22-04-2025
Last chance to see casket believed to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots in Kirkcudbright
The stunning item has been on display at Kirkcudbright Galleries since November, attracting more than 12,000 visitors.
More than 12,000 people have taken the chance to see a silver casket believed to have belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots.
And there's now just a few days left to see the object at Kirkcudbright Galleries.
The special exhibition will come to a close this Sunday.
Chair of the council's education, skills and community wellbeing committee, Councillor Maureen Johnstone, said: 'It's been wonderful to have the casket in Kirkcudbright Galleries these last few months and to give both local people and visitors to the area the opportunity to view a national treasure up close.'
The casket has been enjoyed by 12,500 visitors since going on display in November – a 20 per cent increase in visitor numbers over the winter.
Its display has been supported by the Weston Loan Programme with Art Fund. Created by the Garfield Weston Foundation and Art Fund, the Weston Loan Programme is the first ever UK-wide funding scheme to enable smaller and local authority museums to borrow works of art and artefacts from national collections.
The casket was acquired for the nation in 2022 for £1.8million thanks to support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, the Scottish Government and several trusts, foundations and individual donors.
The galleries have been the ideal place for it to go on display and it is an appropriate setting for the artefact as it is just a few miles from Dundrennan Abbey, where Mary, Queen of Scots spent her last hours on Scottish soil in 1568.
Plans are now being made for National Museums Scotland to loan a star object from the Galloway Hoard which has never been on display to Kirkcudbright Galleries.
