ANGUSalive is looking forward to reopening Signal Tower Museum in Arbroath from Tuesday 1 June 2021, following the second closure due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The Signal Tower Museum, located near the town’s picturesque harbour, enables visitors to discover the fascinating story of the Bell Rock Lighthouse designed by the famous engineer, Robert Stevenson (1772-1850), as well as an insight into Arbroath’s fishing and maritime past.
Changes have been made to ensure visitors feel as safe as possible. This includes additional cleaning throughout the day, social distancing, a one-way system and hand-sanitising stations are located throughout the building. Signal Tower Museum has received the Visit Scotland ‘We’re good to go’ seal of approval as recognition that everything is in place to reopen safely.
Rachel Jackson, Museums Galleries & Archives Operations Lead explains more about the reopening of the museum. She said: “We’re really excited to be able to reopen our doors to Signal Tower Museum once again. After a winter of closure, we’ve been busy getting it ready for reopening including the repainting of two galleries.
“We know the importance of cultural venues to the tourism industry in Angus and our team is looking forward to welcoming locals and visitors from Tuesday 1 June.”
The Signal Tower Museum showcases how the lighthouse was constructed over 200 years ago, creating a marvel of engineering that still stands today as the oldest sea-washed lighthouse in the world. As well as this, the museum shows what life was like for the lighthouse keepers on board the Bell Rock, as well as the experiences of their families back at the Signal Tower shore station.
The Lighthouse Keepers’ Cottages situated in the courtyard of the museum grounds offer attractive exhibition areas, providing an insight into Arbroath’s Fishing and Maritime Heritage with audio-visual elements including quizzes and games for children. An exhibition of black and white photographs taken by the late Jonathan Ogilvie in the 1980s of some of the Arbroath fishing fleet recording people and fishing in and around Arbroath provides a fascinating view of the fishing industry.
Top five things you can do at Signal Tower Museum:
1. Run around the stone representation of the 42 feet diameter light house foundation in the courtyard
2. Discover how Bassey the horse helped to build the Bell Rock Lighthouse
3. Learn about pirate Ralph the Rover and his dastardly deeds
4. Find out what life was like for the lighthouse keepers in an upright tube, surrounded by the sea
5. See the damage where the lighthouse lens was machine gunned by a fighter pilot during WW2
Take part in the above activities and discover the marvellous stories and more when you visit Signal Tower Museum. Open Tuesday to Saturdays 10am – 3pm from Tuesday 1 June. Entry is free.
You can also call 01241 464554 or email arbroathmuseum@angusalive.scot for more information.
ANGUSalive is currently planning the phased reopening of Forfar Meffan Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday 19 June and Montrose Museum & Art Gallery on 26 June.
ANGUSalive
ANGUSalive (SC046133) is the culture, sport and leisure trust for the county of Angus and has been operating since December 2015.
