David Livingstone Birthplace

Over het museum

David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, was born in 1813 in a tenement known as Shuttle Row, which housed workers of the Blantyre cotton mill on the banks of the River Clyde. By 1913 the mill buildings had been condemned as unfit to live in, and a committee formed in the 1920s to save the row and turn it into a national memorial. The site was bought in 1927, and the memorial was opened in 1929.

The Scottish National Memorial to David Livingstone Trust has owned the site since then. From 1999 the centre was run in partnership with the National Trust for Scotland and South Lanarkshire Council, and since 2017 the trust has operated it itself. A large lottery-funded project refurbished the museum, collection store and café buildings and created a new exhibition and play park.

The museum now tells Livingstone's life in galleries that follow his journey from child mill worker in Blantyre to his expeditions in Africa and his death. It also looks at the people who travelled with and supported him, and at the slave trade, colonialism and his contested legacy. The trust holds a collection of about 4,000 objects, and the setting includes parkland, nature trails and the remains of the Blantyre Works village.

Hoogtepunten

• Exhibition following Livingstone's life from Blantyre to Africa
• The room in Shuttle Row where he was born
• Ship-inspired play park
• Nature trails through the riverside parkland
• Children's audio tour of the museum
• Livingstone's Café, open without a museum ticket

Vaste collectie

• Permanent exhibition – Galleries follow Livingstone from his birth and childhood in Blantyre through his studies, his journeys in Southern and Central Africa and his death, and ask how his legacy should be understood today.

Opgericht

1929

Beheerder

David Livingstone Trust

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Tickets can be booked online or bought at reception. The café, play park, shop and parkland can be visited without a ticket. The museum is no longer part of the National Trust for Scotland, so NTS members no longer get free or discounted entry.

Toegankelijkheid

• Rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

All areas of the museum are wheelchair accessible; the building is historic and some spaces are small. A lift serves the three floors of the tenement, and a platform lift and a stairlift link the first-floor buildings. Accessible toilets are on the ground floor of the museum and in the Pavilion building next to the shop. A wheelchair can be borrowed from reception, or booked in advance by phone, and portable stools are available. Hearing loops are fitted on the first floor, and portable loops are at reception and the shop. The paths from the car park are level, with a slight downhill slope to the courtyard. Only guide dogs may enter the museum; other dogs must be on a lead in the café and shop.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Speurtocht, doeboekje of kinderaudiotour
• Doe- en voelstations
• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek
• Kinderfeestjes

The museum describes itself as a family day out, with an interactive exhibition, a children's audio tour, a play park inspired by Livingstone's steamboat, and a family nature trail with good access. Baby-changing facilities are at the museum entrance and in the Pavilion building, and the museum takes part in a Scottish breastfeeding-friendly scheme. Children's parties can be booked at weekends.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

Local taxi firms serve Blantyre. Dogs are welcome in the grounds, and need not be on a lead except in designated areas.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

Livingstone's Café is in the Pavilion building next to the gift shop, with indoor and outdoor seating, and can be used without museum entry. Food and drink other than capped bottled water may not be taken into the museum.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

• Ruimtes te huur
• Privéfeesten
• Zakelijke evenementen
• Bruiloften / trouwceremonies

Tot 48 personen.

Hireable spaces include the Red Room (seats 48), the Blue Room (8 to 12 people), the Nature Gazebo and the Gallery Space. Hire requires the use of the café's catering. Weddings and children's parties are also offered.

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