As a former customer of SSE's, your account of their blindness to the heritage in their care is very saddening. It seems particularly blinkered given that they do have a small display of the history of Scottish hydro-electric development in the 1940s and 1950s in their visitor centre at Pitlochry Dam. (As well as an online heritage web site and archive/collection index: https://www.sseheritage.com/)
Your post did inspire me to investigate the current status of the Bakelite Museum, which I last visited in the late 1990s. It turns out that it too is in need of a new home: https://www.bakelitemuseum.net. The Pencil Museum is one of my favourites, though (despite the mockery it generates in my nearest and dearest). On the other hand, I found the Orkney Wireless Museum little disappointing.
My most recent experience of being disappointed at the closure of a museum was the Jerome K Jerome museum in Walsall. We went to the Walsall Art Gallery a couple of years ago and were quite excited to see that there was a JKJ Museum nearby...shut!😕 I suppose there are lots of factors, mainly footfall, and it depends what the purpose of the museum is and what else is nearby. I'm surprised that a holiday destination with lots of visitors and a variable climate couldn't sustain any number of museums. Sad.
Good on you visiting the pencil museum! I gave that one a swerve when I was up there. I should have had more faith!
As a former customer of SSE's, your account of their blindness to the heritage in their care is very saddening. It seems particularly blinkered given that they do have a small display of the history of Scottish hydro-electric development in the 1940s and 1950s in their visitor centre at Pitlochry Dam. (As well as an online heritage web site and archive/collection index: https://www.sseheritage.com/)
Your post did inspire me to investigate the current status of the Bakelite Museum, which I last visited in the late 1990s. It turns out that it too is in need of a new home: https://www.bakelitemuseum.net. The Pencil Museum is one of my favourites, though (despite the mockery it generates in my nearest and dearest). On the other hand, I found the Orkney Wireless Museum little disappointing.
The Bakelite museum seems to be in with a chance of a new life - they are looking for new premises and have some helpful supporters.
My most recent experience of being disappointed at the closure of a museum was the Jerome K Jerome museum in Walsall. We went to the Walsall Art Gallery a couple of years ago and were quite excited to see that there was a JKJ Museum nearby...shut!😕 I suppose there are lots of factors, mainly footfall, and it depends what the purpose of the museum is and what else is nearby. I'm surprised that a holiday destination with lots of visitors and a variable climate couldn't sustain any number of museums. Sad.
Good on you visiting the pencil museum! I gave that one a swerve when I was up there. I should have had more faith!
I confess we did have the kids with us..... but all ages thought it had something for them.