We are a small independent museum run entirely by volunteers with our prime income coming from our visitors, the vast majority of which comes during the summer season. When the lockdown started in March of 2020 we had to closed our doors and we have remained closed ever since. We have lost an entire years worth of income.

Many of our volunteers were in the shielding category due to age and/or health and so even with restrictions lifting slightly in the South West of Scotland we have remained closed until they are able to return.

We currently plan to reopen in the spring of 2021 but we expect there to still be restrictions due to social distancing, and our volunteer availabilty, and so the number of days we are able to open to the public will be less than in previous years. Our current expectation is that we will operate at 40% of our previous capacity; which means we will have to operate with only 40% of our previous income.

To help us going forward we have actively reviewed every aspect of our expenditure. Some costs are discretionary, but many are not. Utility bills, insurance , security and our mortgage remain as the broad base of our fixed costs and it is very difficult to influence the level of these significantly, although not impossible. e.g. If we paid off our remaining mortgage we would be able to reduce our base costs by 20% every year for the next 5 years.

The museum has always promoted itself as being interesting, educational, engaging, and supportive and operating as a coherent part of the community in which it resides. We are now seeking your support to help us whilst we recover from the impact of the recent pandemic.

We need to rebuild our visitor numbers, our volunteer numbers and our financial strength to ensure that we return to be a resilient and active part of the community which we serve.

Where you can, we ask that you donate to help the museum face the coming years financial challenges. Thank you.