Download the letter in PDF format here

Debbie Crosbie
Chief Executive Officer
TSB Scotland plc
Henry Duncan House
118-124 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4LH

By email: debbie.crosbie@tsb.co.uk

28 May 2021

Dear Debbie Crosbie

Ruthwell Savings Bank Museum

The proposal by the Trustee Savings Bank to close the museum dedicated to the foundation of the Savings Bank movement is an extremely distressing one for Dumfries and Galloway, and the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland wishes to support David Mundell MP and Colin Smyth MSP in their plea to the TSB not to go ahead with this. This museum could not be more important to the history of the savings movement worldwide, but its significance also lies both in its very obvious humble beginnings and, particularly for the AHSS, in the authentic character and history of the building that houses it. This is a Category A Listed Building for its very real association with the foundation of Savings Banks and with their originator, the Reverend Henry Duncan, Minister of Ruthwell. As a part of his wider aims to educate his parishioners and assist them in improving their lives, Duncan transformed two semi-derelict eighteenth century cottages, one into a hall for the kind of local meetings and lectures he wished to encourage, and it was in this hall that he introduced his parishioners to the idea of the Savings Bank, while the adjoining cottage was transformed into the bank itself.

You at the TSB of course know this already, but the AHSS feels that perhaps you do not fully understand the duty the bank owes to this relic of your humble beginnings. The only realistic alternative use for this building would be as a house and its character is far less likely to be maintained in a way that fully reflects its true architectural nature and history if this should happen. It is even debatable as to whether it would truly remain of sufficient heritage importance to merit its Category A listing if its direct relation to its banking origins are diminished by your removing the associated artefacts and ending the bank’s direct ownership of it. It records the origins of a worldwide movement in a small community in a rural backwater. It bears a remarkable testimony to Henry Duncan and his world, but it can only survive properly if it remains in TSB’s ownership and control.

What amounts to asset stripping of the local heritage has happened before in Dumfries and Galloway. In 2013 the National Museum of Scotland closed the National Costume Museum in Shambellie House and removed the collection to Edinburgh, giving the same reasons for doing so that you now use. In the following year the Galloway Hoard of Viking silver was discovered by a metal dectectorist, and in 2017 it also became the property of the National Museum and, despite a loud campaign to keep the hoard local, is also to remain in Edinburgh. It is of course true that more people will see these collections in the capital, but it is Edinburgh and Edinburgh tourism that will benefit and not the region from which the collections came.

The fate of Shambellie House is one that should give the TSB cause for reflection. It was gifted in 1983 to the state in perpetuity to house and display Charles Stewart’s extensive costume collection. The gift was accepted on those terms and was an important tourist destination in Galloway until 2012, but, for the last eight years, it has stood empty awaiting a new use, which is only now beginning to appear. Meanwhile, only a small proportion of the costumes themselves are on display in Chambers Street. This must not happen to the Savings Bank Museum and its collection of archives and artefacts. Instead it is perhaps time for a new approach.

Can the TSB not set up a properly endowed trust to run the building and museum? Although visitor numbers may be modest there is scope for increasing them. It is a key member of the group of heritage assets in the area; Carlyle’s Birthplace at Ecclefechan, Devil’s Porridge Museum at Eastriggs, and of course the world famous Ruthwell Cross in the parish church, another memorial to the work of Henry Duncan. To take away any one of these is to diminish the other three. The Ruthwell Cross is a case in point. It is not in Edinburgh, the National Museum has a plaster cast on display, the real thing remains where it was found. What the TSB is now proposing amounts to making a cheap replica of part of the museum on an alien site and abandoning the real thing altogether. This is the opposite of cultural ‘levelling up’.

The AHSS asks that this decision by the TSB should be urgently reconsidered. There is great scope for local support for the museum’s retention while the universities at the Crichton Campus and perhaps the Crichton Trust itself may be in a position to provide advice and assistance. Houses associated with famous people and great ideas, especially when it is as close and real an association as this, always remain of interest, and the AHSS’s concern is that they should stay largely as the famous people in question knew them. The two Robert Burn’s houses, Ellisland Farm and Bank Street, Dumfries have been kept like this and the poet’s presence is still very strong in both of them. Dumfries Town Council recognised their duty to the poet’s memory, and also the advantage to themselves, when they accepted responsibility for Bank Street in 1935. This responsibility is carried on today by Dumfries and Galloway Council.

