feature
Tracing the history of a museum is a
daunting task and Dingwall Musuem is
no different in that respect. So much
has been lost over the years through
carelessness and of things left to
conjecture that the earlier days are
very obscure; however the forerunner
of the present day museum began in
the 18th Century when the Town
Council started recording their
business and collecting some relics.
BJORN PERSSON
DINGWALL MUSEUM
WORDS I IAN MACLEOD
T
he councillors ofthe day did not, Chambers and some were left in the Tower meant another new set ofrules. Before that
however, take stock ofwhat they were so it can be assumed the building served a happened the old Town Council had the
handling and as time passed by items were dual-purpose; as a museum and a public foresight to arrange that the collection
left to rot away or were stored in huts and business place. would be handed over to a responsible
buildings, only to be forgotten for decades During both world wars many items went group ofdedicated local people and so the
until they were rediscovered. astray due to inadequate supervision ofthe Dingwall Museum Trust was born.
The centre Tower ofthe building which collection. Paintings were left unattended, The Town Council arranged that three
now houses part ofthe present day artefacts were ignored and no records were rooms were made available to house the
museum was built in 1733. It was used as a kept ofthe collection. collection. This consisted ofthe Burgh
meeting place for the Town Council and also In 1975 the Town Councils ofScotland Court room, the Council Chambers and the
doubled as a school and a jail. Bits and were dissolved by an Act ofParliament to be Provost room with access by a connecting
pieces were displayed in the Council superseded by District Councils which passage between all places.
This situation worked well for a number
ofyears until in the early 1980s the Council
decided that the Upper Town Hall required
extra dressing rooms to service the stage so
that bigger productions could use the
facility of the Main Hall. The Trust was
offered five rooms on the ground floor plus
the Council Chambers ifthey would
relinquish control ofthe Court Room to
accommodate this new venture, (on
H
A
R
V
E
Y
reflection a bad move from the historic
V
I
A
point ofview), and reluctantly the Trust
S
Y
L
agreed to the move downstairs.
Courtyard with the red deer stag statue from the Brahan Estate. Reconstruction of an early 1900s Highland kitchen.
a170
the north magazine 29
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