Monklands Memories - Airdrie & Coatbridge areas

Motherwell Heritage Centre

Motherwell Heritage Centre
High Road
Motherwell

OPENING HOURS (check with centre)
The Centre is open from 10 am to 5pm (To 7pm on Thursdays and from 12 noon on Sundays). The centre is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays but may open on Holiday Mondays.  Admission is free

The Local History room is normally closed on Sundays

Discover the heritage of the area’s past in the Technopolis multi-media experience.  Or search out your family tree in the local history room.  Then take in the sweeping panorama of the Clyde Valley from the centre’s fifth-floor viewing platform.   The centre is a Scottish Tourist Board ‘4 Star’ rated visitor attraction.  Free parking is available to the rear of the centre and Motherwell Station is adjacent, only a 5 minute walk away.

TECHNOPOLIS

‘Museum of the Year’  award-winner for the Best audio-visual attraction, Technopolis is a fully hands-on interactive display on the area’s past.  It leads the visitor from the coming of the Romans, through the agricultural period to the former mainstay of the local economy – the iron and steel industries plus the mining and railway operations that supported them.
Social conditions too are covered, from the Victorian era, through the early 20^th Century and World War II, right up to the 1960s.

LOCAL HISTORY ROOM

Contains the main archives of the area, including old parish records; census information from 1841; town council minutes; local newspaper cuttings and photographic records of the life and times of Motherwell, Wishaw and surrounding villages.  Staff will be happy to advise on searching for family roots and members of the local heritage society are often on hand to aid visitors’ memories and recollections.  Usually not open on Monday, Tuesday or Sundays

EXHIBITION GALLERY AND SHOP

The foyer area of the centre provides a superb modern space for exhibitions.  Over the year there is a range of different displays, from paintings, photography and sculpture, to artefacts of all descriptions – both ancient and modern !

There is also an activities room complete with a full video projection system and tiered seating for 60.  A shop area sells a selection of heritage gifts, books, games and postcards.

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

The centre’s gallery space hosts a variety of exhibitions, either as part of national tours or curated in-house from the Council’s archives.  Community projects tie in with many exhibitions and the meeting room acts as a popular venue for groups and societies.  School visits are welcomed and teachers’ packs are available on request

Holiday times see a programme of varied activities based on heritage themes, with traditional games, dressing-up days and ‘washday blues’ events always popular.  Workshops and projects set around current exhibitions provide further opportunities for holiday fun.  Activities are either free or else carry only a modest charge to cover the cost of materials.

Any questions arising from information supplied on this page should be addressed to:

Motherwell Heritage Centre
1 High Road
Motherwell
Lanarkshire  ML1  3HU
Tel:   (01698)  251000
FAX: (01698)  268867

Tel ./FAX: 01236 843503