The AHSS is very concerned that this important Category A Listed Building is likely to suffer inappropriate change to its character, appearance and heritage significance as a result of the TSB’s decision to close the Savings Bank Museum. The Society requests strongly that you reconsider this decision and seek another solution for the building’s future. By all means advertise the banks’s humble beginnings in your head office in the capital, but not at the expense of its true humble beginnings in the Dumfriesshire countryside.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Robertson
Chairman, Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland

Copies:

David Mundell MP
Colin Smyth MSP
Elaine Murray, Leader, Dumfries and Galloway Council
Marie Marshall, Built Heritage Policy Officer
Gwilym Gibbons, CEO, The Crichton Trust
Dumfries Courier
Dumfries and Galloway Standard
Jeremy Watson, The Times
BBC, South Scotland

‘The Moffat Heritage Group is in the process of being constituted with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, and will shortly become the Moffat Heritage Trust.  The Group has been formed by people who care about the town’s history and culture and who are ever mindful of where we have come from, and where we need to go.  The aim is to ensure that Moffat’s built, natural, cultural and economic future is protected and furthered in order to help secure the physical and emotional wellbeing of all its residents.

More than 80 people attended the Group’s first public meeting in September of last year, in the Proudfoot Institute, introduced by Sir Neil McIntosh. Several speakers from around Scotland demonstrated how heritage projects had provided opportunities for people to learn about and enjoy their historic, natural and built environments. The key message was that of social togetherness and pride. Some explained how these potentially wide-ranging projects had enabled them to promote the arts, support hands-on training and create new workplace opportunities, enhance the care and repair of their town centres, and engage all parts of the community. This meeting provided the inspiration for the Group to go away and come up with some initial ideas for Moffat.

Since September, the Group has been busy consulting and collaborating with the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB). As a result, the Group are delighted to announce that SPAB will showcase Moffat as part of their Annual General Meeting, which will be held in Moffat, on the 28^th of March this year. During the AGM day, there will be two lectures 2-4pm, open to everyone and will be of great interest to Moffatonians: the first by the Dumfries Archival Mapping Group, showing and discussing historic maps and features of the region; and the second by Dr Peter Burman MBE FSA, architectural historian and archivist of Hopetoun House, who has been Director of Conservation at the National Trust for Scotland and has had a lifetime of commitment to heritage conservation in the UK and beyond. Peter Burman’s talk will be on “Moffat – a precious historic environment on the threshold of climate change”  Tickets cost £6, and can be booked or paid for at the door.

On April 3^rd, twenty Moffat Academy pupils will have a training and information day at the Historic Environment Scotland (HES) Training Centre, in the Engine Shed, Stirling. The Group sees this as an excellent opportunity for some of our young people to gain new skills and understand how they too can help enhance their town.

The Group is currently in discussion with HES, asking them to sponsor and supply lime pointing tools and equipment for training events in the town in April. This equipment can then be retained as a community resource for further community building repair projects. Such projects will not only improve the appearance of the town, but have the potential to bring people of all ages together.

Last but not least, a Moffat Heritage Trust website is under construction and will be the reference point for all news, events, heritage stories and learned articles! The long-term aim is to seek as much community involvement as possible and to shape activities to encompass those that the people of Moffat would like to see.’

The first public meeting of the Moffat Heritage Trust was held on February 20^th in the Moffat Town Hall. 

Follow the links below to find out more about the SPAB events in Moffat this Spring:

https://www.spab.org.uk/whats-on/events/spab-scotland-agm-moffat

https://www.spab.org.uk/whats-on/courses/humble-heritage-workshop-cement-removal-and-hot-lime-pointing

https://www.spab.org.uk/whats-on/regional-groups-events/saving-gable-working-party

Venue: Gordon Memorial Hall, Castle Douglas
Date: Saturday 27 April 2019
Time: 14.15
Cost: FREE

Our Dumfries and Galloway Group are delighted to welcome Sybelle Thomson of Thomson Roddick Auctioneers to give a talk on the impact of social and technological changes on crafts and furnishings during the Victorian era.

The talk will be preceded by a short AGM.

The programme for this 4 day, 3 night trip is being arranged to visit interesting and varied places with an architectural theme but designed to be of interest to all. It will include some exclusive features especially for the AHSS.

The trip will be based at the 4* Doxford Hall Hotel & Spa set in the heart of Northumberland.

The original Hall, designed by John Dobson and built in 1818, stands in its own 10 acre estate and its elegantly refurbished rooms offer a relaxing stay with free internet, TVs and tea/coffee making facilities.

Our journey to Northumberland will see us traverse the military road running alongside the Hadrians Wall and include a visit to the Sill. This is Northumberland National Park Authority’s £14.8m state of the art visitor centre on Hadrians Wall.

