August
2014
President’s Report
Once upon a time, long ago, I was a young Territorial Officer in charge of leading
a military excursion into the Vale of St Andrew at Pluscarden. I knew the Monks
well as I looked after their accounts and so I went to Father Abbot and explained
what I was about to do. “We will greet your soldiers with tranquillity” he said. And
so they did.
Why do I relate the comment? The answer is because every time I visit Elgin
Museum I find tranquillity and much happiness. I do not expect every volunteer
will know who the grey haired person is but I listen while they welcome our
visitors. And they do it well. Very well indeed.
This explains why Elgin Museum is now among “six of the best”. I realise I do not
need to tell you that. Our outstanding PR makes sure that the world knows and
both The Northern Scot and the P & J have reported our success in the Daily
Telegraph Family Friendly Awards. We are the only Scottish Museum on the
shortlist. How can I express my thanks to Di Hannan and Heather Townsend for
this amazing achievement?
The press have also reported The Dandaleith Stone which is a staggering find and
will eventually come to Elgin Museum to be cared for and looked after and above
all for the public to admire.
But we still have to deal with important matters that ensure our status. Dr Janet
Trythall has just asked me to sign a huge number of papers as part of our
submission to continue as an accredited museum. This has been a massive piece
of work which she has masterminded with the support of our team. You may wish
to call it “red tape” but it is essential for us if we are to be creditable with Moray
Council and the museum authorities. Anyway my remarkable Vice President has
delivered it. On time and we are most grateful.
We have welcomed four new Board members. Group Captain Phil Dacre, Mrs
Angela Monro, Mrs Rebecca Russell and Mrs Marion Yool have joined us. Phil
brings an enthusiasm for military/RAF. Angela has a wealth of knowledge about
museums and their politics, Rebecca (nee Dunbar) continues a long Pitgaveny
connection with us, and Marion left the Board speechless by suggesting some of
our stonework from the museum was out at Croy!
Life is never dull as Hon President! Please do visit the museum and bring your
friends and guests.
Grenville Johnston
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Elgin Museum presents
Moray Geology: Past, Present, Future
Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd March 2015
Alexander Graham Bell Conference Centre,
UHI Moray, Elgin
A conference having a new look at the history of Elgin Museum, its
fossil collection and the geology of the Moray area.
Registration: £5;
Field Trip:
£5
Speakers to be advised – details on the Museum website as soon as
available.
For further details or to register,
contact Dr Sue Beardmore at
moraygeology2015@hotmail.com
Dandaleith Pictish Stone
As Grenville has mentioned, we are delighted to be able to announce that
Elgin Museum has been allocated from Treasure Trove, a rare treasure, the
Dandaleith Stone, which was uncovered by a farmer in a field at
Dandaleith, near Craigellachie.
The Class I Pictish symbol stone was found in May 2013 during ploughing
at Dandaleith Farm, near Craigellachie. The stone, a solid pink granite
boulder, measures 0.5 x 1.68 x 0.36m and weighs c.670kg. It has incised
decoration on two adjoining faces; the other two faces show no obvious
signs of carving. Face 1 is incised with a large eagle, with crescent and Vrod below. Face 2 is incised with a mirror case symbol, with notch
rectangle and Z-rod below. The stone may be unique in having two pairs
of symbols carved on the same orientation on two adjoining faces. It is
currently awaiting conservation before going on display at the Museum,
hopefully in time for opening next year.
The stone will be a wonderful addition to our existing collection of carved
stone and the stone will be put into place as soon as we have overcome
the problem of raising necessary funding and solving the logistical
problems of transporting it to Elgin and getting it in situ in the Museum.
Bill Dalgarno
Sunday Telegraph Shortlist
Once again, I am delighted to tell you that Elgin Museum has progressed
further in the Telegraph Family Friendly Award. We have now reached the
shortlist of six from the long listed twenty and from 800+ originally
nominated museums.
