Stromness Museum
Stromness Museum is a small independent museum in the town of Stromness in Orkney, Scotland focusing on the town's connections to maritime and natural history. The building which accommodates the museum was originally constructed as the town hall of Stromness and is a Category B listed building. History Following significant population growth, largely associated with the fishing industry, the area became a police burgh in 1856. In this context, the burgh council decided to commission a town hall: the new building was designed in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1858. The burgh council occupied the ground floor of the building while the Orkney Natural History Society, which had been founded in 1837, established a museum on the first floor of the building in 1858. In the 1920s, the burgh council relocated and the society acquired ownership of the building. The expanded museum was re-opened on the site by Lord Lieutenant of Orkney and Shetland, Alfred Baikie, in February 1931. The museum is now owned by Orkney Natural History Society Museum, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation, with members of the society electing a committee of volunteers to manage the museum. Collections The museum's Orkney naval