This leather-bound stalker’s telescope has been selected because of its association with the Highlands. It is a typical example of equipment ghillies would use when deer stalking in the hills around the area. This telescope is particularly special as…
This fine taxidermy specimen of a golden eagle came to the museum in 1940. There is no record as to when it was prepared, but our records show that the eagle was captured in a trap in Glencoe. By today’s standards this specimen was obtained…
This glass bottle contains a fine whisky said to be almost 200 years old. The faded label reads "from Jas. Young, Family Grocer, Wine & Spirit Merchant, High St. Fort William". James Young died in 1894. The whisky was gifted to the museum by Young’s…
This pot still has a mysterious history. It was found abandoned anonymously on the steps of the museum in the 1920s. The damage was caused by some over-zealous excisemen determined that the still would not be used again. There was a long tradition…
This iconic 1st pattern F-S Fighting Knife was designed by William Fairbairn and Eric Sykes in 1940. The duo trained special forces including the SOE and commandos here in Lochaber during the Second World War. Wilkinson Sword manufactured the…
The birching table is from the old court house in Fort William where the birchings were carried out. It was last used in 1948, when a 15-year-old boy was birched for shoplifting". It is easy to forget in the present day how recent it was that…
“October in Knoydart”, is an oil on canvas signed by the artist.
It depicts Lochaber’s wild mountainous scenery and was selected for the gallery because of the artist’s special relationship with the West Highland Museum. It was painted by Sir…
These decorated silver ceremonial spades were used to cut the first sods of local railway lines in the late 19th century. The first spade was used to cut the first sod of the West Highland Line, the 160-mile track from Glasgow to Mallaig. The turf…
This is a coffin guard or mort safe and is designed to prevent body snatchers stealing the corpse of someone who has recently died.
In the early 18th century medical schools in Scotland started to use dissection methods to teach the medical…
The iconic Lochaber axe has been included in the gallery because it is still an important symbol of the area today, even appearing on the West Highland Museum’s logo. The Lochaber axe is a long-handled battle-axe used by the Highland foot soldier.…
This is a beautiful example of a 19th century child’s tartan dress. The full skirt with flared sleeves is hand stitched. The tartan sett is Murray Mansfield (a variation of the Murray of Atholl) tartan with trimming of red Murray of Tullibardine…
Two pairs of pistols that belonged to Lochaber man Major James MacFarlane (1774 - 1849) who worked in India with the Honourable East India Company.
The first pair are percussion pistols with octagonal barrels, a ramrod, and a belt hook, and were…
This local Lochaber scene depicts women waulking cloth on the shores of Loch Nan Uamh. Six women are seated in a rough circle wielding short mallets and evidently singing, while another group observe them. People waulked the cloth they had woven.…
This rare and exquisite memorial tie pin was commissioned by Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901) on the death of John Brown (1826 – 1883). The Queen gifted it to Brown’s relations. The Queen had a close relationship with Brown, her favourite servant. After…
This is the Highland outfit Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901) presented to her trusted Scottish servant, John Brown (1826 - 1883), on the occasion of her daughter, Princess Louise’s marriage. John Brown was the Queen’s personal servant at Balmoral and…
This Victorian post horn is made from a cow horn and has a metal mouthpiece decorated with a caberfeidh (stag's head) and shield. It is on a shoulder string. It is said to have been used on the Fort William mail coach. The powerful noise of a horn…
This hard-tartan box pleated Stuart kilt in the Duke of Rothesay tartan and is said to have been worn by the Sobieski brothers. The tartan is their own design. It is unusual as it is a very early example of a sewn box pleated kilt and it is the…
This very large oil painting by Henry Tanworth Wells (1828–1903) hangs at Arisaig House. It was a wedding gift to Gertrude Astley from her sisters when she married in 1883. It was painted specifically for Arisaig House. The painting was bequested to…
Silver quaichs are used by Scots to take a wee dram of whisky. This silver quaich has a fascinating story to tell and is said to have been drunk from by royalty on four occasions. Tradition says Prince Charles Edward Stuart drank from the quaich…
Queen Victoria (1819 - 1901) certainly had a love of horse riding and was an accomplished equestrienne. This gold mounted riding whip belonged to the Queen and was gifted to the museum through the Hepburn Bequest in 1973.
This hard-tartan dress was handmade on the Scottish island of Benbecula in the early half of 19th century. It shows signs of wear, tear and repair, indicating that it would have been worn by a working woman. It was collected by the pioneering…
This object is a bit of a mystery. Known as the Clanranald Anvil, it probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century. It is a very heavy irregular lump of iron, and could also be called a swaging block, for the precise shaping of sheet metal by an…
This is the largest object in the West Highland Museum collection and maybe one of the most intriguing. It came from the old fort (An Gearasdan) at Fort William and dates back to 1690. This was a strategic strong hold at the southern end of the…
This is a typical example of a 19th century Highland outfit made for a child. It comprises of a kilt, jacket, sash, sporran, and Glengarry. It belonged to Donald McNaughton (1854 - 1937) and he wore it when he was about 5 years old in living on the…
This spinning wheel used for spinning thread or yarn from fibres was made in the French pattern, and was gifted to the West Highland Museum along with spindles, whorls, and a bobbin. The objects are exceptional because of they are said to have once…
Charms were an integral part of Highland culture for centuries. There are a good variety of charms in the museum, covering everything from preventing nightmares, encouraging rain, and warding away evil spirits. Many were collected by the Victorian…
A good luck charm made for Colonel John Cameron of Fassiefern (1771 – 1815). It is made from tartan silk and contains a pebble, pieces of stalk, speedwell seeds sewn in, with a tiny padlock and a letter. The letter reads "Col. Cameron, 92 Regt.…
The iconic Lochaber axe has been included in the gallery because it is still an important symbol of the area today, even appearing on the West Highland Museum’s logo. The Lochaber axe is a long-handled battle-axe used by the Highland foot soldier.…
