Stromness Museum

Coordinates : 58°57′28″N 3°18′04″W  /  58.9577°N 3.3011°W  / 58.9577; -3.3011
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Stromness Museum
The museum's building on Alfred Street, Stromness
Stromness is located in Orkney Islands
Stromness
Stromness
Location within Orkney Islands
Established 1837  ( 1837 )
Location Stromness , Mainland, Orkney , Scotland
Coordinates 58°57′28″N 3°18′04″W  /  58.9577°N 3.3011°W  / 58.9577; -3.3011
Owner Orkney Natural History Society
Website stromnessmuseum .org .uk

Stromness Museum is a small independent museum in the town of Stromness in Orkney , Scotland focusing on the town's connections to maritime and natural history. The building which accommodates the museum was originally constructed as the town hall of Stromness and is a Category B listed building . [1]

History [ edit ]

Following significant population growth, largely associated with the fishing industry, the area became a police burgh in 1856. [2] In this context, the burgh council decided to commission a town hall: the new building was designed in the neoclassical style , built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1858. [1] [3]

The burgh council occupied the ground floor of the building while the Orkney Natural History Society , which had been founded in 1837, established a museum on the first floor of the building in 1858. In the 1920s, the burgh council relocated and the society acquired ownership of the building. The expanded museum was re-opened on the site by Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland , Alfred Baikie, in February 1931. [4]

The museum is now owned by Orkney Natural History Society Museum, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation , with members of the society electing a committee of volunteers to manage the museum. [5]

Collections [ edit ]

The museum's Orkney naval history collections include artifacts recovered from the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow and sunken Royal Navy ships, including a dumaresq from the Dreadnought battleship , HMS Vanguard . [6]

A number of items on display relate to arctic exploration, the 19th century Orcadian explorer John Rae , and indigenous peoples in Northern Canada. Artifacts include one of the only two Halkett boats known to still exist, and an Arctic medal awarded to the ill-fated Arctic explorer, John Franklin . [7]

Other exhibits include ethnographic items collected by Orcadians, William Balfour Baikie and Jack Renton , and items from James Cook's third voyage which landed in Stromness on its return home. [8]

The museum's natural history collection includes displays of taxidermied birds, fossils, and molluscs, including items collected by Charles Clouston and Robert Rendall , and the Homosteus milleri fossil discovered by Hugh Miller . [9]

In 2016, the museum discovered a 5,000 year old neolithic whalebone figurine in its Skara Brae collection that had long been considered lost. [10] [11] [12] In 2020, two Egyptian faience shabti from 1145 to 986 BC were identified in the museum's collection by researchers at the National Museum of Scotland . [13]

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b Historic Environment Scotland . "50-56 (Even Numbers) Alfred Street, The Stromness Museum (LB45345)" . Retrieved 28 September 2022 .
  2. ^ "Stromness Burgh" . Vision of Britain . Retrieved 28 September 2022 .
  3. ^ Gifford, John (2003). Highland and Islands (Buildings of Scotland Series) . Yale University Press. p. 66. ISBN   978-0300096255 .
  4. ^ "A History of Stromness Museum | Stromness Museum" . www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk . Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 5 August 2021 .
  5. ^ "Orkney Natural History Society Museum, SC021455" . Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator . Retrieved 28 September 2022 .
  6. ^ "Unrecognised Vanguard relics found in Stromness Museum" . BBC News . 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 5 August 2021 .
  7. ^ "Sir John Franklin's Arctic medal found in Orkney museum" . BBC News . 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 5 August 2021 .
  8. ^ "Ethnography | Stromness Museum" . www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk . Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 6 August 2021 .
  9. ^ Denison, Robert (1978). Placodermi Volume 2 of Handbook of Paleoichthyology . Stuttgart New York: Gustav Fischer Verlag. p. 71. ISBN   978-0-89574-027-4 .
  10. ^ "Ancient Skara Brae figurine rediscovered in 'last box' " . BBC News . 14 June 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 5 August 2021 .
  11. ^ Clarke, David; Anderson-Whymark, Hugo (1 June 2016). "A Re-discovered Figurine from Skara Brae, Orkney, Scotland" . Past . 83 . ISSN   0965-1381 . Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 6 August 2021 .
  12. ^ "Collections | Stromness Museum" . www.stromnessmuseum.org.uk . Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 6 August 2021 .
  13. ^ "Scotland's treasure trove of ancient Egyptian objects uncovered" . www.scotsman.com . 16 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021 . Retrieved 5 August 2021 .

External links [ edit ]

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