What Garioch Heritage Centre was established to display the collections of the Garioch Heritage Society, which has been operating since 1987, researching the area's history and gathering artefacts that shed light on the working and domestic lives of local people. Visitors can see what life was like in a locomotive worker's house or on a dairy farm, and learn about the trades that supported Garioch.
Where Garioch is an area in rural Aberdeenshire. The heritage centre is in the town of Inverurie in its old locomotive works, which was built in 1898 and closed in 1969. "It's a large site, almost a mile in length," says Alan Harrow, the vice-chair of the Garioch Heritage Society. "The building we are in was the carriage and wagon repair shop - it's a large shed with railway lines going through it." The shed is dominated by a 20-tonne crane that was used to move wagons across the lines.
Opened October 2017.
Collection An assortment of local heritage objects, including textiles and clothmaking machinery, school memorabilia, railway ephemera and items relating to heavy industry. There is a display of medical objects collected from the local hospital, a section dedicated to the fire brigade, a world war two collection, vintage televisions and portable radios, camera and video equipment, and a photographic archive.
Highlights "There's a working model of the locomotive site that was 10 years in the making," says Harrow. "A chap from bomber command donated his world war two flying suits - which are in pristine condition -
and an escape box that was issued in case he came down behind enemy lines. We have also got a mannequin of Queen Victoria in full mourning dress."
Help at hand There are about 60 volunteers on the site. Two paid members of staff were recently recruited to take care of administration. Several of the Garioch Heritage Society's original committee members are still involved with the centre, the oldest of whom is 94.
Budget The centre cost about £150,000 to set up.
Sticky moment None so far. "Everything is going as sweet as a nut," says Harrow. "I've been here almost every day since it opened and I don't think there are any impending disasters."
Survival tip "It's important not to be a dumping ground," says Harrow. "It is easy for people moving house to turn up on our doorstep with boxes of stuff - that happens about once a week. We have to make sure the items we acquire are good quality things we can use."
Visitors More than 2,500 people have stopped by in less than a year. "We have been doing very well with visitors from the Scottish diaspora," says Harrow.
Future plans The society plans to develop the shed's 200 sq m ground floor for community use. "Long-term sustainability is going to arrive via community ownership," says Harrow. "We want to make people feel like they own it and wouldn't want to lose it."
gariochheritage.co.uk
Where Garioch is an area in rural Aberdeenshire. The heritage centre is in the town of Inverurie in its old locomotive works, which was built in 1898 and closed in 1969. "It's a large site, almost a mile in length," says Alan Harrow, the vice-chair of the Garioch Heritage Society. "The building we are in was the carriage and wagon repair shop - it's a large shed with railway lines going through it." The shed is dominated by a 20-tonne crane that was used to move wagons across the lines.
Opened October 2017.
Collection An assortment of local heritage objects, including textiles and clothmaking machinery, school memorabilia, railway ephemera and items relating to heavy industry. There is a display of medical objects collected from the local hospital, a section dedicated to the fire brigade, a world war two collection, vintage televisions and portable radios, camera and video equipment, and a photographic archive.
Highlights "There's a working model of the locomotive site that was 10 years in the making," says Harrow. "A chap from bomber command donated his world war two flying suits - which are in pristine condition -
and an escape box that was issued in case he came down behind enemy lines. We have also got a mannequin of Queen Victoria in full mourning dress."
Help at hand There are about 60 volunteers on the site. Two paid members of staff were recently recruited to take care of administration. Several of the Garioch Heritage Society's original committee members are still involved with the centre, the oldest of whom is 94.
Budget The centre cost about £150,000 to set up.
Sticky moment None so far. "Everything is going as sweet as a nut," says Harrow. "I've been here almost every day since it opened and I don't think there are any impending disasters."
Survival tip "It's important not to be a dumping ground," says Harrow. "It is easy for people moving house to turn up on our doorstep with boxes of stuff - that happens about once a week. We have to make sure the items we acquire are good quality things we can use."
Visitors More than 2,500 people have stopped by in less than a year. "We have been doing very well with visitors from the Scottish diaspora," says Harrow.
Future plans The society plans to develop the shed's 200 sq m ground floor for community use. "Long-term sustainability is going to arrive via community ownership," says Harrow. "We want to make people feel like they own it and wouldn't want to lose it."
gariochheritage.co.uk