East Lothian Museums

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East Lothian Council Museums Service

Novaspero in Eyemouth Harbour, by John Bellany

East Lothian Museums on www.flickr.com

Road Closures at Prestongrange Museum - 25th May 2008

On Sunday 25th of May entrance to Prestongrange Museum via the B1348 coast road between Musselburgh and Prestonpans will be restricted due to the Edinburgh Marathon. Entrance via car will only be available through the B1361 road, past Drummohr Caravan Park. If you would like directions, or further information, please phone the museum on 0131 653 2904.

North Berwick & Musselburgh: Museum Consultation

Jura Consultants has been commissioned by East Lothian Council to carry out an Options Appraisal to consider the potential for a museum in North Berwick and for a potential museum in Musselburgh. In order to find the most appropriate way forward, we are keen to hear the views of local people. We would, therefore, be extremely grateful if you could spare a few moments to fill out the questionnaire about North Berwick Museum and a museum for Musselburgh, and share your opinions with us.

About us

The Museums Service came into existence in 1990 with the appointment of the first Museums Officer, although the then District Council had operated a museum in North Berwick since 1975. The service now operates museums at Prestongrange, near Prestonpans; Dunbar Town House; and John Muir's Birthplace. North Berwick Museum is currently closed pending redevelopment. In addition the service puts on exhibitions and events, and supports activities, including exhibtions, by community groups across East Lothian. Find out more from our leaflet (575KB PDF).

The permanent staff now comprises the Museums Officer, Assistant Museums Officer, Collections Officer and the Museums Education Officer, plus a Manager and three Museum Assistants at John Muir's Birthplace. Prestongrange and Dunbar museums are open seasonally from April to October, although Dunbar Town House is open at weekends from November to March staffed by volunteers from Dunbar & District History Society.

The Collections comprise some 25,000 items, ranging from steam locomotives to fine art, and including local archaeology, ceramics, textiles and costume, natural history specimens, as well as objects illustrating domestic, working and community life. Of particular importance are the Cornish Beam Engine at Prestongrange Museum, the Haddington Weavers and Craighall Friendly Society banners and a collection of stone anchors.

Collections not on display are held in our environmentally-controlled store at the Museums Service Headquarters in Haddington.

Find out more about what we do in the museum blog.

Collections and Access Policies

The Museums Service Collections Policy and Access Policy were approved by East Lothian Council in August 2005. The Collections Policy sets out our remit in terms of collecting as well as setting guidelines for recording, conserving and securing the collections. The Access Policy shows how we plan to make the collections, and information about the collections, available to the public and researchers through exhibitions, activities, publications and events.