The Scottish Maritime Museum (www.scottishmaritimemuseum.org) in Irvine is a place that I have long had on my list to visit, having first become aware of it in my TV days whilst working on a documentary about an Edinburgh hospital, with one of the people we were featuring residing close to it. Despite having been based in Ayrshire since 2002, and in Irvine itself for the last 18 months, it was today that I finally managed to step foot inside - and it was well worth the wait!
From the museum's website:
Founded in 1983 and based in the West of Scotland with sites in Irvine and Dumbarton, the Scottish Maritime Museum holds an important nationally recognised collection, encompassing a variety of historic vessels, artefacts, art, fascinating personal items and the largest collection of shipbuilding tools and machinery in the country. The buildings and sites which the Scottish Maritime Museum occupies are themselves part of the collection.
The Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine is housed within the vast, glass-roofed Victorian Linthouse. This A listed ‘cathedral of engineering’ was formerly the Engine Shop of Alexander Stephen and Sons shipyard in Govan before being salvaged and relocated to Irvine in 1991.
The Scottish Maritime Museum in Dumbarton is located on the former site of the influential and innovative William Denny Shipyard and features the world’s first commercial ship testing facility, the Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank.
As noted, there are two facilities, and I do intend to visit the Dumbarton based facility at some stage also, but today was about the institution on my doorstep here in Irvine. A single adult ticket is £8.50, which essentially gives you the run of the place for the day. The museum provides an overview of the practices of boat and ship building in Scotland since pre-history, from dug out Bronze Age tree trunks to the clinker built boat technology sourced from the Norse and the Vikings, to the full blown shipbuilding industry on the Clyde from the late 19th to mid 20th centuries. There was a lot to take in, with many original boats and exhibits from the industry - not least the Linthouse building itself, which was removed from a yard in Govan and rebuilt in Irvine to its original design. Just for good measure, there was also a boat built by the brother of a friend of mine!
On the main website you can access various online exhibits, but the following are some pics to give you a flavour of what is there to see.
One vessel sadly no longer there is the City of Adelaide, which is now based in Adelaide, South Australia, but I was lucky to be able to see this on a trip to the city a few years ago as part of an Unlock the Past event - so for those who may be interested, and who miss her presence outside the museum, this is how she looked down under in 2017...!
Scotland has one hell of a maritime legacy, so what more is there to say other than come and visit the museum in Irvine - you'll love it!
Chris
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