The Strathaven John Hastie Museum Trust aims to establish a lively community museum for the historic market town of Strathaven and District, in beautiful Avondale, Lanarkshire, Scotland, with resources fit for the 21st Century. When our local museum was closed, much against our will, our community responded by forming a team of volunteers who would generate a bid for the former museum building and
would ensure the safety of, and public access to, the thousands of artefacts The John Hastie Collection and The Strathaven Archive, stored by South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Trust. We were unsuccessful in our bid for the John Hastie premises, but resolved to continue in our determination to provide Strathaven with the museum which would tell the story – many thousands of years old – of our home and its people. Within a year, we were planning in detail our first exhibition and had obtained suitable temporary accommodation, thanks to the management committee of The Strathaven Town Mill Arts and Heritage Centre.
