Mechanised Seed SowerGrantown Museum Portable, hand-operated machines like this one were developed the mid-1800s to help farmers sow their crops. The device was carried under one arm and secured across the body with a shoulder strap. The canvas bag was filled with...
Aluminium Ingot West Highland Museum In 1929, the Lochaber aluminium smelter opened in Fort William. The British Aluminium Company had developed an area of 303 square miles around Ben Nevis where there is an average rainfall of 406 cm per year. This was ideal for the...
Miner’s Helmet Brora Heritage Centre This black, hardened leather miner’s helmet belonged to Thomas Murray Hunter, who operated the Brora Coal Mine from 1915 to 1947. Coal was central to the war effort, powering industry, railways, and shipping. During the Second...
Coal Miner’s Pick Brora Heritage Centre This is an original pick used by a miner in the Brora Coal Mine. It has a short shaft as space was tight underground. Sometimes, the men would have to lie on their backs to get to the coal seam, which was less than a metre...
Blacksmith’s Bellows Brora Heritage Centre The role of the ‘smithy’ was once indispensable, with one to be found in most villages. He would be constantly occupied in shoeing horses, making and repairing a range of tools and implements for farmers and other tradesmen,...
