Anger over plans to close costume museum
NMS trustees to decide on proposal in February
A controversial proposal to close the National Museum of Costume in Dumfries and Galloway will be considered in February, despite criticism that closure will severely damage the region's cultural activities and local economy.
National Museums Scotland (NMS) said that reduced public funding means it cannot continue to operate the costume museum from its home in Shambellie House in New Abbey.
“The National Museum of Costume has a very large operational spend per museum visitor (£23) and low visitation (10,000 annual visits to the museum and 5,000 to the shop, cafe and grounds),” it said in a statement.
Its board of trustees will decide the future of the costume museum at its next board meeting in February. Further consultation with stakeholders on the future of the site and proposals for delivering alternative services in Dumfries and Galloway will take place ahead of this date.
The National Museum of Costume was donated to the secretary of state for the environment in 1977, and ownership now lies with Scottish ministers. Its proposed closure has prompted political debate, with opposition parties calling on culture secretary Fiona Hyslop to intervene and save the museum.
Much of the criticism levelled at the plan is focused on the importance of culture outside of Scotland’s large cities.
Russell Brown, Labour MP for Dumfries and Galloway and shadow defence minister, said: “If this was a museum in Glasgow or Edinburgh you can be sure the Scottish National Party would be doing all they could to keep it open, but they don’t care because it is in Dumfries and Galloway.”
And Jim Hume, the Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for South Scotland, said closing the museum would be a blow to the region's cultural activities and local economy.
"At a time when Edinburgh's national museum has undergone a substantial investment programme, many people across Dumfries and Galloway will rightly be asking why Shambellie House is being put in jeopardy,” he added. “Closure must not be an option."
Dumfries and Galloway Council and Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Commerce have called for a 12-month delay in the proposed closure to allow other management structures to be fully explored. But NMS said this would only “prolong uncertainty for both the region and our staff”.
In a statement it said: “[NMS] remains committed to providing access to the national collections across Scotland through loans of its treasures, touring exhibitions, formal partnerships with local museum services and outreach programmes.
"The board of trustees believes that significant benefits can be offered to Dumfries and Galloway through working in this way, an approach that has been very successful in other areas of Scotland where NMS does not operate museums of its own.”
But in a letter to The Herald newspaper, Gordon Mann, chairman of Destination Dumfries and Galloway and unnamed other parties, warned that closure would set “a dangerous precedent for Scotland” and reverse moves by other national bodies to make collections more accessible by establishing regional galleries.
“The proposal to close [the National Museum of Costume] is in stark contrast to the way [NMS] has developed and invested in the National Museum of Flight and the National Museum of Rural Life, where it has invested heavily and relaunched to great acclaim and growing visitor numbers,” they wrote.
“By contrast the costume museum seems to be the Cinderella collection of NMS and has not seen any major investment and not surprisingly visitor numbers are low. The museum represents less than 1% of the NMS budget yet it is the only national collection in Dumfries and Galloway, giving it much greater significance.”
National Museums Scotland (NMS) said that reduced public funding means it cannot continue to operate the costume museum from its home in Shambellie House in New Abbey.
“The National Museum of Costume has a very large operational spend per museum visitor (£23) and low visitation (10,000 annual visits to the museum and 5,000 to the shop, cafe and grounds),” it said in a statement.
Its board of trustees will decide the future of the costume museum at its next board meeting in February. Further consultation with stakeholders on the future of the site and proposals for delivering alternative services in Dumfries and Galloway will take place ahead of this date.
The National Museum of Costume was donated to the secretary of state for the environment in 1977, and ownership now lies with Scottish ministers. Its proposed closure has prompted political debate, with opposition parties calling on culture secretary Fiona Hyslop to intervene and save the museum.
Much of the criticism levelled at the plan is focused on the importance of culture outside of Scotland’s large cities.
Russell Brown, Labour MP for Dumfries and Galloway and shadow defence minister, said: “If this was a museum in Glasgow or Edinburgh you can be sure the Scottish National Party would be doing all they could to keep it open, but they don’t care because it is in Dumfries and Galloway.”
And Jim Hume, the Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for South Scotland, said closing the museum would be a blow to the region's cultural activities and local economy.
"At a time when Edinburgh's national museum has undergone a substantial investment programme, many people across Dumfries and Galloway will rightly be asking why Shambellie House is being put in jeopardy,” he added. “Closure must not be an option."
Dumfries and Galloway Council and Dumfries and Galloway Chamber of Commerce have called for a 12-month delay in the proposed closure to allow other management structures to be fully explored. But NMS said this would only “prolong uncertainty for both the region and our staff”.
In a statement it said: “[NMS] remains committed to providing access to the national collections across Scotland through loans of its treasures, touring exhibitions, formal partnerships with local museum services and outreach programmes.
"The board of trustees believes that significant benefits can be offered to Dumfries and Galloway through working in this way, an approach that has been very successful in other areas of Scotland where NMS does not operate museums of its own.”
But in a letter to The Herald newspaper, Gordon Mann, chairman of Destination Dumfries and Galloway and unnamed other parties, warned that closure would set “a dangerous precedent for Scotland” and reverse moves by other national bodies to make collections more accessible by establishing regional galleries.
“The proposal to close [the National Museum of Costume] is in stark contrast to the way [NMS] has developed and invested in the National Museum of Flight and the National Museum of Rural Life, where it has invested heavily and relaunched to great acclaim and growing visitor numbers,” they wrote.
“By contrast the costume museum seems to be the Cinderella collection of NMS and has not seen any major investment and not surprisingly visitor numbers are low. The museum represents less than 1% of the NMS budget yet it is the only national collection in Dumfries and Galloway, giving it much greater significance.”