Musselburgh Museum Committee is delighted to learn that the proposal for a permanent museum for Musselburgh has moved a step forward.  Members are pleased that East Lothian Council has fulfilled its intention to plan for a museum in Musselburgh and that money has been earmarked over the next five years for this purpose.  The Committee looks forward to learning more about this exciting new initiative and will co-operate with the Council and its Museums Service to take this project forward.

A Museum for Musselburgh

Musselburgh Museum starts 2009, the last year of the first decade of the millennium, with a great sense of optimism. After some 18 years of campaigning, the establishment of a permanent museum in this historic town is closer than ever. The Museum Committee is pleased to have received a positive response from the consultation exercises commissioned by East Lothian Council in 2008 to determine the case for a museum in the town.

Following the East Lothian Heritage Forum meeting, chaired by Councillor Stuart Currie, the Committee is hopeful that the Council will give positive consideration to the recommendations of the Jura consultants and is determined to co-operate in every way a permanent heritage centre. The support of the townspeople and groups within the town to the work of the Museum Committee and in the consultation exercise has been inestimable and much appreciated.  

The Committee is planning one of its exhibitions in 2009, about which more will be written at a later date. In the meantime, the Committee is ever keen to build up its collection of items of local interest especially of the town’s rich historical and industrial past. It asks that old photos, articles, papers etc are not disposed of but donated to the Committee for archiving or lent for copying if required to be returned.

The Museum Committee has campaigned for over a decade to have this magnificent building restored internally and turned into a home for all the Musselburgh Heritage organisations, with part of it dedicated to a Musselburgh Museum. The Honest Toun's Association, the Musselburgh Conservation Society, the Old Musselburgh Club and the Musselburgh Twinning Association are all important organisations dedicated in their different ways to keeping the town's heritage and special identity alive.