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Heritage Centre News

 

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 A recent development and a very rewarding one for the Artizans.  Scot Rail has leased the former ticket office at Renton Station to us and we are transforming it into the Bruce Heritage Centre.  Our aim is to promote tourism, employment and that the Heritage Centre acts as a bridge between those with a good knowledge of Bruce and his life and times and those seeking enlightenment on the subject of King Robert, in residence at Renton. 

Brenda Cameron has been appointed as out archivist at the Bruce Heritage Centre.  The Centre will be open to visitors. There will be tea and coffee facilities, a library and information on Robert Bruce.

The Artizans are now in full swing with the restructuring of the station in Renton, it is hoped that it will be completed for a Grand Opening in the new year.

The focal point of the station will be the Bannockburn Ceiling and artist Duncan Brown is at this moment busy with this project. It is a phenominal idea that Duncan thought of and without his expertise and talent we could never have accomplished. Please go and see for yourself what a fantastic job he is doing by watching our video, Duncan is donating his time and talent and we are very grateful.

We are all astounded by the results that Duncan has come up with, and I am sure like us you will be waiting to see the whole ceiling finished.

We will be making regular video films as this work progresses so call back regularly to see the updates and the fantastic job that Duncan is doing.

We follow Duncan Brown as he paints the last of the generals for the Bannockburn Ceiling and I think everyone will agree that these paintings are spectacular to say the least.

Enjoy our second video of the work in progress, once Duncan has finished this last painting, he has to coat them all with several layers of varnish.

Duncan has now administered 11 coats of varnish onto the paintings and he is, and should be very proud of his work.

What a talent and what a gentleman Duncan is, all this work, effort, and talent and all for the great cause of Scotland. Thankyou once again Duncan from all at Strathleven Artizans.

The Artizans viewed for the first time the finished paintings and were blown away, see for yourself our third video Bannockburn Ceiling and I bet you will be as well.

The paintings are now in Renton after Duncan Brown handed them over to Duncan Thomson & Jim Tannock from the Artizans on 10-09-2009.

Duncan will now paint the Clan Crests that will also add to this colourful and wonderful ceiling for the Heritage Centre.

Having seen his masterful work this ceiling is going to be amazing.

Not only is Duncan painting the clan crests which should be absolutely fantastic but he is doing an eight feet by four feet painting for the wall in the Heritage Centre. This will be of Robert the Bruce himself on horseback. Should be phenominal on it's completion.

Plans are being drawn up also to have the outside of the station painted although we have just heard from Scotrail that we have to have it painted in the railway colours. We will keep you informed about this development.

I was over seeing Duncan Brown today 25-09-2009 and watching him do these Clan Crests, it is mind blowing to watch this artist in full flight. He makes this task look so easy yet we all know how hard it is to paint. Enjoy the video of the ongoing process of the Clan Crests and I am sure you will be blown away like I was.

This is an impression of how the ceiling will look when completed, there will however be another four clan crests above and below the other generals.

Today 29-09-2009 Renton Primary School visited the Robert the Bruce Heritage Centre at Renton Station. This is our first official visit although we are far from complete with the centre.

This coming weekend the Artizans are going to be busy as they start painting the interior of the Station at Renton, hopefully then the following week they will hang the generals on the ceiling, something we are all waiting for.

The Clan Crests are now completed and the artist Duncan Brown is now administering the 10 coats of varnish, they will be handed over to the Artizans on Wednesday 7th October 2009. At the same time Duncan Brown will start doing the 8ft x 4ft painting of Robert the Bruce on horseback, should be tremendous when completed. Click here

18-10-2009 The wall painting is complete and my goodness it will blow you away, what a magnificent job Duncan Brown has made of this masterpiece. We said the focal point of the Heritage Centre would be the ceiling but now I am not so sure.

This has to be the best ever painting by Duncan and the sheer size of it is mind blowing.

To the right of the page you have the artist Duncan Brown proudly standing alongside this masterpiece, is that not exceptional artwork?

Down at the station we have all hands on deck, the boys have been busy with painting the centre and securing the generals and coats of arms onto the ceiling.

The station is really beginning to take shape now, there is a tremendous amount of work to be done but they are getting there.

The paintings are marvellous and to see them on the ceiling is just incredible, this is going to be one fantastic Heritage Centre.

Friday STV are coming along to film the centre for the news programme, this should we hope be a big stepping stone for Duncan Brown as his paintings get the recognition they deserve.

Take a look in our gallery to see how the interior of the station is looking as the work proceeds. Photo Gallery

STV News visit the Artizans at the Robert the Bruce Centre in Renton, on Friday 23rd October 2009 Kelly Ann Bishop from the STV news and film crew arrived to film for the news programme.

See links on our page and some extra video taken during the visit CLICK HERE

This has certainly put the Heritage Centre on the map as this was broadcast nationally.

The Heritage Centre has taken a new dimension recently as the various artefacts are installed alongside the fabulous paintings.

The centre is open daily through the various members giving up their free time to man the station and welcome the many visitors that have already passed through the doors.

The official opening will be Saturday 27th March 2010, a date you should put in your diary.

As the web site plus the Heritage Centre gets bigger and better, we have many researchers working a lot of hours to find as much information as possible. Here to the left we have Jim working very hard.

At the moment things are in full swing to arrange the Official Opening, We are hoping to make this a day to remember for everyone and the community. Lord Elgin will be in attendance and will officially open the new Heritage Centre.

We have had many visitors over the past few months, but not as way out as a funeral director for bikers. His visit coincided with our visit to Dalreoch Primary School so we were dressed up in our medieval gear to welcome him into the Robertt the Bruce Heritage Centre in Renton Station.

On Thursday 25th March we had a visit from the propriters of Icefire Glass, they presented us with a beautiful coat of arms of Robert the Bruce, made from glass and mounted on the Bruce Oak. CLICK HERE

See Official Opening page for all the photos and reports of the this fantastic day. This colourful day was fitting for Renton and the Strathleven Artizans. After so much hard work the Robert the Bruce Heritage Centre was officially opened by Lord Elgin . Although up to now we have had hundreds of people pass through the centre, no doubt the publicity from this day will increase our visitors. CLICK HERE

HOLYROOD MOTION

Please find below a motion that I have submitted to the Scottish Parliament which is self-explanatory.

Short Title: Opening of the Robert the Bruce Heritage Centre, Renton
S3M-06098 Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP): That the Parliament congratulates the Strathleven Artizans on the opening of the Robert the Bruce Heritage Centre in the old railway station in Renton; praises its efforts to promote historical links in Strathleven toward King Robert the Bruce and King David II and hopes that the new centre will further these aims and raise the awareness of the general public to take an interest in these important historical times, and further welcomes the adopt-a-station policy set up by ScotRail, which ensures that non-operational stations are not left to wrack and ruin but can continue to play a part in local communities.

I wish your organisation every success for the future.
Warm regards,
Gil Paterson MSP

 

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