Maintaining museum standards

Although best known for the places that we protect, we also care for more than 300,000 objects of all shapes and sizes, from valuable paintings to humble kitchen utensils ... and everything in between. These pieces tell us about the lives lived at our places and help us to share Scotland’s amazing stories with our visitors, members and donors.

Making sure these collections are well-cared for is an important part of our work, and our professional teams are guided by industry best practice in all they do.

The team at Culloden Battlefield and Visitor Centre have just secured important recognition of their efforts with the award of coveted Museum Accreditation status by Museums Galleries Scotland, the national development body for the museum sector in Scotland.

The accreditation has taken about a year to achieve and means that we can now make claim to any archaeological discoveries found on the site. Previously, any archaeological finds on the battlefield have been managed by Highland Council.

Culloden Visitor Centre, which stands beside the battlefield, features artefacts from both sides of the battle and interactive displays that reveal the background to the conflict. It explains the complexities and tragedy of this battle, which was such an important 18th-century event.

Culloden is the eighth Trust property to attain accredited status – Broughton House, Culross Palace, Brodick Castle, Fyvie Castle, House of Dun, Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and Hugh Miller’s Cottage in nearby Cromarty are also part of the scheme.

Raoul adds: ‘This accreditation will help us to raise standards of collections management, which involves the development, storage and preservation of our collection, as well as provide important access to funding for our visitor facilities. This is vital as we progress our plans to protect the landscape of Culloden Moor for future generations.’