first female GPs in the 1930s.
Nicola Henderson, Heritage specialist at XpoNorth Digital, said: “Over a year ago now, Nick Lindsay from Clyne Heritage Society approached Museums and Heritage Highland with the story of Caroline Ross, a powerful story of a brave young woman. A story that had been lost to time that he believed the world needed to hear. This idea then came to XpoNorth and with support from the team went on a journey to discover the many amazing stories of remarkable women from across the Highlands. I am delighted that we can finally tell these stories to the world and hope that these pilot episodes lead to people wanting to know more not just about these women, but about the many more amazing women from Highland history whose stories have been hidden for far too long.”
Having been recorded live at a series of events earlier in the year, the podcast series has been facilitated by audio production company and network, The Big Light, whose mission is to connect an international community of listeners with Scottish history and culture.
Janice Forsyth, co-founder of The Big Light Network, added: “We are delighted to host Unforgotten Highland Women on The Big Light Network. Pauline Moore is a world-class producer and presenter and we’re thrilled that she’s bringing these extraordinary Highland women to life in this 6-part boxset. Fiona White and I co-founded the network to tell powerful and important stories and share them with audiences around the world. Unforgotten Highland Women proudly takes its place alongside more than 20 other titles.”
This event and podcast series has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund, and is one of the final projects being launched in celebration of this theme. The fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
Marie Christie, Head of Development at VisitScotland added “We are delighted to be supporting the Unforgotten Women podcast through the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. Events play an important role in our communities as they sustain livelihoods and help to celebrate and promote our unique places, spaces and stories. Themed Years are all about collaboration and Museums Galleries Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund and VisitScotland are pleased to work in partnership to create this fund to showcase community stories. By supporting events taking place within our communities, including the Unforgotten Women podcast series, new opportunities will be provided for locals and visitors to come together and find out more about the diverse stories, past and present, that our communities have to share.”
A Podcast series run by XpoNorth with support from Museums and Heritage Highland will share stories of remarkable women from the Highlands.
A jewel thief, a witch, a doctor and an inspirational teacher are just some of the stories of incredible Highland women which will be revealed from museum archives and broadcast to audiences around the world in a new ten-part podcast series set to air later this year.
Run by XpoNorth, the support mechanism for creative industry businesses across the Highlands and Islands, in partnership with Museums and Heritage Highland and supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund, the series will be presented by freelance BBC producer, reporter and podcaster, Pauline Moore.
Pauline Moore, freelence BBC producer, reporter and podcaster
As part of her research for the series, Pauline and the team from XpoNorth will host events across the Highlands to share stories with communities, interview the ‘keepers’ of the tales, and hold information gathering sessions to help complete the picture. The importance and relevance of the tales uncovered will be discussed, and the first event will take place on Tuesday June 21 at the Highland Museums of Childhood. At this event the story of the notorious Mary Marjory MacDonald will be told. The only child of a local Gaelic speaking fishing family, Mary was orphaned in her teens and took to London society, travelling across Europe to become a very successful jewel thief. Gaining the trust of the ladies she worked with, Mary stole from them and was caught and tried a number of times. The event will hear Pauline in discussion with Siobhan Beatson, curator at Ullapool Museum, and Morven Macdonald, curator at Highland Museum of Childhood, to uncover Mary’s story.
Other events will take place on June 23 at Brora Heritage Centre where an audience will learn about Megan Boyd, one of the best salmon fly fish tyers to have lived, and about Caroline Ross, a single schoolteacher who concealed her pregnancy and delivered her illegitimate child alone in her lodgings in a rural community in the Scottish Highlands in 1930. Caroline was arrested and charged with child murder and the case was widely reported at the time.
An event in Castletown on June 24 will discuss Margaret Swanson who influenced the education of generations of girls with her interest in the physical and mental development of children. The story of Orkney doctor and photographer, Beatrice Garvie (1872 – 1956), will be told on June 28 at an event which will be held on Zoom from the Orkney Archive Centre, and the story of ‘The Witch of Auldearn’, Isobel Gowdie, will be explored on June 30 at Nairn Museum.
Julia Jeffrey drawing of Isobel Gowdie
Nicola Henderson, heritage specialist from XpoNorth said, “It is a real joy to unearth these tales of remarkable Highland women and the podcast series will be a brilliant mechanism in which to do so. We are very much looking forward to bringing the stories alive and it will be fascinating to discover any forgotten memories about the six women when we visit the communities to re-tell their stories.”
