New Exhibitions at Stranraer Museum
The Old Town Hall, George Street, Stranraer
Tel:(01776) 705088 Fax:(01776) 704420
or E mail, John Pickin at:
JohnPic@dumgal.gov.uk
Open all year: 10am-5pm Monday to Saturday,
Closed Sundays and the Christmas,
New Year, and Easter bank holidays
Wheelchair access. Admission free.
AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY DEMONSTRATION
STRANRAER MUSEUM Saturday 17 February Aerial photography is the subject of a special demonstration at Stranraer Museum on Saturday 17 February. The computerised demonstration will be given by Jackie Galley of Solway Heritage. It will use a collection of large scale, full colour aerial photographs of Dumfries and Galloway taken in 1999. With the help of state of the art technology these photographs can be combined with modern maps to provide a unique overview of the region. “New technology is completely changing the way we make maps and look at landscapes” said museum curator John Pickin. “ This event is part of the museum’s ‘Mapping Galloway’ exhibition. It will give people a chance to see to see how aerial photography can be used to provide fresh information on local habitats and environmental change.” The event will run as a drop-in session from 1pm to 4pm. All are welcome and admission is free. |
NEW EXHIBITION AT STRANRAER MUSEUM
“MAPPING GALLOWAY” 20 JANUARY - 3 MARCH The new exhibition at Stranraer Museum explores the fascinating world of local maps. On display are over 40 original maps and plans of Galloway. The earliest are almost 400 years old and show the area as it was at the beginning of the 17th century. From the 18th century are a number of large scale Galloway maps including two remarkably detailed surveys of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire by John Ainslie, one of the most experienced mapmakers of the time. Also on display are a number of hand-drawn plans of local estates and some early town plans of Stranraer and Kirkcudbright. And of particular interest is the 1851 Admiralty navigational chart for Portpatrick which marks the position of the paddle-steamer ‘Orion’ which had sunk just off the coast the previous year. There is also a wonderful plan from 1845 showing the proposed route of a coastal railway from Ballantrae to Stranraer - the route was surveyed but the line of course was never built The exhibition includes a large number of Galloway maps from the Ordnance Survey. Also on display is a selection of printed maps from local books and brochures. The exhibition ends with a section on modern maps. This includes a selection of satellite and aerial photographs and examples of digital maps. And at the Museum on Saturday 17th February there will be a special demonstration on Geographical Information Systems by Solway Heritage. This will show how computer software is being used to make environmental maps of Galloway. Stranraer Museum is open Monday to Saturday. Admission is free. |
TEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS - 2001
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WHAT’S NEW? Recent additions to Stranraer Museum’s collections. Each year Stranraer Museum receives new material to add to its growing collection of Wigtownshire history. Some of the most recent items have now gone on show. In pride of place is a fine oil painting showing Sandhead in the 1850’s. Looking north across the village it was painted by the Irish artist George Kelly. Museum curator John Pickin said “This is a beautiful painting and an important historical document. The houses are thatched, there is a farm with a steam threshing mill in the centre of the village and huddled close to the shore is a row of tiny cottages. The painting has captured Sandhead as it was 150 years ago.” Local archaeology is well represented. There is a collection of prehistoric flints and a rare Anglo-Saxon bronze belt-end from Stranraer. There is also the base of a large medieval pot. This was dredged up from the sea about one mile south of the Mull of Galloway. It dates from around 1400 AD. Was it lost overboard in a storm or does it mark the site of an ancient ship wreck? Returning to the more recent past there is a fascinating group of silver medals. Two of the medals were awarded in the Victorian period to Duxes at the old Stranraer Academy. The other medals are mainly agricultural and record events like the 1893 meeting of the Machars Horse Breeding Association. From the 1930’s is a nostalgic collection of gramophone records still in their original sleeves and advertising local shops. Many of theses shops, such as Macsloy and Sons of Castle Street in Stranraer, are long gone but will still be remembered by the town’s older residents. Local maritime history is covered with a collection of models of Victorian paddle steamers. These models, made in the 1960’s, include the Countess of Galloway and the Princesses Louise and Beatrice. The maritime theme continues with three faded but fascinating photographs showing the harbours at Garlieston and the Isle of Whithorn in the 1890’s. The museum is open from Monday to Saturday throughout the year. Admission is free. |
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