Annual Conference 2015
The Preservation and Interpretation of Historic Farm Buildings
The Rural Museums Network annual conference for 2015 will be held in Scotland on 20th and 21st May. It is being hosted jointly by Urras Achadh an Droighinn/The Auchindrain Trust and Scotland’s National Museum of Rural Life.
The conference will focus on the preservation and interpretation of historic farm buildings. Many rural life museums occupy buildings originally constructed to house farming activities and processes, or dwellings that meet the needs of people involved in agriculture. Some museums collect examples of such buildings and present them as museum objects, but in general the focus in rural life museums can be on displayed contents or current operational needs. Within a sector where a wide spread of different approaches is both inevitable and desirable, to what extent should the visitor’s attention be drawn to the way a building was designed to support particular activities? What about the materials it was made from or the way in which it was constructed?And does it matter how such buildings are then adapted and maintained to support their new museum use: what are our philosophies?
At a time when traditional farm buildings are increasingly threatened by the impact of changes in agricultural methods, rural life museums will have an increasingly important role as the holders and preservers of the last remaining examples of what was once too common to be worthy of attention.
The first day of the conference will be based at Auchindrain, 75 miles north-west of Glasgow in rural Argyll. The museum preserves the last active survivor and now incomparably the most complete example of what were once thousands of joint-tenancy farm “townships” across Scotland. It is Scotland’s largest group of remaining vernacular rural buildings, and is recognised as a site of national importance. On the second day, the conference will move south (thus, for most of those attending, on the way home) to the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride. At the heart of this lies an 18th and 19th century model farm, Wester Kittochside, which is currently presented as it was in the 1950s. Guided study tours of both sites will provide an opportunity for people to develop an understanding of their nature and different significances, and of the management challenges arising from their new uses as museums for visitors.
A keynote talk will be delivered by Gavin Sprott, who as a senior curator with National Museums Scotland played a leading role in the development of Wester Kittochside Farm into the National Museum of Rural Life, and who is also a long-serving Trustee of Auchindrain.
Details of the conference programme and a Booking Form are attached. A conference fee of £30 per person is payable, which includes lunch on both days and the evening function on the first day. B&B accommodation is available close to Auchindrain, and tents are welcome in the museum.
Programme
Tuesday 19th May
The Trustees and staff of Auchindrain invite anyone attending the conference who wishes to travel the day before, to join them for supper and drinks at the museum.
Wednesday 20th May
The morning is allowed for travel, or for those who have arrived the day before to explore the area.
1.00pmLunch in the Auchindrain Visitor Centre
2.00pmGuided Study Tour of Auchindrain, as a place to be experienced, as a museum to be managed, and a historic site to be conserved. This will be led by Bob Clark, Director of Auchindrain, with the support of other staff.
4.00pmTea
4.15pm“Conservation Philosophy and Practical Challenges in the Preservation of Vernacular Buildings”. John Gleeson MRICS DipAACons, Auchindrain Conservation Surveyor.
5.15pmFind overnight accommodation.
7.30pmDinner and House Ceilidh at Auchindrain. A taste of the townships, followed by a leisurely evening in Martin’s House and Stoner’s Barn with interspersed traditional entertainment and Loch Fyne Ales on tap.
Thursday 21st May
Conference attendees make their own way to the National Museum of Rural Life: lifts will be arranged as required.Allow 90 minutes for travel. The museum is open from 10am to 5pm, and time is thus allowed before and after the programme for self-guided tours of the exhibition galleries.
10.30 amCoffee
11.00amGuided Study Tour of the historic heart of the National Museum of Rural Life, Wester Kittochside Farm, as a place to be experienced, as a museum to be managed, and a historic site to be conserved. This will be led by Elaine Edwards, with the support of other staff.
12.30pmLunch
1.00pmOptional Guided Tour of the Combine Harvester Store.
1.30pm“Form and Function: Understanding and Interpreting Traditional Farm Buildings, with Wester Kittochside Farm and Auchindrain as case studies”. Gavin Sprott, formerly Keeper of the Social and Technological History with National Museums Scotland.
2.30pmTea
2.45pmRural Museums Network AGM 2015
4.00pmDepart
Rural Museums Network Conference
20-21 May 2015
Booking Form
Name:______
Museum/Organisation:______
Address:______
______
______
Email:______
Telephones, mobile and landline:______
Special Dietary Needs:______
Access needs:______
Will you be arriving the night before?Yes/No
I enclose a Cheque for £30 for my conference fee; or,
Please invoice my organisation.
Signed:______
Please email or post your completed form, and cheque if relevant, to:
Rural Museums Network
Auchindrain
Furnace
Inveraray
PA32 8XN
Travel and Accommodation
Auchindrain is located on the A83 a few miles south of Inveraray. If driving from the south, follow the M8 west out of greater Glasgow, then follow signs for the Erskine Bridge and the A82. At Tarbet (by Loch Lomond), take the A83 signposted towards Campbeltown and stay on this road to Auchindrain. Keep an eye open for the museum’s signs, which you pass two miles before satnav will say you have arrived. If travelling by public transport the nearest railway station is Balloch. If arranged in advance, we will pick you up from there. There are buses from Glasgow, but the journey is slow and inconvenient.
The National Museum of Rural Life is on Philipshill Road,East Kilbride,G76 9HR, 0300 123 6789. From Auchindrain follow the A83 and A82 to the Erskine Bridge, then the M8 east and thence onto the M74 signposted towards Carlisle. Leave the M74 at junction 5 for the A725, and follow signs to East Kilbride and then brown signs to the museum. Travelling after the rush hour, the journey time should be about 90 minutes.
It is presumed that people attending the conference will wish to attend the evening function at Auchindrain, and thus stay overnight locally in Argyll. Auchindrain is in an area with plenty of tourist accommodation and the conference is taking place mid-week and out-of-season, so it should not be difficult to find good-value accommodation. A list of places to stay can be found here: The George Hotel is highly recommended for those with deeper pockets; Claonairigh and Killean are excellent B&Bs. If you have any difficulty in finding somewhere, please email and museum staff will do their best to help.