The six final museums are The Lightbox in Surrey, The Royal Gunpowder
Mills in Essex, Beamish Museum in County Durham, The National Maritime
Museum in Falmouth, Experience Barnsley Museum and Discovery Centre
and, of course, Elgin Museum.
In the Sunday Telegraph of 27th July, Elgin Museum is described as "a
perfectly formed gem, free to enter and the oldest independent museum in
Scotland. Here the ebullient staff like nothing more than for kids to handle
their extraordinary trove of riches, from dinosaur fossils to artefacts,
mediaeval, Victorian and world war related."
The six shortlisted museums will now be road tested anonymously by
families and the winning museum will be announced in the Life section of
the Sunday Telegraph on Sunday 28th September.
We have received congratulations from our many friends throughout the
UK and, having made it to the short list, we are proud and delighted that
the work we have done to make ourselves more family friendly has been
recognised. Our decisions to stop charging for entry and to employ Di
Hannan to work on outreach and on making the Museum more accessible
has proved to be absolutely right.
In the August copy of ‘Connect’, the Museums Galleries Scotland
newsletter, their piece about the award states that “Elgin is an excellent
role model for other museums, demonstrating the positive impact local
museums and heritage organisations can have in their communities and
what a small, committed and driven team can achieve in their pursuit of
bringing the past to life for the next generation.”
We must also not forget our sponsors, Baxters, Walkers and Johnstons who
have helped us financially to give us the confidence to trial free
membership and we are grateful to them for their continuing help.
Huge congratulations to all staff and volunteers in the Museum who have
contributed to the Museum receiving this accolade and I am glad to say
that Di and Heather will represent us at a ceremony in London on Friday
26th September when the winning museum will be announced.
Bill Dalgarno,
Museum Convenor
Local Quines – making an exhibition of themselves
Five local retired teachers who discovered they shared an interest in
various crafts - painting, quilting, photography, knitting – are to exhibit
some of their work in the Museum from 15th September to closing of the
Museum on Saturday 1st November.
Activities Committee
Noted below is the Activities Committee programme for the coming
Autumn/Winter season. Some of the detail, however, has still to be fixed.
Fri. 25 Sept.
Fri. 10 Oct.
WW1 – the surviving evidence in the North
Allan Kilpatrick, RCAHMS
7.30pm
Planned Villages in NE Scotland (referring to Incorporated
Trades papers gifted to the Museum)
Douglas Lockhart, Scottish Local History Forum
2.00pm
Fri. 31 Oct.
Auctions, Antiques and Hidden Treasures
Talk by Colin Fraser of Lyon & Turnbull
Sat. 1 Nov.
NOT the Antiques Roadshow (see separate advert)
Lyon & Turnbull
11-3
Fri. 21 Nov
Findhorn Shipwrecks since 1750
Tim Negus, Chairman, Findhorn Heritage
7.30pm
7.30pm
22nd Jan.
My Year in Elgin Museum
Dr Sue Beardmore, Recognition Fund Curatorial Asst. 2.00pm
27th Feb.
Cooking in Moray through the Ages
Mary Shand
2.00pm
21/22 Mar Geology of Moray: Past, Present, Future
UHI Moray College
See separate item in Newsletter
24th Apr.
The Dandaleith Stone (after AGM)
TBC
7.30pm
It is expected that a visit to the Biblical Garden will be arranged for March
with Gill Berkeley, UHI (Moray College, Elgin)
Doors Open Days - get into buildings
Lossiemouth: Saturday 6th September 2014
Taking over the mantle from our Civic Committee this year, Lossiemouth Heritage
Association is hosting this year's Doors Open Days festival for Moray. Enjoy
exploring the rich history and heritage of Lossiemouth by visiting some of the 14
properties and events during our Doors Open Day. All of course are free!
