The Baird
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| The Baird Museum, Cumnock has been graded a four star visitor attraction by Visit Scotland in recognition of an excellent standard of facilities and services. The venue which recently underwent a £650,000 refurbishment programme won great praise in several areas. |
The refurbishment has greatly contributed to the flow within the museum, taking visitors seamlessly from the impressive gallery space through the collections of Mauchline Ware, Cumnock pottery and other important items of local interest, showing the rich industrial heritage of the area. The dedicated Kier Hardie room has been redisplayed and includes fun and informative interactives as well as many of Hardie’s personal belongings.
The Research Room provides access to archives; audio visual material; books; maps; museum collections; newspapers and photographs.
The Baird will host a changing programme of museum displays and touring exhibitions. The well informed and attentive Visitor Services Assistant, singled out by Visit Scotland, adds greatly to the visitor experience.
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James Keir Hardie |
| James Keir Hardie (1856-1915) was the
founder of the Labour Party in Britain. |
He was born into poverty in Legbrannoch,
Lanarkshire, and in 1879 he was appointed
Secretary of the Association, moving to
Cumnock and in 1881.
Appalled at the conditions in the mines he led
a miners’ protest against a cut in wages and
organised a union of the Ayrshire miners.
The protest collapsed which led to him being
dismissed and black-listed by the mineowners,
as a result of this he turned to
journalism for a living with the ‘Cumnock
News’ in 1882. He became actively involved
within the Cumnock Community, founding
a Good Templar Lodge and promoting the
temperance movement. He was invited to
become the Secretary to the new Ayrshire
Miners’ Union in 1886 and in 1888 helped found
the Scottish Labour Party and stood as Labour
candidate at the Mid-Lanark by-election.
Throughout his career as an MP in London,
Hardie continued to live in Cumnock. He lived
in ‘Lochnorris’, a large house which he had
built for his family in 1891.
The Lochnorris Collection |
| The Lochnorris Collection contains
1200 items relating to the public and
private life of the influential politician
James Keir Hardie and his family,
principally his daughter Agnes (Nan)
and her husband Emrys Hughes. |
The collection has been acquired almost
exclusively from direct family descendants.
Furniture, letters, pictures, books, photos and
ceramics are all included. Many items were
gifts received by James Keir Hardie on world
tours so a strong element of ethnography
appears in the collection.
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