This event and podcast series has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
Marie Christie, Head of Development at VisitScotland, said, “We are delighted to be supporting Unforgotten Highland Women through the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. Events play an important role in our communities as they sustain livelihoods and help to celebrate and promote our unique places, spaces and stories. Themed Years are all about collaboration and Museums Galleries Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund and VisitScotland are pleased to work in partnership to create this fund to showcase community stories. By supporting events taking place within our communities, including Unforgotten Highland Women, new opportunities with be provided for locals and visitors to come together and find out more about the diverse stories, past and present, that our communities have to share.”
About XpoNorth
XpoNorth is Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s (HIE) specialist year-round support mechanism for creative industry businesses based across the Highlands and Islands. The project delivers a range of responsive programmes to encourage the continued growth and innovation of the creative economy throughout one of the country’s most diverse regions. XpoNorth also produce a well-established annual conference connecting our business base with some of the most influential networks in the global marketplace.
XpoNorth is funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and is delivered by IronWorks Venue.
About Museums and Heritage Highland
Museums and Heritage Highland (MHH) is a membership organisation for museums, galleries and heritage organisations from across the Highlands. They exist to strengthen the heritage sector in the Highlands for the benefit of everyone living in and visiting the Highlands. Projects are drawn from their membership with the key aim of helping museums and other heritage organisations raise standards, engage with more people, collaborate with each other and be sustainable and resilient.
Further information about each event
Unforgotten Highland Women – Mary Marjory MacDonald, Ullapool
21st June, 10.30am Highland Museum of Childhood, Strathpeffer
How is a notorious story which would have been thought of as shameful and shunned at the time remembered now? Mary Marjory was the only child of a local Gaelic speaking fishing family who had a successful business in town. She was orphaned in her teens and took to London society, travelled across Europe and became a very successful jewel thief – gaining the trust of the Ladies she worked with in high society circles. She was caught and tried a number of times, including on the platform at Strathpeffer Old Railway Station where this event will be held.
Pauline will be in conversation with Siobhan Beatson, curator at Ullapool Museum and Morven Macdonald, curator Highland Museum of Childhood to uncover Mary’s story. There will be opportunities to explore the platform where she was caught, look at the museum display in her memory, enjoy some tea and cake and to be interviewed for the podcast, giving your thoughts on the story.
Unforgotten Highland Women – Megan Boyd and Caroline Ross, Brora
23rd June, 1pm Brora Heritage Centre, Brora
Megan Boyd – fly fisher (born 1915)
Though she never fished herself she is regarded as the finest tier of fishing flies in the world. She took to the craft of creating fish flies under the supervision of a Sutherland gamekeeper. She won her first award in 1938 at the Empire Exhibition in Glasgow and received the British Empire Medal in 1971. Discussions are taking place about commissioning an art installation in her memory and erecting it at one of the gateways to the village of Brora. The move came after a Norwegian angler and Megan Boyd devotee made a pilgrimage to Brora to pay homage to her, but was shocked to find nothing about her there.
Caroline Ross (1904-1985)
Caroline Ross was a 26-year-old, single schoolteacher who concealed her pregnancy and delivered her ‘illegitimate’ child alone in her room in her lodgings in a rural community in the Highlands of Scotland in 1930. The child was discovered dead the same day.
She was put in custody and charged with Child Murder and appeared in court three months later. The case was widely reported in the papers at the time. Writer and historian Nick Lindsay writes that – ninety years on and the sense of the stress and tension of the terrifying court case in which she spoke not a single word of evidence, is tangible. The medical evidence appeared damning; the cause of the infant’s death was throttling, but the jury delivered a verdict of ‘Not Proven’. An absolute cliff-hanger to the end! It’s an extremely sad story with a tragic outcome but it illustrates a lot about attitudes and lack of support for young woman who found themselves pregnant at the time. The court case was a media sensation at the time. How can stories like this be remembered and reflect on changing attitudes?
Pauline will interview Nick Lindsay, author and chair of Clyne Heritage Society. Pauline and Nick will be joined by Mary Warrier for Megan’s story and by Wattie and Angela Macbeath for Caroline’s story. There will be an opportunity to look at objects related to the stories and enjoy a cup of tea.
