Our Home Page introduced our Trust, but of course, you want to know a wee bit more! When our Town’s Museum was firmly closed by the local council in 2011 (the original Museum was later sold off privately) and lots of local folk gathered to share their disappointment and sense of loss, none of us who are now Members of the Strathaven John Hastie Museum Trust expected to be running a Museum! In fact, with one exception, we had experience in many other jobs – so we are having to learn this museum game, as we go along, combining benefiting from the experience of doing it and formal training in a variety of skills. The Trust is a member of the South Lanarkshire Museums Forum, which helps to broaden our awareness of what’s being achieved and to enjoy comradeship with other groups busy in similar ways.
Our Trust is managed by its Members, from whom are elected a team of Trustees, one of whom chairs Trust meetings and meetings of the Trustees. As a team, we are responsible for the business of the Trust, which is a not-for-profit limited company and a registered Scottish Charity. None of us is paid by The Trust – we are true volunteers. There are 5 directors, up to 25 members plus as many Friends as we can get. There are around 10 meetings a year.
It’s important to us to bring together enthusiasts for our community life and history. That why we welcome those who wish to become Friends of The Strathaven John Hastie Museum Trust. These Friends don’t run the Trust, but they support its work strongly throughout the year, helping in practical ways, as well as “spreading the word).
We work together to tell Strathaven’s story. This means arranging exhibitions and events, often with a particular theme. Oh, and we do it our way! A key feature of our work is our determination to bring out of their council store key items from the huge John Hastie and Strathaven Collections. Of course, our Trust is steadily building its own archive of interesting artefacts, donated by local folk and visitors. We also record people’s stories about their lives and their work, sometimes in jobs which no longer exist.
Our other ambitions? Well, although we make use of premises in Strathaven to store and to display our collection, we are keen to find a suitable building which we can call our own, a key factor in our intention to become accredited by Museums Galleries Scotland. That way, we can set up semi-permanent displays, as well as mounting fresh exhibitions.
Why not join us?
Strathaven John Hastie Museum Trust 