Monklands Memories

Window into industrial past reopens after a £10.5m revampA landmark Scottish industrial heritage site has reopened after a £10.5m redevelopment.Summerlee, the Museum of Scottish Industrial life, has had two-year refurbishment, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.Built on the site of the former Summerlee ironworks in Coatbridge, it showcases the industrial history of Scotland, with particular emphasis on Lanarkshire.The building was stripped to its steel framework and now has a new exhibition hall, with displays including a restored winding engine from the former Cardowan Colliery at Stepps, a 19th century steam locomotive, and working machinery demonstrating how steel and iron were produced.Alongside traditional museum exhibits there are interactive displays, including a virtual reality blast furnace where visitors can try out making iron, and a discovery zone for children to do experiments involving water, levers and pulleys.The museum also has Scotland's only operating tram, which will take visitors to the coal mine on the site, and to the miners' cottages which display interiors from 1840 to 1960.Lanarkshire was at the centre of the 19th century Industrial Revolution in Scotland, with eight ironworks in Coatbridge alone. At its peak, Summerlee Ironworks produced 150,000 tonnes of iron a year.Summerlee was set up in 1836 because of the supply of coal and iron ore available in Coatbridge, but closed during the miners' and general strikes of 1926. There has been a museum on the site for almost 20 years.Carol Ettershank, Summerlee museum manager, said: "The museum is unique, as it's the only museum in Scotland that interprets heavy industry and the lives of the people who worked in that industry. It interprets the industrial development of Scotland, and there are a lot of the stories of ordinary people here. It also gives people a sense of place and explains why things are the way they are today."If you don't know about your history, you don't know where you've come from, and I think knowing where you've come from is really important for a sense of pride in yourself. This museum is really set in the heart of the community and I think that's because people come here and feel proud of their ancestors. It will bring visitors to this area, so it's also good from a tourism point of view."This is a fantastic resource for schools and adult learners and the displays tie in with the school curriculum. We've lots of interactive displays, which we've never had before and we've also been able to do a lot of restoration work."One of the main things we've done is to restore the colliery winding engine, which is an iconic object for Lanarkshire and we've got the last locomotive built in Airdrie. We've also been able to display our trade union banners, which tell the story of people's struggle for a decent wage and a decent place to live."