Highlanders' Museum in final fundraising push

A planned £2.9 million redevelopment of a regimental museum in Scotland is tantalisingly close to reaching its fundraising target.

The Highland Heritage Appeal, launched in 2010 by Hollywood actor Hugh Grant, has so far raising £2.56 million towards the target, and is now making a final push for the extra £350,000 needed to complete the project.

The cause is close to the heart of Hugh Grant, as he visited the museum many times as a child and has fond memories of it and the Highlands. Also, his father Captain James Grant served in the Seaforth Highlanders, as did his grandfather Colonel James Grant who famously won the Distinguished Service Order in WWII.

The museum, situated near Inverness at Fort George, is the largest regimental museum in Scotland, outside of Edinburgh, and covers history beginning in the late 1700s, telling the stories of many Highlanders.

The project has already received a funding boost from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). Chairman of the Highlanders’ Museum, Major General Seymour Monro said, “HLF’s award is a tremendous endorsement of the Project as our application has been through the most rigorous scrutiny.”

Colin Maclean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland commented, “HLF believes that this project will transform Fort George to a visitor experience which engages visitors in a modern and exciting way as they learn about life as a soldier over the past two hundred years. We can celebrate that this important part of our Scottish history is going to have a museum of which we can be proud, bringing income and jobs to the economy of the Highlands.”

It is planned that the redevelopment will secure the museum’s place as a significant historic asset for locals and tourists. To make a donation to the project, call the Development Office on 01667 460466 or visit www.thehighlandersmuseum.com and donate online.
The museum is now closed to the public until its scheduled reopening sometime in late summer next year.