Elspeth King

Dr Elspeth King is a Scottish curator, writer and social historian. She is known for her role as curator of social history at the People's Palace Museum in Glasgow, as Director the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, and for her scholarship on the Scottish Suffrage movement.

Elspeth King
Dr Elspeth King holding a bust of Robert Owen (1771-1858), co-operator and reformer
Born
Lochore, Fife, Scotland
NationalityScottish
Alma materUniversity of Leicester
OccupationSocial historian, curator and writer
Known forCurator at People's Palace, Glasgow and Director of the Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum

Stirling Smith Museum, of which Dr King was Director

Education and Career

King was born into a mining family in Lochore, Fife.[1] She studied Medieval History at University of St Andrews, graduating with First Class Honours.[2] She went on to complete a post-graduate course in Museum Studies at University of Leicester.[1]

In 1974, King joined the People's Palace, in Glasgow as a curator, where she remained for the next 16 years. During her tenure exhibitions such as Scotland Sober and Free, the 150th anniversary of the Temperance Movement, and Michael Donnelly's 1981 exhibition of stained glass, gained record attendances.[2] The People's Palace won European Museum of the Year in 1981 and the British Museum of the Year award in 1983.[3]

Her pet cat Smudge became very well known in Glasgow during her time working there.[4]

In 1990, King was passed over for the civic post of keeper of social history. This decision was considered controversial by many, and was the subject of an appeal under the Council's grievance process.[2][3][5][6]

King left Glasgow to take on the role of director of the Dunfermline Heritage Trust[5][7], where she helped to oversee the restoration as a heritage centre of Abbot House,[8] the oldest secular building in the town.[9]

In 1994, King joined the Smith Art Gallery Museum in Stirling as its first Director, where she remained until her retirement in August 2018.[7] The museum had been threatened with closure earlier in the year due to funding cuts.[10] However, a petition was mounted to combat this decision and gained over 7000 signatures after which the museum received a reprieve.[11][12]

Honours

King was made an Honorary Doctor of the University of Stirling in 2005 for her "outstanding work in developing Scottish museums and in promoting Scottish history and culture".[13][14]

Written Works
  • The Scottish Women's Suffrage Movement / ... compiled by Elspeth King to accompany the Government sponsored 'Right to Vote' exhibition organised to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act, from 9 September- 7 October 1978. Peoples Palace Museum, Glasgow Green (1978)
  • Scotland Sober and Free: the Temperance Movement, 1829-1979. Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries (1979)
  • Papers of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Association for Women's Suffrage : an introduction. Peoples Palace Museum, Glasgow Green (1980)
  • Barapatter. Friends of the Peoples's Palace (1983)
  • Provand's Lordship : the oldest house in Glasgow. City of Glasgow District Council (1984)
  • St Nicholas' Hospital in Glasgow. Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries (1984)
  • The strike of the Glasgow weavers 1787. Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries (1987)
  • The People's Palace and Glasgow Green. Richard Drew Publishing (1991)
  • People's Pictures: the story of tiles in Glasgow (1991)
  • The hidden history of Glasgow's women : the Thenew factor. Mainstream Publishing (1993)
  • Introducing William Wallace. Firtree (1997)
  • The Wallace Muse: Poems and Artworks Inspired by the Life and Legend of William Wallace.(with Lesley Duncan). Luath Press (2005)
  • Old Stirling. Stenlake (2009)
  • A History of Stirling in 100 Objects The History Press (2011)
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References
  1. "Behind the Scenes at the Museum | Pocketmags.com". pocketmags.com. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  2. "Why Elspeth King paid the price of a Palace revolution". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  3. Gray, Alasdair (1991). "Cities of Culture: A Warning from Glasgow a Friend Unfairly Treated". The Irish Review (1986-) (10): 91–94. doi:10.2307/29735590. ISSN 0790-7850.
  4. "Mongrel cat is museum's most famous exhibit". UPI. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  5. "New post at Stirling for Elspeth King". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
  6. "Elspeth King affair takes another twist". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  7. "Museum Boss Retiring". Stirling Observer. 24 January 2018.
  8. Cockburn, Henry (27 March 1994). "A model occasion in Fife - Diary". The Sunday Times.
  9. Coleman, Russel (1996). "Excavations at the Abbot's House, Maygate, Dunfermline" (PDF). Tayside and Fife Archaeological Journal. 2: 70.
  10. "Smith Art Gallery and Museum faces closure after funding threat". Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  11. Marjoribanks, Kaiya (26 January 2018). "Thousands sign petition to save Stirling art gallery from budget cuts". dailyrecord. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  12. "Funding reprieve for orchestra and museum". BBC News. 6 February 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  13. "News archive for February 2005 | University of Stirling". www.stir.ac.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  14. "1998 - 2007 | About". University of Stirling. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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