The Heatherbank Museum of Social Work is part of the

Glasgow Caledonian University Glasgow Caledonian University ( gd, Oilthigh Chailleannach Ghlaschu, ), informally GCU, Caledonian or Caley, is a public university in Glasgow, Scotland. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of The Queen's College, Glasgow (founded in 1875) and G ...

in Scotland, and is believed to be the only

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

dedicated to

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

. The museum was founded in the early Victorian house of Heatherbank,

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; gd, Muileann-Ghaidh) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milngav ...

in 1975 by Colin and Rosemary Harvey. Heatherbank Press Publisher also operated out of the museum while at Heatherbank. After their deaths in 1993 the museum was moved to the Glasgow Caledonian University. In 2004 there ceased to be a physical museum at the university, however the works were subsumed into the Glasgow Caledonian University and is part of the university's research collection. The material in the collection contains documents relating to

poorhouse A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...

s; administration of

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

; former

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

s and institutions; and former prisoner support agencies. It also holds the archive of the Association of Directors of Social Work (ADSW).

References

History museums in Scotland Glasgow Caledonian University {{Glasgow-stub