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Funding for Maritime Museum roof
Collections in Scotland’s “Cathedral of Engineering” to be protected
Government funding of £1 million to repair the roof of the Scottish Maritime Museum (SMM) in Irvine has been announced by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
On a visit to the Museum’s Linthouse building in Irvine, the Cabinet Secretary said:
“Scotland’s remarkable shipbuilding skills and maritime achievements are part of this country’s rich heritage. We need to preserve this for future generations to appreciate and learn about.
“The SMM’s Linthouse building houses nationally recognised collections that include historic ship models, shipbuilding machinery and machine tools. However, the roof has deteriorated over the past few years and is now in poor condition.
“I am therefore delighted to allocate £1 million in this financial year to enable the Museum to replace the roof of Scotland’s ‘Cathedral of Engineering’ to ensure it is watertight and weatherproof.
“I am confident this will significantly improve the Museum’s attractiveness to visitors in the Year of Creative Scotland, as well as its ability to generate income and, more widely, to help regenerate the town of Irvine.”
Welcoming the funding announcement, Sam Galbraith, Chair of the Scottish Maritime Museum, said:
“We are grateful to the Cabinet Secretary for providing this money in these difficult times. It ensures the future of our collection of International importance and with a watertight roof we will now be able to put on bigger and better exhibitions of our maritime history.”
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