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Contents of Crieff teacher’s home will be at heart of town’s new museum

Art teacher Martin Boyle's home was a time capsule of Crieff and Strathearn life over the last century

Room full of boxes at Crieff Town hall, home of the new Crieff museum on one side, Martin Boyle snapshot, showing a smiling bearded man on the other.
Martin Boyle, who has died aged 87, donated the contents of his home to the new museum in Crieff. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.

Maybe it was his career as an art teacher that made Martin Boyle see everyday items as objects worth cherishing. Perhaps he was of that generation who did not just dispose of things when they got tired of them.

For whatever reason, the retired Morrison’s Academy teacher spent a lifetime accumulating stuff.

And now he and his family have donated a treasure trove of local history to the team behind the new Crieff and Strathearn Museum.

Mr Boyle went into care recently.

Until then, he had lived in his childhood home, which was crammed with the contents of not only his eight decades in the area, but also his parents and grandparents’ possessions.

old fashioned playing cards
Martin Boyle’s family playing cards are among the objects donated to the Crieff and Strathearn museum. . Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson.
Box containing books and magazines, on the top is a 50s style Good Housekeeping publication called Man in the Kitchen
The collection includes recipe books from a simpler age. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

The result is a time capsule of local life over the last century or so.

And now Martin Boyle’s mementoes will have pride of place when the new Crieff and Strathearn Museum opens its doors next Easter.

Ann McIntosh, who chairs the Crieff and Strathearn Museum Trust, said the group was bowled over by the family’s generosity.

Martin Boyle with white hair and beard/
Martin Boyle was well known in Crieff. Image: Charlotte Hingston.

“Martin Boyle would have been an art teacher at Morrison’s Academy for about 30 years,” she said.

“He was a well known Crieff character. And luckily for us, he doesn’t seem to have thrown anything out.

“Nor had his father, so we’re finding things from his grandparents’ time as well.”

Crieff Museum volunteers Ann McIntosh, Marnie Gauld and John Cowie on their knees surrounded by boxes in a room at Crieff Town hall.
Crieff Museum volunteers Ann McIntosh, Marnie Gauld and John Cowie sift through Martin Boyle’s belongings. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

Ann added: “There are mountains of stuff – Victorian and Edwardian clothes, kitchen appliances, children’s games, old newspapers… the entire contents of the family home.

“It’s a treasure trove.”

Martin Boyle collection comes at pivotal time for Crieff Museum

The Crieff and Strathearn Museum trust has accepted as many of Martin Boyle’s possessions as it could make room for.

Some are being stored upstairs at the Town Hall on Crieff High Street.

A great many more are still in boxes in buildings across Crieff.

1950s-style box for an electric blanket showing a kitten sleeping in a bed.
Even the most mundane objects will spark memories. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson
Front page of a newspaper with headlines relating to the Watergate scandal.
Martin Boyle and his family have donated newspapers documenting historical milestones to the new Crieff museum. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

The intention is to put on a special display when the new Crieff and Strathearn Museum opens next spring.

The trust has been working towards this milestone since 2016.

Its plans took a major leap forward recently when it agreed a lease on the old Crieff Town Hall with Perth and Kinross Council.

The group celebrated the breakthrough during Doors Open Day weekend in September.

Trust secretary John Cowie said it was heartening to see so many people turn out.

John Cowie in dark jacket and baseball cap.
John Cowie. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

“We had more than 100 people through the doors,” he said.

“It was great to see there’s so much interest in the museum already.”

A place for Picts, the Young Pretender and even Santa…

The building itself has a colourful history itself, as a former tollbooth, burgh hall and tourist information office.

A property that old doesn’t come without a few issues. And the museum volunteers will have their hands full dealing with a damp problem before the planned grand opening on the 2024 Easter weekend.

Crieff Town Hall exterior.
The Crieff and Strathearn Museum will be based in the Old Town Hall on the High Street. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

In addition to objects from the Martin Boyle collection, the museum will give them a place to display a host of Crieff treasures, including the old town stocks and the Crieff and Drummond crosses.

The group also owns a collection of around 500 glass plates which once belonged to Muthill photographer John McGregor (1874–1947).

The images provide a unique snapshot of local life around that time and volunteers have been asking people to get in touch if they recognise the people or places they depict.

Vice-chairwoman Marnie Gauld said Crieff and Strathearn had a history all its own – as a seat of justice, a drovers town and a visitor destination, and a community with links to the Romans, the Picts and Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Marnie Gauld in tweed jacket and lime green jumper
Marnie Gauld. Image: Steve MacDougall/DC Thomson

“There is so much history to Crieff, so much to be proud of,” she said.

“It’s lovely that we will finally have a place to tell that story.”

• Crieff Town Hall has one more important role to play before the museum group moves in. From Saturday November 24 to Christmas Eve, it will be home to Santa’s Post Office. The festive attraction is expected to draw crowds from across Scotland to the town.

 

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