1. Lossiemouth House (gardens only)
11 am – 4 pm
2. Lossiemouth Library
Library history, old maps and plans 10 am – 2.30 pm
3. Lossiemouth Town Hall
Old Lossiemouth photos and exhibition of David West paintings 10 am – 4 pm
4. Lossiemouth Baptist Church
With coffee morning 10 am – 12 noon
5. St. James Church
With Soup and Sweet 12 noon – 2 pm
6. St. Gerardine's High Church
10 am – 4 pm
7. Lossiemouth Community and Fisheries Museum
11.30 am – 4 pm
8. Lossiemouth Golf Club
Family activities at Marine Park: 11 am – 4 pm
9. St. Margaret's Episcopal Church
10 am – 4 pm
10. Windswept Brewing Co.
Tours only. Call 01343 814310 to book
11. The Hillocks
Home of Ramsay MacDonald: 10 am – 4 pm
12. Covesea Lighthouse
Tours only access. Call 01343 810664 to book
13. Lossiemouth Waste Water Treatment Works
Tours only. Call 01343 815672/815055 to book (from 22 August)
14. Lossiemouth Heritage Walks
Meet at Lossiemouth Library: 11 am and 2.30 pm
For full details visit www.doorsopendays.org.uk
or call 01343 813076
Doors Open Days is coordinated nationally by the Scottish Civic Trust. It runs
throughout Scotland every September as part of European Heritage Days. For
more information see their websites:
www.doorsopendays.org.uk: www.scottishcivictrust.org.uk
Bel Canto Concert
27th September 7pm to 9.15pm
We are holding a fund raising concert with Bel Canto, the young persons’
classical singing group. Evening dress is a must and cheese and wine will
be served in the Museum hall in the interval.
Tickets are £10 and we think they will sell out quickly. On sale from 18 th
August in the Museum.
Accreditation
As mentioned in Grenville’s report, the last year and a half has been taken
up with working towards submission of our application for Accreditation for
Elgin Museum.
Janet Trythall has worked tirelessly to assemble the
application which involves jumping through a myriad of hoops and all this
while Arts Council England and Museums Galleries Scotland have kept
moving the goalposts. Without the work that Janet has done, we would not
have been able to submit our application in time. Huge thanks to Janet for
all that she has done for the museum – a long holiday has most certainly
been earned.
Bill Dalgarno
Date for your diary!
Following last year’s successful quiz night, we will be having a follow up
this year so get your teams organised a fun and enjoyable evening – and
start swotting!!
Get ready for the event in the Museum on Friday 28th November.
Teams will be of up to 6 people or come along and join a team on the
night.
Details in the next Newsletter
Moray Society Prize Draw
The Prize Draw has now been running for eleven years and during that time has
diverted thousands of pounds into the Moray Society current account. This total
includes donations submitted through the Prize Draw fund but does not take into
account any further income accrued from Gift Aid generated by eligible donations.
This has been of considerable benefit to our daily running expenses and continues
to be so, given the huge inflationary price rises on all our utility bills
The price of the tickets remains unchanged and at present there are 93 tickets in
circulation at £10 each. These are all eligible for the 12 prizes during their lifetime
(1 year/4 draws with 3 prizes each).
If you are not attracted by those odds then remember that you can still help the
Society by purchasing one or more tickets in the sure knowledge that the only
winner can be the Society itself.
All income generated by the draw goes directly into Moray Society funds apart
from the prize money paid to the lucky winners.
Please address any questions or applications to me at the Museum (or email
mabritch@keme.co.uk, or tel 01309 673597)
Moray Society Prize Draw
Please allocate me ........ tickets in the Moray Society Prize Draw @ £10.00 each.
*I enclose my payment of £......
*Please forward me a standing order mandate
Name.......................................................................
Address…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Post Code....................................
*please delete if inappropriate
Please address any questions or applications to me at the Museum (or tel 01309 673597).
Ritchie Mabon
Prize Draw Co-Ordinator
Coffee Morning
Another successful coffee morning was held in Austins Tearooms (Elgin
Bridge Centre) on Saturday 31st May. Final financial details have still to be
worked out but all who took part and those who attended are to be
thanked for their contribution to the day which gives us money to allow the
museum to continue to expand its activities and become better known
throughout Moray.
