The Entertainment Guide

Summerlee Museum

Summerlee Museum interprets the social and industrial history of Central Scotland, with a focus on the Monklands area, formerly the ‘Iron Burgh’. Its displays feature historic machinery in daily operation as well as reconstructed domestic environments. An electric tramway provides transport round the site, giving access to a restored section of the Monkland Canal, an operating boat shop, tram depot, steam cranes, railway locomotives, an archaeological excavation of 1830s ironworks and a coal mine. The main exhibition hall provides a modern and environmentally sustainable setting for some of Scotland’s most important displays of social and industrial history. Included in the exhibition are the Ravenscraig site collection, a Gibb and Hogg engine, the Holytown shop banner from the Reform Act of 1832 and the Cardowan winding engine. The hall is designed to allow visitors to explore the dawn and rise of the industrial era through the machinery, objects and documents on display. The many interactive elements throughout the hall enable visitors of all ages and interests to discover fascinating facts about their industrial heritage in new and exciting ways. The working tram takes visitors down to the reconstructed mine and the miner’s cottages, which depict the living and working conditions of Lanarkshire miners and their families during the 19th and 20th centuries. The tram passes the sawmill and woodshed, with its display on the use of timber down the ages. The museum makes a great family day out and in addition to Scotland's only operational heritage tramway, has a play park, a cafe and a shop. Summerlee was one of Scotland's most important ironworks. Opened in 1836, it closed in 1926. The remains of its blast furnaces and other structures can be seen from the view pod and parapet at the north-east side of the main exhibition hall.

---

Offers & Promotions

There are currently no offers or promotions for Summerlee Museum

Find More Offers & Promotions