New exhibition at Timespan Budget slashed by voluntary hard labour.
COMMUNITY REOPENS WITH £100,000 SLASHED FROM PROJECT COSTS THROUGH VOLUNTARY HARD LABOUR!
Helmsdale Heritage Society was established in the early 1980s when a small group of local people committed to creating acommunity heritage centre for the village residents and visitors to Sutherland. At the time, no one anticipated that Timespan would become an award winning museum with one of the best galleries in the region. Now over twenty years later, it has pulled off another remarkable coup by transforming and adding to its facilities, helped by voluntary support that reduced costs by a huge margin.
THE BACKGROUND
After 200 years it was unsurprising that the fabric of the building which now houses Timespan’s building was in dire need of repair by 2006. Faced with the choice of closure or redevelopment the board opted for the latter, with fingers crossed. They redesigned the centre to be fit for purpose and sustainability in the 21st century. A huge, expensive job which would never have been successful had it not been for the hands-on voluntary effort of the local community.
THE COST
A passion for Timespan has driven this redevelopment from the beginning. The combination of talent and time that was expended by all the volunteers has saved Timespan at least £100,000 - approximately one sixth of the project’s costs. It speaks volumes about the cohesion of our community
£400,000 of support came from Scottish Arts Council, Highland Lottery, Highland Council, CASE and other statutory bodies. £200,00 came from private charitable trusts and £100,000 came from “sweat-aid” the hard graft of board members, friends, staff, and members of the community through project management, building, electrical, painting, fund raising and design.
THE RESULT
A Geology Garden on the riverside to accommodate the massive boulders which formed the geology collection, to incorporate a café terrace.
The Museum opens with a colourful and irreverent Community Timeline leading to the refurbished Crofting Street comprising a walk-in Smiddy, Byer and 19th century Village Shop and a beautiful recreation of Highland Croft.
The Storytelling Room – a stunning, cosy audio visual suite which can also be used for live storytelling. The virtual tales are told via five animated films conceived, developed and delivered by local talent, with professional guidance. The result is fabulous! Seats are also boxes filled with dressing up costumes and props which will enliven story telling sessions.The new museum exhibition room has been designed around a number of stylish modules that lead the visitor effortlessly through a very personal narration of past times. The combination of images, texts and artifacts draw together sensitive and riveting accounts of murder most vile, the Highland Clearances, the Kildonan Gold Rush and river and sea fishing including of course the extraordinary days when Helmsdale was responsible for supplying over 40% of the UK with herrings!
The new Community Archive replaces two battered filing cabinets. A light, airy room filled to the rafters with documents, photographs, books and files. Timespan puts great importance on recording and collecting the minutiae of community life and the archive’s greatest value will be to provide local people with the opportunity to really explore their heritage and share personal knowledge and memories with others.
The new TIMESPAN is now open from Easter Friday (10-5 Monday-Saturday, 12-5 Sundays) Shore Street, Helmsdale, KW8 6JX 01431 821327 www.timespan.org.uk
Published on Wednesday 19 March 2008 by David Mason
Last edited on Wednesday 19 March 2008 by David Mason