The varied programme will visit Howick Hall and gardens. Chipchase and Coupland Castles- neither of which are open to the public, Ford village and Lady Waterford Hall, with Meldon House and gardens and Chillingham Castle also on the itinerary. Most of these visits will include a guided tour.

Highlights of the last day include a visit to Bessie Surtees House in Newcastle, a river cruise on the Tyne and we hope to see the Millennium Bridge open before heading home, stopping for a mean on the way. We are also aiming to include one or two other surprise venues.

Our last evening in the hotel will include a pre dinner talk by an interesting and entertaining guest speaker. Our aim is to arrange an enjoyable and flexible visit to suit everyone. The venues are located in close proximity to each other to minimise time on the coach. For the less energetic the variety of venues caters for all capabilities with plenty of seating available.

The cost of the trip will include all travel, accommodation, entrance fees and meals (including lunches, coffees and teas) but excludes alcoholic beverages.

The tour is proving very popular with our own members and with others from across Scotland and the North of England.  However, there are still a few places remaining but please contact andy_j_mcnab@hotmail.com for more details.  Bookings close early February.

Image by Andrew Curtis / Chillingham Castle / CC BY-SA 2.0

Held at University of Glasgow, Rutherford-McCowan, Crichton Campus, Dumfries on 10th March.

Participation by the Society had these four aims –

1. Representing the built environment at an event otherwise devoted to the natural environment.
2. Raising the profile of the AHSS as a local and national organisation.
3. Interacting with visitors in an enjoyable way to encourage them to pay more attention to the historic built environment.
4. Increasing membership of the AHSS and a greater interest in and attendance at the society’s events.

The Fair ran from 10-3.30 and is estimated to have been attended by 400+ people, with probably about 250 children and young people. The AHSS display was attended by 100+ of these.

As well as advertising the Society’s work and events it was a requirement of the Fair that every participating organisation should have an interactive element. The AHSS contributed this aspect by concentrating on a display of the variety of Scottish housing on display boards. Visitors were offered a choice of four envelopes, each containing pictures of four houses. Visitors were asked to place them in chronological order and then on a time line. They were encouraged to talk about them. They were then directed to the static display and asked to choose which two, of the many on show, were not Scottish. This done they were encouraged to design a house of their own, using the materials provided. They were encouraged to talk about building types, favourite buildings etc.

The interactive display worked well, catching the visitors’ attention and holding them for up to 20 minutes. The drawing, cutting and pasting was popular with more than the children and resulted in about 30 interesting pictures to add to the display boards. The youngest visitor was 6 months, the oldest 80+. All appeared to enjoy participating and there were very few who showed no interest though it was important to approach them directly to catch their attention.

A quick evaluation against the four stated aims was undertaken.

1. It appeared that the AHSS was the only organisation representing the non-natural environment and thus made an important contribution which was commented on by both visitors and organisers.
2. Reasonably effective at this within the limits of 100+ people. It was noticeable however that people chose to be more directly interested in local problems such as The Cruck Cottage and its recent fire.
3. Successful at this with clear enjoyment and involvement shown by both children and their parents with both students and older people also showing interest.
4. Probably of limited value. Some 3-6 people showed interest in joining and a few more in the events programme. This included several students at the University of Glasgow.

The question as to whether it is worth another go next year is answered by

‘probably’, but it would need more people to help with the display and a wider and more challenging range of activities to hold the interest of the older age groups. AHSS participation at the Environment Fair 2018 can be considered a successful first try. It demonstrates, however, just how much effort is required for a modest return and that the Fair as a whole enjoys a higher benefit ratio than the individual participating organisations. Another time it will be worth demonstrating more sustainability and the embedded energy which old buildings have which is wasted if they do not continue in use.

This event is now fully booked.

The AHSS 2018 Spring Study Tour will be to the south west of Scotland, exploring the built heritage of Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire. We will be ‘on tour’, starting in Edinburgh with a pick-up in Glasgow and based near Gatehouse of Fleet, and then Stranraer. We will be accommodated in style, staying in the celebrated Cally Palace Hotel, begun in 1763 by Robert Mylne as the country house of the Murrays; it has substantial and important landscaped gardens. Then to its sister, the North West Castle Hotel, the 1820s former townhouse of Sir John Ross (he discovered the ‘North West Passage’) which is on the shores of Loch Ryan. Both hotels have excellent facilities including gyms and swimming pools.

The tour will be led by Simon Green and Adam Swan and administered by Caroline McFarlane.

