Ambitions and Aspirations

The Gallery

A Museum for The Hope MacDougall Collection

The Hope MacDougall Collection has finally found a home - and in many ways it will have come home when it settles into Dunollie House a mile outside Oban.

Dunollie House is the Seat of the Clan MacDougall, the ancient stronghold of the Clan which dates back to the 12th century, and was Hope MacDougall's family home.

The current Clan Chief, Madam Morag MacDougall of MacDougall, is Hope MacDougall's niece, and has capped her years of generosity towards The Hope MacDougall Collection with the ultimate gesture: she will be making available a large part of the house for the museum. Not surprisingly, not all of the 4000 objects in the Collection will be able to be displayed at the one time, and displays will be changed and freshened up over the years, with special exhibitions from time to time.

The new museum will also include a room dedicated to the Clan MacDougall, with history and interpretation, a computer point that will give remote access to difficult-to-reach castles like Gylen on Kerrera, and, of course, a replica of the famous Brooch of Lorne. There is a great deal of work to do before The Hope MacDougall Collection team can open the doors, and much of that work will centre on raising the funds to make it possible.

Currently The Collection is in safe-keeping in the Oban area with a view to setting up an accessible store in the near future.
This will aid the conservation and cataloguing of the artefacts.
The value of The Hope MacDougall Collection has been endorsed by museum professionals over a number of years and the National Museums of Scotland has emphasised its importance and the need for its preservation.

§ What you all want to achieve · Museum / Visitor centre [genealogy?] · School visits - area covered · Remote Static displays · Collection on tour · Collection for other uses o More details of what these might be and what they are likely to cost.