Established | 1841 |
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Location | Panmure Place, Montrose, Angus, DD10 8HE |
Director | Angus Alive |
Website |
Montrose Museum opened in 1842 in Montrose, Angus, Scotland. The museum came into being when in 1841 the Montrose Natural History and Antiquarian Society started a fund to expand its space; in order to house its curiosities and wonders ranging from geological and ethnographical artefacts to a collection of natural history objects and fine art. It was accredited by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in June 2009. [1]
From 1837 [2] the collection was housed at a local school but in 1842 was moved into a purpose-built museum, one of the first of its kind in Scotland. [3] The museum is built of pink sandstone [4] in the neo-classical style, fronted by Ionic columns. Inside the collection is presented in a spacious atrium. From October 2009 it will undergo refurbishment and accessibility improvements and will reopen in 2010. [5]
The collection includes archaeological finds from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age; stones from what was the Pictish civilisation of Circinn but is now Angus; and the Inchbrayock Stone, also Pictish and dating from 850-950AD. Their collection contains 38 Ancient Egyptian relics and objects from Thebes. [6] The history of the Burgh of Montrose is explored; afterwards featuring the life of James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose and his role in Scottish military history. [7]
The adjoining art gallery has featured the work of local artists including William Lamb, Edward Baird, James Barclay, [8] David Waterson, [9] Malcolm McCoig, [10] Rowena Comrie, [11] Maurice Forsyth-Grant, [12] Briony Anderson, [13] Jackie Gardiner, [14] Colin McPherson, [15] Ingrid A. Fraser, [16] Struan Hamilton, [17] Bella Green, [18] Fiona Turnbull [19] and Hetty Haxworth [20] as well as the work of the Original Art Group. [21] The work of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour including that of George Paul Chalmers is part of a short exhibition running from 26 September. [22]
In the mezzanine above maritime relics illuminate the history of the east coast whaling industry. This sits alongside an impressive array of model boats. There is interesting taxidermy of local wildlife and a small geology display with a collection of semi-precious agate stones, in a darkened room at the top of the building.
There are regular children's activities as well as occasional afternoon talks and evening events. The museum often features work by local groups in its art gallery.
In 2008 the Amici Wind Quintet from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama appeared at the museum. [23]
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals company GSK has a significant presence in Montrose in the east of the county.
The Picts were a group of peoples in northern Britain, north of the Firth of Forth, in the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pictish stones. The name Picti appears in written records as an exonym from the late third century AD. They are assumed to have been descendants of the Caledonii and other northern Iron Age tribes. Their territory is referred to as "Pictland" by modern historians. Initially made up of several chiefdoms, it came to be dominated by the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu from the seventh century. During this Verturian hegemony, Picti was adopted as an endonym. This lasted around 160 years until the Pictish kingdom merged with that of Dál Riata to form the Kingdom of Alba, ruled by the House of Alpin. The concept of "Pictish kingship" continued for a few decades until it was abandoned during the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda.
Arbroath or Aberbrothock is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast, some 16 miles (26 km) east-northeast of Dundee and 45 miles (72 km) south-southwest of Aberdeen.
Montrose is a town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Situated 28 miles north of Dundee and 37 miles south of Aberdeen, Montrose lies between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers. It is the northernmost coastal town in Angus and developed as a natural harbour that traded in skins, hides, and cured salmon in medieval times.
A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the Clyde-Forth line and on the Eastern side of the country, these stones are the most visible remaining evidence of the Picts and are thought to date from the 6th to 9th century, a period during which the Picts became Christianized. The earlier stones have no parallels from the rest of the British Isles, but the later forms are variations within a wider Insular tradition of monumental stones such as high crosses. About 350 objects classified as Pictish stones have survived, the earlier examples of which holding by far the greatest number of surviving examples of the mysterious symbols, which have long intrigued scholars.
Aberlemno is a parish and small village in the Scottish council area of Angus. It is noted for three large carved Pictish stones dating from the 7th and 8th centuries AD ; the stones can be viewed at any time in spring-autumn, but are covered by wooden boxes in the winter to prevent frost damage. Two stones stand by the B9134 Forfar-Brechin road, the Kirkyard Stone stands in the nearby graveyard of the parish church.
St Vigeans is a small village and parish in Angus, Scotland, immediately to the north of Arbroath. Originally rural, it is now more or less a suburb of the town of Arbroath.
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum is a museum, art gallery, records archive, learning centre, media studio and creative arts facility on Jordan Well, Coventry, England.
Graves Art Gallery is an art gallery in Sheffield, England. The gallery is located above the Central Library in Sheffield city centre. It houses permanent displays from the city’s historic and contemporary collection of British and European art along with a programme of temporary exhibitions.
The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland is a museum of Scottish history and culture.
The Eassie Stone is a Class II Pictish stone of about the mid 8th century AD in the village of Eassie, Angus, Scotland. The stone was found in Eassie burn in the late 18th century and now resides in a purpose-built perspex building in the ruined Eassie church.
Dunnichen is a small village in Angus, Scotland, situated between Letham and Forfar. It is close to Dunnichen Hill, at which the Battle of Dun Nechtain is popularly believed to have been fought. The church is part of the parish of Letham, Dunnichen and Kirkden.
The Dunnichen Stone is a class I Pictish symbol stone that was discovered in 1811 at Dunnichen, Angus. It probably dates to the 7th century AD.
The Woodwrae Stone is a Class II Pictish Stone that was found in 1819 when the foundations of the old castle at Woodwrae, Angus, Scotland were cleared. It had been reused as a floor slab in the kitchen of the castle. Following its removal from the castle, it was donated to the collection of Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford House. It is now on display at the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The Tain & District Museum is located in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland. It is volunteer-run and is open April to October part of the Tain Through Time visitor centre. The museum was established in 1966 and has a collection of silver made in the local area.
The Meffan Institute is a museum and art gallery in Forfar, Angus. It houses a variety of exhibits of local interest in Angus, including a collection of Pictish stones, particularly the Dunnichen Stone and the Kirriemuir Sculptured Stones as well as Roman and Medieval artefacts found in the local area. A reconstruction of historic scenes of Forfar includes representations of daily life as it would have been around the beginning of the 19th century, as well as a depiction of the execution of one of the women accused of witchcraft in the Forfar witch hunts of 1661-1666.
The Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre is located to the north of Montrose, Angus, Scotland. Montrose has the distinction of having the first operational military airfield in Great Britain and the Heritage Centre is located on the former airfield.
Susan Gunn is a British artist. She was born in present-day Greater Manchester, England in 1965, and studied at Norwich University of the Arts where she was awarded a First Class BA Honours in Fine Art Painting in 2004. In 2006 she was awarded the inaugural Sovereign European Art Prize. In 2014 she was commissioned to create a twenty-metre painting for the £11.6 million low carbon building project 'The Enterprise Centre' at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. She is a member of Contemporary British Painting.
Barnaby Barford, currently lives and works in London is a British artist, best known for his sculptural work using industrially made ceramics in unexpected ways. In the past two years he has been looking at the world through the lens of the Apple. The most humble of all fruits has been there at every stage of the history of humankind – from Adam & Eve to Snow White, through Cézanne, Magritte, and Newton – and it is the perfect vehicle for cultural observation.