Museum Blogs

At the time of writing this the Stewartry Museum has two displays containing Axe Heads and Axe hammers.  There is a permanent display in the Archaeology cabinets and a temporary exhibition on archaeology and Treasure Trove.

The items in the temporary exhibit contain a collection of axe heads once the property of E A Hornell. Although most widely known for his art, he was also a keen Antiquarian and very interested in the archaeology of the area.  In the display alongside Hornel’s donation are donations from Captain Hope and other locals.

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Many of us have something in the house that commemorates some major historical event. For example a thimble marking Charles and Diana’s wedding or a mug marking the late Queen’s coronation.

This week’s Stewartry Museum Blog describes the Commemorative items held there.

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Many households will have a prized Memorial Plaque along with a Princess Mary gift box which both date from WW1. Around the picture the legend reads “He died for freedom and honour”, or for the approximately 600 plaques issued to commemorate women, “She died for freedom and honour”.

This week’s Blog looks at the plaques which can be found in the Museum

In the public exhibition, the museum has on display five Memorial plaques. Four of these are for lads born in the area, the fifth for a lad who had family connections here. Each bearing a name.

Also known as a Dead Man’s Penny or a Widow’s Penny, they were sent out for each person who died in battle in World War 1. Some were still being issued into the 1930’s for those who died from injuries they received in the war.

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In the Museum archive there is a set of folders which contain the transcriptions of the War memorials around the Stewartry and Newton Stewart. When doing family history, we may come across family members who died in the war or due to injuries obtained in battle. Not all who came back from the likes of World War 1 & 2 wanted to talk about themselves or those they lost by their side. Many memories being lost to the mists of time. Projects like the war memorial project allow us to remember these people and why they were lost.

Most entries contain the name, rank and battalion of each person with additional information such as death dates, injuries and which battles they were injured in where possible. Some have enlistment dates, birthdates, parent’s names, and previous jobs. It may also tell you where you can find their Commonwealth war grave. A wealth of information for those looking to find out more. Some are just the names, rank and or regiment.

Kirkcudbright also has the two books dedicated to the military lost in both wars. “We shall remember them, Kirkcudbright’s sons 1914-1918”, and “We shall remember them, Kirkcudbright’s sons 1939-1945”. These have as much detail per person that the author Ian Devlin could find. Copies can be found for sale in the Stewartry Museum.

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In the Stewartry museum there is a small collection of snuff boxes. Some are intricately etched, others beautifully painted. Some are made from shell, horn, or silver as well as wooden ones. Each has its own life and story to tell. The one that interests me the most is a small wooden one covered in precise small script which tells its own story for anyone to read.

During the reign of King George III, a massive Battle took place on foreign soil, with the Duke of Wellington in charge of the British Troops who fought against Napoleon. On the 18^th    of June 1815 the Battle of Waterloo raged on.

A tree stood upon this battlefield, early visitors killed the tree by stripping it of its limbs for souvenirs, and afterwards they cut it down. According to the snuff box, the trunk was sent to the British Museum. This small snuff box was made from the limbs of the tree. It became known as Wellington’s tree. On looking into the whereabouts of the tree it is not certain it went to the British Museum. The trunk may have been made into a chair for the King. As for the other limbs most likely other souvenirs like the snuff box were made.

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Following the recent news about the The Little Drum Solar Farm this Blog links the High Banks Rock Art to the Museum. Anyone that walks past the Stewartry museum can see the casts of the High Banks Cup and Rings.

The casts were made by E.A. Hornell, artist and antiquarian. They are local examples of rock art; other examples can be found scattered around the landscape of the UK. The High Banks carvings are particularly beautiful examples and can still be seen in the landscape just outside Kirkcudbright.

However, within the museum are three more examples of rock art. These are no casts though, they are on the original stone. At different points some of the examples have been removed form their original sites. This could have been for reuse of the stone, or protection.

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Billy Marshall, local legend, King of the Galloway Tinkler Gypsies. If the information is correct, he lived a very full life. He is credited with living to 120 years of age however Billy himself is said to have given his birth date as 1666, this would make him slightly older. The dates we do have for his life are 1671 to 1792. He was a skilled craftsman in using and working with Horn amongst other materials.  The Stewartry Museum has several items he and his family are reputed to have made on show. This includes a ladle made by Billy himself, a cup, and a spoon made by one of his sons. The spoon having been made for The Earl of Selkirk. He was known for more nefarious pastimes such as Smuggling and stealing, as well as a time as a soldier, mercenary, rebel and Leveller.

It is believed that his birthplace may have been in Minnigaff, at the time part of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbrightshire. He travelled the lands of both Galloway and Ayrshire. Ayrshire also claiming to be the place of his birth. For a while he owned land in Minnigaff and used it as a kind of headquarters for his fellow travellers and gang members, gathering and fencing stolen goods out the property.

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When looking into the local history of a place or person the local museum can be a great source of information.

At the Stewartry Museum, here in Kirkcudbright, there is public access to an archive useful for both basic local history and family history research. You can just pop along and ask to see the items in the archive. It can be accessed easily and there is a list of items in it held at the desk.  One of the accessible set of records is a collection of local newspapers.  In the collection is a set of Galloway News editions from 1950-1990. These are great resources for finding out about local events, pageants, courts, and historical items such as Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, or the Little Ross Lighthouse Murder.  They can be used in family history research checking through births, engagements, marriages and deaths, or local clubs’ competition winners.  When an obituary is written it can give personal detail that a census can’t, giving a different more personal picture of a person.

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