Biggar Museum Trust (BMT) is an independent charity based in and around the town of
Biggar in
South Lanarkshire,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. The late Brian Lambie began a remarkable collection of artefacts from the area over some 40 years, and with a number of others created BMT which became responsible for a number of museums. It became apparent to the Trustees that the buildings were not able to meet modern requirements, were difficult to access and expensive to maintain and develop.
In 2010 an opportunity arose to acquire a large site in the centre of the town, and a project to create a new museum to bring the collections together and meet current requirements and visitor aspirations. The cost of the project was £2.2 million, of which more than half was raised from within the town and scattered rural community of the area, together with Funding from the Clyde Wind Farm Community Fund, South Lanarkshire LEADER, Museums Galleries Scotland and a number of private trusts. The new museum was designed to meet high standards and is fully accessible, with a dedicated parking area for cars and a coach.
Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum opened to visitors on 28 July 2015. It has a historical gallery illustrating the history of the area from early times up to the 20th century, a street of shops recreated from the town and furnished from the collection, and a special exhibition room which can house items loaned from national collections.
BMT is also responsible for
*
Holy Trinity Chapel an Oxford Movement restored chapel built to serve Lamington House
ow demolishedabout 3 miles from Biggar.
*
Brownsbank Cottage, former home of
Hugh MacDiarmid, with a live-in writer in residence, who produces works in
Lowland Scots. This is only open by appointment and is about 5 miles from Biggar.
* The
Biggar Gasworks Museum is housed in the last existing gasworks in Scotland where coal was used to make
town gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...
before the introduction of
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
Biggar also contains The Puppet Theatre and the Corn Exchange Theatre and Art Gallery. Biggar has strong connections with
William Wallace
Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence.
Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army ...
, with a small bridge in the town being associated with him, although his connection to
Lanark
Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...
is better known.
External links
Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum- official site
Museums in South Lanarkshire
History museums in Scotland
Biggar, South Lanarkshire
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