Wednesday July 30th 2025
Dalkeith Museum
Written by Midlothian View Reporter, Liam Eunson
Dalkeith Museum preserves and showcases Dalkeith’s rich history through a wide-variety of historical artifacts. Focusing on sharing the town’s history with both locals and visitors, the museum is home to around 4500 historical items.
The museum, located in Dalkeith’s Corn Exchange shares the town’s rich heritage with both locals and visitors to the area. Given free rent for 25 years by Melville Housing when they opened its doors in 2016, the museum achieved full accreditation with Museums Galleries Scotland in 2023.
Being in the same category as the National Museum and the V&A, The museum is open every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30am to 3:30pm.
The museum started when Melville Housing Association purchased the Corn Exchange through Heritage Lottery Funding, and decided to create a community component. Moving the History Society into the new premises moved from their small premises in another part of town, the artefacts that the society acquired over many years were moved.
Visiting the museum, I spoke to two members of the volunteer team who have been part of the museum since beginning in 2016.
Margaret Stewart, one of the volunteers I spoke to explained, “The museum is located in the Corn Exchange and in 2015, Melville Housing got Heritage Lottery Funding and Historic Environment Scotland Funding to restore the Corn Exhange and there had to be a community aspect. So, this is the community aspect. It is totally run by volunteers under the auspices of the History Society who are trustees.”
“The history society did have a very small museum and although I lived in Dalkeith my whole life, I didn’t know it was there. But, they had acquired a lot of artefacts over the years, that was kind of the starting point.”
Growing that small collection to now over 4500 artefacts, the museum has grown to a large collection of historic items.
“We try to make people realise that Dalkeith has more than meets the eye”, Margaret explained, “Dalkeith was a very important town in Midlothian. If you think Queen Victoria came here, George IV stayed here at the Dalkeith Palace when he visited Edinburgh, Turner visited here, Burns visited here.”
“It was a main market town and this Corn Exchange was the biggest in Scotland. It was a very vibrant community, much more than it is now.”
During my visit to the museum, an incredible amount of artefacts were on display, featuring every aspect of Dalkeith’s history from a 1837 station bell from the old railways to alleged Roman artifacts found at Melville Golf Range.
The historic Station Bell on display
The collection reflects the varied history of the town, highlighting how the town has changed over the years. As a hub to the railways that served the coal industry and as a vibrant market town, Dalkeith has a rich history. The town’s recorded history dates back to 1142 but the museum believes that it is much older.
Margaret explained jokingly, “When we have children at the museum we try to explain to them that years ago there were no takeaways and they are astonished. There were no big shops, it was Dalkeith pre-tesco.”
With Dalkeith Museum trying to share Dalkeith’s heritage with everyone who is from or lives in the town, they organise school visits.
Volunteer Norma McNeil, explained, “We’ve done quite a bit recently with local schools. I think the education component of the museum has developed quite a lot over the years, I think it is very important. What we’ve tried to do is, you see Dalkeith’s Modern Centre, and it’s not very exciting. We try to make people realise that there is more than meets the eye.”
The volunteers have added both visually pleasing and interactive elements to the small museum room, featuring screens showing video’s and iPads allowing visitors to interact with the artifacts.
Despite the museum only being one room in size, the exhibits on show are well organised, splitting the museum up into different sections.
“We have got a mock up shop with some old packets and old scales, showing what it was like when you bought products from different stores and didn’t get them in plastic”, Norma explained.
They have never had an issue acquiring items to display, with Margaret explaining that they collect historic items from many different places, often being brought in and donated alongside clearing out peoples homes.
“We’ve got a former policeman volunteer so we have acquired a lot of crime and punishment artefacts. The signed cloth that we have was found in a charity shop and it was people paying to have their name embroidered on a cloth which is the size of a bedspread for First World War funds.”
“A former pupil of Dalkeith’s St Davids way back in the 50’s and 60’s, came from a modest family, not an artistic family but he had an artistic talent. He was encouraged by his school art teacher and then funded by the Midlothian Council to go to Art College. He is now a well-known artist and master print maker in New York, named Anthony Kirk. He gifted us 19 prints by John Kay.
John Kay was a barber who was born in Dalkeith who’s wasn’t only cutting hair, but a talented caricature artist.
An interesting artefact is the station bell on display. Originally on display in the transport museum in Glasgow, the Dalkeith Museum got the local MP involved and after negotiation, the bell was brought back home to Dalkeith to be on show to the public in the museum.
Given 25 years rent free from Melville Housing, the housing association also covers the museum’s heating and lighting, alongside help in any aspect.
Margaret explained, “We are really lucky to have the relationship with Melville Housing, it’s fantastic. Twice our sign was blown down in the wind and they replaced it for us. They are so good to us.”
The museum being free to enter and run completely by volunteers, they do encourage donations and host ticketed events. It is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10.30am until 3.30pm and are located in the Corn Exchange, with entrance at the back on St Andrew Street.
The museum hosts many events such as ‘Night at the Museum’, consisting of an evening spent in the museum listening to talks. Alongside this, they also host tours of Dalkeith and a Dark and Deadly Dalkeith evening walking tours.
For more information on the museum, their collection and up-coming events visit their website below.
https://dalkeithhistorysociety.co.uk
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