Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life

About the museum

Summerlee Museum stands on the site of the former Summerlee Ironworks beside the Monklands Canal in Coatbridge. The ironworks remains are the only surviving mid-Victorian ironworks in Scotland and are protected as a Scheduled Monument, so the site itself is part of the story the museum tells.

The main exhibition hall was created in the late 1980s from the former Hydrocon Crane Works and later received a redevelopment costing around £10 million. It holds working machinery, including the winding engine from Cardowan Colliery, and displays on coal, iron, engineering and steel, with social history sections on shops, schools, leisure and the communities that depended on heavy industry.

The collection covers the main heavy industries of Scotland, with a focus on iron, steel, coal and engineering. It includes tools, machinery, work wear, locomotives, trams and a colliery winding engine. The 20-acre site also has a restored canal branch, miners' rows, an engineering pavilion, the Farme Colliery Engine House, a coal mine tour and a children's play park.

Highlights

• Cardowan Colliery winding engine
• Blast furnace interactive, where visitors play the furnace keeper
• 1930s Compton cinema organ
• Viewing pod above the Summerlee Ironworks remains
• Guided coal mine tour and restored miners' rows
• Tramway with Edwardian and modern trams

Permanent exhibitions

• Main exhibition hall – Working machinery and displays on coal, iron, steel and engineering, with a blast furnace interactive, social history rooms and a cinema organ.
• Summerlee Ironworks and viewing pod – A high-level walkway leads to a pod overlooking the excavated ironworks, with a multimedia display on the site's past.
• Miners' row and coal mine – Restored miners' houses show family life from the 1840s to the 1980s, and a guided tour goes underground.

Operated by

Industrial Museums Scotland

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free and booking is not needed, except for groups of 10 or more and school groups. The mine tour, the tram and some other activities carry a small charge (amounts not published). Special events may be ticketed.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

Level access with automatic doors. The exhibition hall is fully accessible, with a lift to the gallery and the Ironworks viewing pod. There are Blue Badge spaces on site (six disabled spaces in the small car park). The museum has a wheelchair-accessible tram, but the tram has been under repair. Only assistance dogs are allowed. A full access guide for the large site is on AccessAble; accessibility enquiries: +44 1698 274590.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area

The award-winning play park has sandpits, swings, climbing ropes and a flying fox. The exhibition hall has hands-on experiments and interactives, and the Reigart Education Suite and Photomedia Studio run activities and events for all ages.

Getting there & parking

The museum is about 9 miles east of Glasgow. It is on National Cycle Route 75 with bike racks at both entrances.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

The café next to the exhibition hall serves breakfast and lunch during opening hours. There are outdoor picnic areas and an indoor picnic hut. The museum shop has a sweet shop with homemade fudge.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Room hire for events and conference-room facilities are available; contact the team to discuss requirements.

Plan your visit