Unforgotten Highland Women – Margaret Swanson
24th June, 1pm Castlehill Heritage Centre, Castletown
Margaret grew up in Castletown, Caithness, the daughter of the village cobbler. Despite her humble beginnings she went on to influence the education of generations of girls. After early schooling at the local school, Margaret was sent to board with an elderly lady to allow her to attend Wick Academy for further education. She became a pupil teacher in the town and embarked on teacher training in Aberdeen. She stayed in Scotland when her family emigrated to Nova Scotia. It was her interest in the physical and mental development of children which allowed her to change the “Code “ or requirements for sewing on the School Curriculum. The emphasis at the time was on the fineness of stitching on a delicate white material. This Margaret declared to be as meaningless as using black chalk on a blackboard. She became an instructor in the Glasgow school of Art, Charles Rennie MacIntosh was among her associates. She developed the “ Margaret Swanson System of Educational Needlework” revolutionising its teaching in Britain and abroad. Children were encouraged to choose the bright colours of thread they preferred , learning to stitch on unbleached calico with wool and cotton. Older girls were shown how to make their own embroidered garments, allowing imagination and creativity . Margaret continued to travel, research ,lecture and learn until ill-health put an end to her devotion to her craft.
Pauline will interview Muriel Murray who first learned of Margaret’s story. There will be an exhibition of objects related to Margaret on display for everyone to peruse over the tea and cake break. We will also be joined by the local school and local crafts groups as the audience is invited to make their own ‘sampler’ in Margaret’s memory
Unforgotten Highland Women – Beatrice Garvie
28th June, 11am – Zoom from Orkney Archive Centre
The Orkney Doctor and Photographer – Beatrice Garvie (1872-1956), was one of the earliest women to qualify as a doctor, and worked in Glasgow, India, and London. She understood the links between poverty and ill health, and was prepared to champion equal entitlement to healthcare, even when it meant putting herself on the line. Beatrice spent 15 years on North Ronaldsay as the GP in the 1930s, and 40s. She was a keen photographer and took lots of pictures of everyday life. Local people were well used to Beatrice and her camera, and would ask her to capture the important moments of family life for them. This work is now an important and unusually privileged record of island history.
Pauline Moore, BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will be joined by Fiona Sanderson, artist and researcher, as they talk with special guests linked to Beatrice directly. This event will be held on Zoom and recorded for use in an upcoming podcast series. Link details to follow
Unforgotten Highland Women – Isobel Gowdie
30th June, 1pm, Nairn Museum, Nairn
The Witch of Auldearn – Isobel Gowdie (17th century) The story of Isobel Gowdie is embedded in the world of academia as part of the Scottish Witch Trial accounts. Her story has also featured in a music composition by James McMillan. And most recently an American novelist (Nancy Hayes Kilgore )has recently published a novel – Bitter Magic – based on Isobel’s life. What makes Isobel’s story different is that she confessed her witchcraft without the usual torture imposed. She was regarded as a great story teller and her story has influenced later studies of witchcraft.
Pauline will be in conversation with Melissa Davies, curator of Nairn Museum, Andrew Grant Mackenzie, Highland Historian and Helen Wright who designed the mural to Isobel that can be found in Auldearn. There will also be an opportunity to view some objects related to withcraft from the local area.
The Witch of Auldearn – Isobel Gowdie (17th century). The story of Isobel Gowdie is embedded in the world of academia as part of the Scottish Witch Trial accounts. Her story has also featured in a music composition by James McMillan and most recently an American novelist (Nancy Hayes Kilgore )has recently published a novel – Bitter Magic – based on Isobel’s life. What makes Isobel’s story different is that she confessed her witchcraft without the usual torture imposed. She was regarded as a great story teller and her story has influenced later studies of witchcraft.
Pauline Moore, BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will be in conversation with Melissa Davies, curator of Nairn Museum, Andrew Grant Mackenzie, Highland Historian and Helen Wright who designed the mural to Isobel that can be found in Auldearn. There will also be an opportunity to view some objects related to witchcraft from the local area.
This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
How is a notorious story which would have been thought of as shameful and shunned at the time remembered now? Mary Marjory was the only child of a local Gaelic speaking fishing family who had a successful business in town. She was orphaned in her teens and took to London society, travelled across Europe and became a very successful jewel thief – gaining the trust of the Ladies she worked with in high society circles. She was caught and tried a number of times, including on the platform at Strathpeffer Old Railway Station where this event will be held.
Pauline Moore, freelance BBC producer and reporter and experienced podcaster, will be in conversation with Siobhan Beatson, curator at Ullapool Museum and Morven Macdonald, curator Highland Museum of Childhood to uncover Mary’s story. There will be opportunities to explore the platform where she was caught, look at the museum display in her memory, enjoy some tea and cake and to be interviewed for a podcast, giving your thoughts on the story.
This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund is being delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.