ANTIQUES WEEKEND
Friday 31st October
Auctions, Antiques and Hidden Treasures
A talk by Colin Fraser of Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh
(ex Elgin Museum Discovery Club)
7 for 7.30 in the Museum Hall
Saturday 1st November 11am to 3pm
NOT the Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Valuation Day
How much are you worth?
What would you sell?.....your granny’s china?
A team of experts from Edinburgh based auction house, Lyon and Turnbull
will value your silver, paintings, ceramics, jewellery, coins, medals and
curiosities. Bring them along on the day and for the low fee of £3 per item
– proceeds to the Museum – you can get a valuation. Open to members
and the general public.
Not just Accreditation
In case anyone got the wrong impression, I would record that it has not
just been templates, tick boxes and tearing hair out assembling the needful
for Accreditation. Apart from drinking many mugs of tea and coffee (decaff.
please in my Roma mug, gift from an Italian fossil footprint student) in
very congenial, often jovial, company, there have been encounters with a
variety of visitors, real and virtual.
Heather T. and I had to brush up our knowledge of the Henning drawings
and the story of “Why Elgin?” of the marbles, for a researcher writing a
book on museum objects and how they inspire. Sue Sabro, our artist in
residence at the time, contributed her personal thoughts – and sketches,
serendipitously having had a long liaison with the Elgin Marbles in Athens
and London. Several visitors were busy drawing while Sue was in the
gallery – I was very taken by volunteer Helena Keyes’ lifelike Mr Ingram.
There was the sunny day at Dandaleith when the stone was lifted by forklift
tractor from its ignominious rest on a squashed palette in a pigeon infested
barn and fed into the back of Iain Fox’s van for the journey to the
conservators at Leith. David Marquardt brought along fizz and sandwiches
served on a linen tablecloth – and also volunteer Milan Ardis. I joined
them and Claire Herbert (Aberdeenshire Council Archaeological Service and
Moray Society member) when en route to Pitlochry to meet the solicitor
who is working on our Constitution revision.
After months of our procrastination, Davie finally got the go-ahead
yesterday to demolish the People and Place computer module; it has died
piecemeal – apart from the map page which has given greatest pleasure to
kids fighting to press all the buttons at once. Everyone has plans for the
space, from Peter who wants another vacuum cleaner socket to Di who
would have us all dressing up in the alcove; meanwhile, Fraser Hunter has
won with a temporary poster display celebrating the achievements of
Moray’s “Archaeology for All” project, and augmented by photos provided
by Leanne.
Following the decision of the members at the AGM, it was very satisfying to
dispose of the faded and damaged birds and glass cabinets after
deaccessioning, thanks to Martin Cook, Moray and Nairn’s bird recorder and
Bob McGowan at National Museums Scotland; as exciting was getting the
Indian gods moved from the Geology store to the space vacated by the
birds – with a team of the usual suspects augmented by Tomas Christie,
desperate thereby to reach some quern stones for Fraser’s research
project. It has been great to feel the appropriate care of the Recognised
collection of fossils is at last moving forwards as Sue Beardmore penetrates
deeper into the West store, preparing an inventory as one more step to the
realisation of an all singing and dancing refurbishment of the North Store
to house them, and inevitably much more.
A group of us assembled to welcome the British Archaeological
Association’s Summer School one Sunday; they were led by Jane Geddes,
who has brought her students from Aberdeen University before, seeing our
Pictish stones as a must for the study of early mediaeval carving. Also in
the party was the ever genial and gentlemanly Brendan O’Connor, Bronze
Age specialist, who paid a visit to Moray earlier this summer when Ian
Armit, now Professor at Bradford University, was digging at the Sculptor’s
Cave – and making use of some of our volunteers. Watch out for a
forthcoming TV programme, Underground Britain – for which we were able
to provide the photograph of Sylvia Benton when she was granted life
membership of The (then) Elgin Society. You might have blinked and
missed the Museum in a programme about the Spey on BBC Scotland’s
Landward programme. Disappointingly they chose to film the replica rather
than the only known surviving curragh, but it was fun being interviewed by
Deacon Blue’s Dougie Vipond.
