National Museum of Costume

Venue details
Telephone (info)
0300 123 6789
About the venue

This museum is now permanently closed. The smallest of the five national museums, the National Museum of Costume was open seasonally, for seven months of the year at The Shambellie House.

The museum had around 0.6% of total visits to the group of National Museums, or 10,000 annual visits and 5,000 to the shop, café and grounds.

Dr Gordon Rintoul, Director of National Museums Scotland said: “The low number of visitors to the site along with the high operational costs is simply not sustainable. In addition, the domestic layout of Shambellie House places limitations on it being used effectively as a national museum."

The net operational costs of running the site were £220,000 per year.

Shambellie House, near New Abbey, Dumfries was built in 1856 for the Stewart family, who gifted a costume collection to National Museums Scotland. The house was donated to the Secretary of State for the Environment in 1977 and ownership now lies with Scottish Ministers. National Museums Scotland has maintained the house since 1978, opening it as a museum in 1982.

The costume collection is part of the national textile and dress collections which is stored at the National Museums Collection Centre, Edinburgh. Only a very small proportion of the collection was displayed at Shambellie House.

Opening Times

Daily: 10:00-17:00 April-Oct

Closed: Oct-March

Admission

Adult: £4.50, Concession: £3.50, Child £2 (under 5 free)

Family tickets: £11 for 2 adults and 2 children.

National Museums Scotland Members: Free

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