Kirbuster Farm Museum remedial works underway thanks to MGS funding

Remedial works worth a total of around £70k are underway at the much-loved Kirbuster Museum.

The Council’s Museums team secured £47k earlier this year from Museums Galleries Scotland’s Capital Resilience Fund, to carry out the much needed works.

MGS generously increased their award by another £22k earlier this month (December) to reflect rising costs.

Improvements to the historic building include re-picking and pointing the majority of the stone wall exterior with traditional lime mortars, and joinery works including new window frames and gates.

Areas of internal plastering will be taken back to the stone and replaced with traditional lime plaster to help release moisture from within the walls and allow them to ‘breath’.

Work will be carried out by local firm B Thomson, Building Contractors Ltd.

Nick Hewitt is Culture Team Manager for the Council: “These works will make a huge difference in keeping wind and damp out - not only boosting the comfort for visitors, but also helping protect the items on display which reflect what life was like in Orkney in bygone years, as well as guarding the fabric of the building itself from deterioration.”

Kirbuster Museum was opened to the public in 1986 and is the last un-restored example of a traditional ‘firehoose’ in Northern Europe. The house has a central hearth, complete with peat fire, and a stone neuk bed reminiscent of the Neolithic interiors that can be seen at sites such as Skara Brae, Orkney.

It was occupied up until the 1960s and was once the home of the Spence and Hay families.

The site also has an Edwardian parlour and Victorian Gardens. The implement shed contains a collection of farming memorabilia and visitors can enjoy a game of putting on the green and explore the Trowie Trail in the back garden.

The works started in November when the museum closed for the season, and are expected to carry on into late March 2023 – but will hopefully be largely complete in time for the Museum reopening on 1 March 2023.

Lucy Casot, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland said: “We are pleased to support repairs to the historic Kirbuster Farm Museum, a place which is unique to the history of Orkney.

“Preserving this important building through maintenance now will mean everyone can continue to enjoy it for years to come.”

Museums Galleries Scotland is the National Development Body for museums and galleries in Scotland and offers strategic development support to the sector. For further information about Museums Galleries Scotland visit their website.