Today we had a visit from two representatives of Museums Galleries
Scotland, Scotland’s development, regulatory, and major fund distributing
body. They had ventured out of Edinburgh on a programme of museum
visits. I’ve met Gillian Simison umpteen times in Edinburgh, so it was most
welcome she was here, and met a representative selection of the Museum’s
movers and shakers, and the tail end of one of Di’s craft sessions – and
seemed to be favourably impressed. As I had pinged off the Accreditation
application yesterday, it is encouraging she has seen the reality in a good
light.
This is a random selection of the first few activities that came into my head
that I’ve been involved with since the season started. It continues to be a
privilege to be associated with Elgin Museum and all the people who make
it happen, and to enjoy the access it has given me to so many who have
generously shared their knowledge over the past nearly 25 years.
Janet Trythall 12/8/2014
Membership
Finally, I would like to make a couple of pleas:
Firstly, while the Museum is going through a very successful period of time,
this does not come about easily. We are a relatively small group who are
keeping things on the road and we have a need for more people, members
and public, to come and join us by volunteering and using their talents to
help us improve further. If you can spare a few hours, please contact our
volunteer co-ordinator, Mabel Rennie, at the Museum and see how you can
help.
Secondly, a plea to members. I am sure you have a friend or friends who
would enjoy being a friend to the Museum by joining the Moray Society.
With this newsletter I have included or attached an application form please pass this to someone who would be interested. The membership of
the Society is not becoming any younger and we do need to refresh with
new members. They will be the future of the Museum and the Society.
Lastly, a repeat of a plea I have made before. If you have an email
address and have received a hard copy of this newsletter, do send an email
to the Museum so that we can send an electronic copy next time. It now
costs £75 in postage just to send hard copies. Think how many children’s
activities could be funded with that money. Please also check that your
standing order is up to date and at the present subscription level.
Bill Dalgarno, Membership Secretary
Diary Dates
Sat. 6th September
Doors Open Day
Lossiemouth: Various times. See separate advert
Mon 15th September
Local Quines
Various: Exhibition: Museum Gallery
Thurs.25th September
WW1 – surviving evidence in the North
Allan Kilpatrick, RCAHMS: Lecture: Museum Hall
Sat. 27th September
Bel Canto
Concert: Museum
Fri. 10th October
Planned Villages in the North East
Douglas Lockhart, Scottish Local History Forum: Lecture: Hall
Fri 31st October
Auctions, Antiques and Hidden Treasure
Colin Fraser of Lyon & Turnbull: Lecture: Museum Hall
Sat. 1st November
Antiques Valuation Day
Lyon & Turnbull: Antiques Valuation Day: Museum
Fri. 21st November
Findhorn Shipwrecks since 1750
Tim Negus, Findhorn Heritage: Lecture: Museum Hall
Fri. 28th November
Quiz Night +
Fund Raising Event: Museum
Thu. 22nd January
My Year in Elgin Museum
Dr Sue Beardmore: Lecture: Museum Hall
Fri. 27th February
Cooking in Moray through the Ages
Mary Shand, Moray Society: Lecture: Museum Hall
Sat 21st/Sun 21st March Geology of Moray
Various speakers tba: Conference: UHI Moray
Friday 24th April
Moray Society AGM
Friday 24th April
Dandaleith Stone (after AGM)
Speakers tba: Lecture: Museum Hall
1 High Street, Elgin, Moray, IV30 1EQ – Tel: 01343 543 675 – Email: curator@elginmuseum.org.uk
ELGIN MUSEUM – Scotland’s oldest independent Museum – Established 1842...
The Moray Society: Company No 106529 Charity No 017546