Galloway is scenic, remote from the central belt, and with a heritage reflecting Anglian, Norse and Irish influences. From the 12th century Cistercian abbeys of Dundrennan and Glenluce there are castles, tower houses, parish churches, laird’s houses, Victorian mansions, farm steadings, mills, tollbooths, lighthouses and a whole variety of towns and villages steeped in history and character. As well as Gatehouse and the port of Stranraer to explore, there are the county towns of Wigtown, Scotland’s book town and the picturesque artists’ town of Kirkcudbright, as featured in Dorothy Sayers’ Five Red Herrings, and includes EA Hornel’s home and studio (previously the town house of the Murrays), and Jessie M King and EA Taylor’s house. Galloway was also the setting for much of John Buchan’s The Thirty Nine Steps. Elrig and Montreith have Gavin Maxwell associations. Villages such as Creetown, Whithorn, Newton Stewart, Minnigaff and Portpatrick also have much to offer. The Scots baronial mansion of Threave House, has remarkable teaching gardens, run by the National Trust for Scotland, and Castle Kennedy has an 18th century landscape restored by JC Loudon in 1841 and Logan Botanic Garden (RBGE), half way doen the Rhins of Galloway, has Scotland’s best collection of exotic plants; and not far off is Glenwhan Gardens and Arboretum.

The Knockbrex estate near Borgue has an idiosyncratic range of Edwardian buildings provided by a Manchester textiles merchant. Old Place of Mochram has work by the later generation Arts & Crafts architects including Robert Weir Schultz and Ernest Gimson. In the 1930s the Galloway Hydro-Electric Scheme built a series of distinctive power stations, dams and associated structures, now sitting well in the landscape and looking very contemporary. (The above is to give a flavour of the area, and will not necessarily be included in the tour!).

The cost of the tour is £510 per person, based on two members sharing a room and will include visits, accommodation, transportation, meals and refreshments as provided. A limited number of single occupancy rooms will be available, subject to a supplement of £90. If you would like to note your interest in attending, please contact the national office using the form below.

Study Tour 2018 Booking Form

The winners of the photographic competition, organised by the local group of AHSS as part of the Festival of Architecture 2016, were announced at the opening of an exhibition at the Mill on the Fleet, Gatehouse, on Saturday 29 October.  The exhibition, which moves on to Dumfries Museum on 1 December, features the winning photographs together with a short piece of text describing why the entrant likes the building.

In the under 15 age group, three prizes were awarded and two further entries were highly commended by the judges.  The winners were:

First Prize:           Rosie Norman for a photo of the Kirkandrews Bathing House

Second Prize:     Rachel Campbell for an internal view of St John’s Church, Penninghame

Third Prize:         Jack Norman for a photo of the modernist Tongland Power Station

Highly Commended

Toby Iglehart for his photo of Orchardton Tower

Maddison Wallace for her photo of Sweetheart Abbey

In the 16-25 age group, two prizes were awarded:

First Prize:           Roan Ballantine for a photo of the Coo Palace at Borgue

Second Prize:     Connor Bradley for a haunting internal view of Carnsalloch House near Kirkton

Thanks are due to the judges: Martin Robertson (Architectural Historian) and Allan Wright (Professional Photographer), to the Mill on the Fleet for accommodating the exhibition and prize giving, to Solway Heritage for financial assistance and to Wilko’s of Castle Douglas for donating two photo frames.

CLICK HERE to view all of the winning entries.

To celebrate the Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design, our Dumfries & Galloway group is organising a photographic competition for young people in Summer 2016. There will be two classes, one for those aged 15 and under, and one for those aged 16 to 24. The competition aims to encourage young people to engage with the built heritage around them, as all entries must feature a whole, or elements of, a building.

The first prize for each class will comprise:

• £100
• A framed version of their photo
• An hour’s photographic tuition with Allan Wright
• Display of the photos on the web, at exhibitions throughout D&G and in the AHSS national magazine

The second prizes will be £50 and exhibition, and the third prizes £25 and exhibition.

All entries and enquiries must be emailed to photocomp@ahss.org.uk. Entries should be submitted as a JPEG file.
Entries will be judged on the quality of the photograph and on a 100 word statement of why the entrant likes the building.
The judges will be Allan Wright (Photographer) and Martin Robertson (Architectural Historian).
Each entrant may submit up to three photographs, each with a 100 word appreciation statement. The photos must be their own work and taken during 2016.

Entries will be accepted between 1 June 2016 and 30 September 2016. Winners will be announced on 1 November 2016.

For more information and rules:

My-Favourite-Place-Photography-Competition-RULES