Tiny Highland museum gets 'major vote of confidence' as it looks to future

West Highland Museum in Fort William | contributed

A tiny museum in the Highlands has made a big breakthrough in securing funding for its expansion to cope with rising numbers of visitors.

The West Highland Museum in Lochaber now welcomes around 60,000 visitors a year, with the rise partly driven by huge interest in its Jacobite relics, which tells the story of the area’s key role in the 1745 risings

With its premises now too small to meet its popularity - or show off all its finest objects - a £6.2m redevelopment of its Fort William home is now being pursued to secure the future of one of the Highland’s most important heritage collections.

A small celebration is now in order after the museum was told that the National Lottery Heritage Fund has agreed development funding of more than £260,000 to help the museum further progress its plans.

The museum said the award from the National Lottery Heritage Fund was a “major vote of confidence in the museum’s vision and the importance of Lochaber’s heritage”.

READ MORE: Jacobite snuff box from Culloden goes on display

Ian Peter MacDonald, Chair of the West Highland Museum, added: “This is a hugely encouraging moment for the West Highland Museum and for Fort William.

“For more than a century, the Museum has shared our Lochaber and West Highland stories, rooted in our extraordinary landscape of mountains, glens and sea, language and culture, conflict and community, migration, memory and identity.”

The museum is now more than halfway to raising the £6.2m required for the redevelopment, with £3m still required.

The future design for the expanded West Highland Museum - with a view of how it looks now | The future design for the expanded West Highland Museum - with a view of how it looks now

Outlander author Diana Gabaldon is among those who has supported the project, with the writer visiting the museum last year to back the fundraiser.

READ MORE: Diana Gabaldon heads to visit for secret visit to Jacobite museum

Recent Jacobite acquisitions include a snuff box of Angus MacKintosh of Farr, which was recovered from the battlefield at Culloden following his death.

The soldier served as a captain in the Dunmaglass regiment. He was among around 1,500 Jacobites who perished in the 1746 battle which saw forces loyal to Bonnie Prince Charlie defeated by the Duke of Cumberland's government army.

As well as Jacobite material, the museum holds a wealth of material on Gaelic cultural heritage, archaeology, social history, costume and textiles, archives, natural history, local history and material connected to the Commandos in Lochaber during the Second World War.

With the next stage of the museum’s fundraising mission now underway, a new film about the future of the museum will be screened at the Highland Cinema in the town next week, with residents urged to attend and hear about plans for the heritage site.

Mr MacDonald that said, once complete, the redevelopment will improve access, expand gallery and learning spaces, strengthen the care of collections, and create new opportunities for local people, schools, volunteers and visitors to engage with the heritage of Lochaber and the West Highlands.

He added: “Come to our launch and learn more about how you can help as we plan a Museum that is more accessible, more welcoming and better able to serve local people, schools, volunteers, researchers and visitors for generations to come.”

The redevelopment is also set to improve Fort William town centre by taking over a derelict site.

The award from the Heritage Lottery Fund will allow the museum to move into detailed planning with architects, consultants and the community to shape a full application for further finance.

Without redevelopment, the museum risks a period of managed decline — losing momentum, morale and the ability to meet community and national expectations, the museum earlier said.