In 2025 we have managed to aquire the former ladies waiting room in the Train Station and doubled our exhibition space!

The beautiful new space has been used as a kilt makers' atelier and a police office, and it lay empty for more than five years. Eventually this year, we have managed to gain the licence to use the room as an extension to the existing museum. Facing the platform it boasts the beautiful original fireplace, a wee kitchenette, a much needed additional store room - and a beautiful large exhibition- and meeting space.

As we are so excited about calling the entire train station ours (except the existing waiting room for train passengers of course), we decided to make our past record-braking exhibition 'The Caste of Dunnydure' permanent (details below), and put most of our efforts into the new room. That said, we have upgraded our kids corner and storage for our exhibition folders already, all supplied by a wonderful local joiner.

We will receive the keys to the new room in the middle of April and visitors are invited to watch the progress. Our beautiful Victorian wedding dress will feature in the new room, together with the original bell from the ancient St Drostan's Church and numerous artefacts we've never been able to display before.

All this is only possible because of generous donations from the amazing people of Insch, our wonderful visitors from all over the world, and the Co-op grant we had received last year. Thank you all so much!

Since 2023 we have a very special subject for our exhibition, the castle of Dunnydure!

Our iconic hill of Dunnideer with the ruined castle right at the top is the trademark of Insch. But what did the castle look like in its heyday?

Dr Colin Harris has researched the castle for many years and has provided us with his findings.

We have won Clive Metcalfe, one of the best model builders, artist and founding member of Pink Floyd to build us a model of Dunnideer Castle as it looked like in the year 1500. 

Peter Donaldson's research covering the early settlements on Dunnideer hill is rounding up the exhibition.

PREVIOUS TALK

DUNNIDEER CASTLE
IN THE 16th CENTURY
A talk by Dr Colin Harris, a Trustee of the Museum
To be held in the church hall at St Drostan’s Church,

Commerce Street, Insch, AB52 6JB
on Monday 29th April 2024 at 7pm.

Entrance £5 per person includes tea/coffee

Back in 2023, the Insch Connection Museum commissioned Kent-based model
maker Clive Metcalfe to build a 1:150 model of Dunnideer Castle as it might have
looked in the 1500s, based on the research of the castle by Dr Colin Harris.
This talk will describe:
the reasons leading to the design of the model
explore the development of the castle
its function in the 1500s
the subsequent destruction and decline, to the castle ruin which we see today.

return.

Admission free but donations appreciated

E-mail: insch.museum@gmail.com

Facebook: Insch Connection Museum

PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS

Every year since the Museum opened in 1998 we have put on a special exhibition featuring aspects of the village life of Insch and the North East of Scotland.

Each year's exhibition is compiled into an album and the albums can be viewed in the museum. 

Our previous special exhibitions (1998 - 2022)

1998  'Merchants, tradesmen & shops of Insch

1999  ‘Insch at War’

2000  ‘Insch celebrates’

2001  ‘Agriculture’

2002  ‘Living in the Kitchen’ &  ‘Queen's Golden Jubilee’

2003  ‘In Sickness and Health’

2004  ‘Railway 150’  & ‘The Post before 1854’

2005  ‘Sport in Insch’

2006  ‘The Changing Face of Insch’

2007  ‘Trades and Crafts of Insch’ and ‘Maintaining the Line'

2008  ‘Street names of Insch’

2009  ‘Insch connections abroad’

2010  ‘Stone to Steam’

2011  ‘Williamston – an Insch Connection’

2012  'Kirks and Manses'

2013  'Childhood - Then and Now'

2014  'The Great War - Life in Spite of it.

2015  'Wild About Insch - Countryside Connections '

2016  'Souters of Insch '

2017  'Our Bobbies - Policing the North East'

2018  'Recording Change -Twenty Years of the Insch Connection Museum' 

2019  'Catching Fire - Firefighter Heroes in the North East' 

2022  'Made in Insch'

2023-2025 'The Castle of Dunnydure'