Scottish Government funding of £1 million to repair the roof of the Scottish Maritime Museum (SMM) in Irvine has been announced.

On a visit to the Museum’s Linthouse building in Irvine, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said:

"Scotland’s remarkable shipbuilding skills and maritime achievements are part of this country’s rich heritage. We need to preserve this for future generations to appreciate and learn about.

"The SMM’s Linthouse building houses nationally recognised collections that include historic ship models, shipbuilding machinery and machine tools. However, the roof has deteriorated over the past few years and is now in poor condition.

"I am therefore delighted to allocate £1 million in this financial year to enable the Museum to replace the roof of Scotland’s ‘Cathedral of Engineering’ to ensure it is watertight and weatherproof.

"I am confident this will significantly improve the Museum’s attractiveness to visitors in the Year of Creative Scotland, as well as its ability to generate income and, more widely, to help regenerate the town of Irvine."


Welcoming the funding announcement, Sam Galbraith, Chair of the Scottish Maritime Museum, said: "We are grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for providing this money in these difficult times. It ensures the future of our collection of International importance and with a watertight roof we will now be able to put on bigger and better exhibitions of our maritime history."

The Scottish Maritime Museum (SMM) holds a nationally recognised and varied collection of historic ships, artefacts, shipbuilding machinery, machine tools, several small vessels, canoes, lifeboats and other personal items. The SMM is located in two sites, Dumbarton and Irvine.

The Irvine site is a Grade A listed, 19th Century historic building known as the Linthouse Engine Shop ‘Cathedral of Engineering’.

The Irvine site also includes the shipyard workers’ tenement flat, restored to its pre-1920’s appearance, and a tour of the oldest floating Clydebuilt vessel in the world, M.V. Kyles, moored at the Harbourside.

The SMM this year received core revenue funding from the Scottish Government of £405,000, as well as the capital funding of £1 million for 2011-12 announced today. The Scottish Government’s draft budget plans for 2012-13 envisage that the same level of revenue funding will be provided next year.

The roof repairs are scheduled to begin on January 23, 2012. The Linthouse building is currently closed to the public, but will re-open in June 2012. The Boatshop, pontoons and Shipyard workers’ flat will open, as normal, from April 1, 2012.

The Year of Creative Scotland begins on January 1, 2012 and will spotlight and celebrate Scotland’s cultural and creative strengths on a world stage. Through a year-long programme of activity celebrating Scotland's world-class events, festivals, culture and heritage, the year puts Scotland’s culture and creativity in the international spotlight with a focus on cultural tourism and developing the events industry and creative sector in Scotland.

The Year of Creative Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland and VOCAL.

(GK)