The National Trust for Scotland's (NTS) plans for a £21m Robert Burns Birthplace Museum have been boosted by a series of donations.
It has received £200,000 cash, three cottages worth a total of £700,000 and 4,300 artefacts from the Burns Monument Trust, alongside five acres of land and the Tam O'Shanter Experience, worth £2.8m, from South Ayrshire Council.
The artefacts, described by John Skilling, secretary of the Burns Monument Trust, as "irreplaceable, if not priceless", include letters, poetry, first editions and Burns' own tam o'shanter.
At the beginning of November, the NTS also took over the management of the site, previously overseen by the Burns Monument Trust, South Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise.
Skilling said: "We are delighted at the handover. The NTS are the best people in Scotland to look after such a large collection."
He added that the NTS had been able to appoint a curator and conservator to store the collections to museum standard, something that had not previously been possible because of lack of funds.
The £21m project, which will include a reinterpretation of the cottage where Burns was born and the creation of on-site educational facilities, has received £5.8m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £5.5m from the Scottish government and £250,000 from Scottish Enterprise. After South Ayrshire Council's donation, the NTS has still to raise £7m.
An NTS spokeswoman said that it had already raised £3m and had launched a campaign to encourage its 300,000 members to become donors, while a public appeal would be in place by Christmas. The project is expected to be completed by early 2010.
As Museums Journal went to press, the NTS had still not appointed a chief executive, following the resignation of Mark Adderley in September. The spokeswoman said no date had been set for interviews, and the priority was to find the right person.
It has received £200,000 cash, three cottages worth a total of £700,000 and 4,300 artefacts from the Burns Monument Trust, alongside five acres of land and the Tam O'Shanter Experience, worth £2.8m, from South Ayrshire Council.
The artefacts, described by John Skilling, secretary of the Burns Monument Trust, as "irreplaceable, if not priceless", include letters, poetry, first editions and Burns' own tam o'shanter.
At the beginning of November, the NTS also took over the management of the site, previously overseen by the Burns Monument Trust, South Ayrshire Council and Scottish Enterprise.
Skilling said: "We are delighted at the handover. The NTS are the best people in Scotland to look after such a large collection."
He added that the NTS had been able to appoint a curator and conservator to store the collections to museum standard, something that had not previously been possible because of lack of funds.
The £21m project, which will include a reinterpretation of the cottage where Burns was born and the creation of on-site educational facilities, has received £5.8m from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £5.5m from the Scottish government and £250,000 from Scottish Enterprise. After South Ayrshire Council's donation, the NTS has still to raise £7m.
An NTS spokeswoman said that it had already raised £3m and had launched a campaign to encourage its 300,000 members to become donors, while a public appeal would be in place by Christmas. The project is expected to be completed by early 2010.
As Museums Journal went to press, the NTS had still not appointed a chief executive, following the resignation of Mark Adderley in September. The spokeswoman said no date had been set for interviews, and the priority was to find the right person.
