Museum Shuts for Major Refurbishment
Inverclyde Council’s historic McLean Museum and Watt Library will close at 3.30pm on Friday 23 December 2016 to undergo a £2 million refurbishment.
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Widely considered as one of the best municipal museums in Scotland for its outstanding collections of art, local heritage, technology and culture, the building is to undergo essential repairs.
Education & Communities Vice Convener Councillor Martin Brennan said: “The museum has been collecting since it opened in 1876 so you can probably imagine the many thousands of artefacts and collections the building holds. All of them have to be stored securely so there is a huge amount of work that needs to be done before repairs and renovations to the building can even begin. We are looking at creating a temporary museum early next year and are exploring a number of options.”
The Council is investing £1.8 million towards the refurbishment work alongside a grant of £287,000 from Historic Environment Scotland.
Repairs will be carried out to the parapets, towers and roof, windows will be replaced and areas of wet rot treated.
Councillor Brennan added: “It is nearly 30 years since the museum and art gallery building was refurbished but the Watt Library is more or less the same as when it first opened its doors to the public. These repairs are absolutely vital to prolonging the very fabric of the building and I am sure the eighteen months or so it will take will deliver a fitting and lasting home to our historic and culturally significant collections.”
Limited Watt Library services will be available from Central Library from late January 2017.
A range of heritage, museum and library resources can also be viewed online.