New future planned for Falconer Museum after six-year closure

A new operating body is hoping to reopen the Falconer Museum in Forres, north-east Scotland, after six years of closure.

The institution was mothballed in 2019 after Moray Council cut its £80,000 annual grant due to budget pressures.

Following detailed feasibility work and community engagement, a group of local individuals has now come forward to form a new independent body to manage the museum.

Under the proposals, the museum will reopen gradually through a five-year transition process, with support from Moray Council, particularly during the initial set-up phase.

The focus in the first year will be on setting up a new charity that will run the facility, finalising plans and opening the museum for a limited number of days. From year two onwards, the museum will build up activity and visitor numbers, with the aim of becoming fully self-sufficient by year five.

Established in 1871, the Falconer houses around 50,000 items, including many of national and international significance.

Its collections comprise fossils, natural history specimens and artefacts belonging to the Victorian geologist and botanist Hugh Falconer and his brother Alexander, as well as social history, archaeology and world heritage artefacts. Hugh Falconer’s links to Charles Darwin and pioneering work in evolutionary science make the collection unique in Scotland.

According to a statement from Moray Council, there is potential to develop the Falconer as a destination museum for visitors and researchers.

Marc Macrae, the chair of Moray Council’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Services Committee, said: “The Falconer Museum is part of Forres’s identity and heritage. These proposals give us a sustainable model to re-open this much-loved museum, placing it in the hands of the community while ensuring its collections are cared for and its story told for generations to come.

“It will not only celebrate our past but also contribute to Forres’s future as a cultural and visitor destination.”

It is hoped that the museum will play a role in the wider regeneration of Forres through the Forres Conservation and Heritage Scheme, and complement projects being developed under the Moray Growth Deal.

As well as exhibitions, the new model proposes to include activities for schools, lifelong learning opportunities and community events. If successful, the project could bring an estimated £585,000 in visitor spend to the local economy each year.

A report on year one progress will return to committee in September 2026, with a view to securing a long-term lease and full operating model going forward.

Members of the new operating body for the museum said: “The group of prospective trustees is confident that combined they have the necessary knowledge, skill, experience in the heritage and culture sector and most of all perseverance to move things forward towards a reopening of the Falconer Museum.”