Situated within the Cairngorms National Park, the Highland Folk Museum (HFM) in Newtonmore is mainland Britain’s first open-air museum, showcasing 300 years of Highland history across its 80-acre site.
With over 30 historic buildings to explore, costumed interpreters, regular events and activities, visitors step back in time to learn about the life and work of Highlanders. History is brought to life with native Soay sheep, the aroma of peat fires and sounds of Gaelic waulking songs.
The museum also cares for a nationally recognised collection inside the purpose-built store, Am Fasgadh (in Gaelic, the shelter).
The Highland Folk Museum was founded in 1935 by the historian, ethnologist and pioneering collector Dr Isabel F. Grant (1887-1983). Inspired by folk museums in Scandinavia, Grant housed her first museum at a disused church on the island of Iona. Its remit was “. . . to shelter homely ancient Highland things from destruction”. By 1939 the museum collection had outgrown its home and moved to another disused church, this time on the mainland, in Laggan, Badenoch, before relocating again to Kingussie in 1944.
At Pitmain Lodge, a Georgian house which came with three acres of land, Grant could finally realise her dream of constructing a small number of vernacular buildings – a cottage, a blackhouse and a ‘but-and-ben’. These buildings and the use of live demonstrations sealed HFM’s popular reputation, forming the blueprint of the current, much expanded museum.
When Grant retired in 1954, ownership of the museum moved to a Trust formed by the four ancient Scottish universities. A new phase began in 1975, when HFM was transferred to the Highland Regional Council. An eighty-acre site was acquired, about three miles away at Newtonmore, and work began to lay out the four distinct areas of the museum: Aultlarie Croft – a 1930s working farm; Balameanach (‘Middle Village’) – a community of relocated buildings; the Pinewoods – a forest area; and Baile Gean – a reconstruction of an early 1700s Highland township. This site opened to the public in 1987 and operated in tandem with Am Fasgadh in Kingussie, until the closure of the latter in 2007.
In 2011 responsibility for managing HFM and its collections was handed over to High Life Highland (HLH), an arm’s length charitable organisation owned by The Highland Council. In 2012, HFM gained Museum Accreditation.
The new Am Fasgadh building opened in 2014, and in 2015 the collections of HFM received official ‘Recognition’ status from Museums Galleries Scotland and the Scottish Government, as a ‘Nationally Significant Collection’.
Future plans and aspirations for the museum include the development of publicly accessible galleries, with exhibition space for the display and interpretation of the collection.
The buildings themselves are the stars of the show, from the heather thatch and turf walled buildings of the recreated Baile Gean township, to the original “crinkly tin” Knockbain School building from the early 1900s.
The accessioned museum collection is housed in Am Fasgadh in an environmentally controlled store, accessible to the public on regular store tours, or by prior appointment.
The emphasis is on rural and domestic life, covering everything from teaspoons to tractors. Collections of particular note include vernacular chairs and dressers and a small but significant collection of items representing the Travelling community. Other Highland crafts and industries are represented, including an illicit whisky still. Agriculture and crofting life are represented, from subsistence farming through to developed mechanised farming, with a rare early wooden plough and large threshing mill from John o’Groats. The textiles and costume collection is complemented by objects such as early looms and spinning wheels which highlight the production processes behind the finished items. Fine 19th century dresses sit alongside more everyday items such as cotton mutches (bonnets), and handmade blankets.
HLH delivers public services on the Council’s behalf including libraries, archives, museums and galleries, and is the largest charity and third sector provider in the Highlands of Scotland. In addition to the funding received from The Highland Council, the majority of the charity’s earned income comes from customer/member income.
There is no entry charge at the museum, but donations are welcomed: donations and spend in the café and shop make up a large proportion of its income. Group catering, store tours and meeting room hire in Am Fasgadh provide additional income streams. The museum employs twelve permanent staff (operational, curatorial, administration, craft workers and maintenance staff), and employs approximately 30 seasonal staff for the open season.
The site is open from the start of April until the end of October, and welcomes around 70,000 local, national and international visitors.