Biggar Museum Trust

Biggar Museum Trust (BMT) is an independent charity based in and around the town of Biggar in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The late Brian Lambie began a remarkable collection of artefacts from the area over some 40 years, and with a number of others created BMT which became responsible for a number of museums. It became apparent to the Trustees that the buildings were not able to meet modern requirements, were difficult to access and expensive to maintain and develop.

In 2010 an opportunity arose to acquire a large site in the centre of the town, and a project to create a new museum to bring the collections together and meet current requirements and visitor aspirations. The cost of the project was £2.2 million, of which more than half was raised from within the town and scattered rural community of the area, together with Funding from the Clyde Wind Farm Community Fund, South Lanarkshire LEADER, Museums Galleries Scotland and a number of private trusts. The new museum was designed to meet high standards and is fully accessible, with a dedicated parking area for cars and a coach.

Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum opened to visitors on 28 July 2015. It has a historical gallery illustrating the history of the area from early times up to the 20th century, a street of shops recreated from the town and furnished from the collection, and a special exhibition room which can house items loaned from national collections.

BMT is also responsible for:

- Brownsbank Cottage, former home of Hugh MacDiarmid, with a live-in writer in residence, who must produce works in Lowland Scots. This is only open by appointment and is about 5 miles from Biggar.
- Holy Trinity Chapel an Oxford Movement restored chapel built to serve Lamington House [now demolished] about 3 miles from Biggar.
The Biggar Gasworks Museum [not run by BMT] is housed in the last existing gasworks in Scotland where coal was used to make town gas before the introduction of natural gas

Biggar also contains The Puppet Theatre and the Corn Exchange Theatre and Art Gallery. Biggar also has strong connections with William Wallace, with a small bridge in the town being associated with him, although his connection to Lanark is better known.

External links

Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum - official site

Museums and Art Galleries of Scotland

National Museums of Scotland	National Museum of Scotland National Museum of Costume National Museum of Flight National Museum of Rural Life National Museums Collection Centre National War Museum

Other museums	Aberdeen Maritime Museum Alloa Tower Angus Folk Museum Biggar Museum Trust British Golf Museum Broughty Castle Museum David Livingstone Centre Dick Institute Discovery Point Dumfries Museum Dundee Museum of Transport Fife Folk Museum Glasgow Museum of Transport Gordon Highlanders Museum Grampian Transport Museum Highland Folk Museum Highland Museum of Childhood Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery Inveraray Jail Inverness Museum and Art Gallery John Knox House Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum King's Museum Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery Marischal Museum McManus Galleries Mills Observatory Museum of Ayrshire Country Life and Costume Museum of Childhood Museum of Edinburgh Museum of Scottish Lighthouses New Lanark Newhaven Heritage Museum North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre People's Palace People's Story Museum Perth Museum and Art Gallery Provand's Lordship Provost Skene's House Scotland Street School Museum Scotland’s Jute Museum @ Verdant Works Scottish Fisheries Museum Scottish Football Museum Scottish Maritime Museum Scottish Railway Museum Signal Tower Museum St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art Stewartry Museum Stirling Smith Museum and Art Gallery Summerlee, Museum of Scottish Industrial Life Surgeons' Hall The Tolbooth St Andrews Museum

National Galleries of Scotland	Dean Gallery Duff House Paxton House Royal Scottish Academy Building Scottish National Gallery Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Other galleries	Aberdeen Art Gallery Burrell Collection Dundee Contemporary Arts Fruitmarket Gallery Gallery of Modern Art McLellan Galleries Pier Arts Centre Queen's Gallery Talbot Rice Gallery Tramway

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