The following blog post was kindly written for us by our student volunteer Sarah MacDiarmid. During my current master’s course in Museum Studies at the University of Glasgow, I was given the invaluable opportunity of carrying out a work placement at the North Ayrshire Heritage Centre with a fellow student, Honor. The project we are undertaking is called ‘What’s in the box?’ which entails cataloguing the objects held in the centre’s collections room. …
What’s in the Box? by Honor Mackenzie
The following blog post was kindly written for us by our student volunteer Honor Mackenzie. As a Museum Studies student on work placement at the North Ayrshire Heritage Centre, I have been working behind the scenes alongside my fellow student, to catalogue objects from the collection stores. Although much of this work takes place outwith public view, it plays part of an essential role in preserving and understanding the …
Doors Open Day 2025 in North Ayrshire
Doors Open Day in Ayrshire takes place on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September, a chance to explore as many buildings as you can, some of which are not normally open to the public. All are free entry. Over the next couple of weeks, we will highlight some of the North Ayrshire buildings that are opening their doors that weekend …
New Exhibition: For Our Freedom and Yours
Our latest exhibition is now underway and it focuses on telling the story of the Polish armed forces during the Second World War! The exhibition tells the story of the Polish 1st Armoured Division and the contributions they made to the Allied war effort. Collected and curated by Sean Szmalc of Titanic Honour and Glory Exhibitions, his fascination with the …
What’s in the Box?
The following blog post was kindly written for us by our student volunteer, Grace Levine. Growing up in upstate New York, I was surrounded by history from a very young age. With not much to do in my rural town in the Hudson Valley, my parents brought me to local museums, historical societies, and heritage sites. As I got older, …
Crochet at the Heritage Centre
The following blog post was kindly written for us by one of our student volunteers, Julia Kahn. At the North Ayrshire Heritage Centre, I have had the pleasure of inventorying the costume and textile collection over the past several months. The collection holds many treasures, from Harry Kemp’s costumes to beautiful Ayrshire white work. As a crocheter myself, my favourite …
‘Outwith’ Exhibition at the Museum of the Cumbraes
We have a new art exhibition within our Museum of the Cumbraes, which is located within the beautiful Garrison House in Millport. Called “Outwith” this exhibition features a showcase of work by talented Irvine-based artist Kevin O’Rourke’, who took his inspiration from the Scottish word meaning ‘outside or beyond.’ Talking about his inspiration, Kevins shares that “Covid completely changed my …
Genealogy is Moving
Some of you may have noticed an announcement on North Ayrshire Council’s page a couple of weeks ago about our genealogy and local history service, which is currently located in Irvine Townhouse….. We are really excited to share with you that we have closed the doors on the service in the Townhouse and are busy packing up all our treasures …
New Exhibition: ‘They Wore It So Well’
We have a brand-new exhibition at our Heritage Centre in Saltcoats and it’s all about fashion! We are going back to the 60’s and 70’s for ‘They Wore It So Well’, an exhibition which celebrates the fashions from those two decades. The exhibition features a lovely variety of dresses, shoes, handbags and coats and it’s all from the collection of …
Duchess of Fife in War Livery
You might not know that, on the outbreak of World War II in 1939, most of the Clyde paddlers were called up for minesweeping – some of them for a second time, having played that role in World War I. Several were lost, and at the close of the hostilities only one replacement was built – The Waverley. Those that …