Sir Tom backs call for Customs House museum

Published on Friday 11 January 2008 22:59

ONE of Scotland's best-known entrepreneurs has urged museum bosses to transform one of Leith's most historic buildings into a visitor attraction.

Sir Tom Farmer has vowed to do all he can to help the Customs House be converted into a centre charting the rich heritage of Leith, Newhaven and Granton.

His backing is the biggest boost for a campaign instigated by local historians, which has won the support of councillors, MPs and MSPs. The building, on the Shore, is used as a storage base for the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) and is closed to the public.

Sir Tom, who spoke of his ambitions for the building to a gathering of business leaders in Leith recently, said bringing the building – which dates back to 1812 – back into public use would realise a long-cherished "dream".

He told The Scotsman: "There's no doubt in my mind that Customs House is the finest building in Leith and it's a crying shame that it's not open to the public.

"I think it would be absolutely fantastic were it to become a museum, especially as Leith has such a rich history and for years was Scotland's main port. It's a real dream of mine to see it brought back into public use."

Graham Chapman, a community leader in Leith, said: "Customs House is absolutely ideal for a museum. It's a disgrace that it's only being used to store artefacts at the moment.

"It's in an absolutely perfect location, right on the Shore, and would look amazing if it was properly refurbished and lit up at night."

A spokeswoman for NMS said: "We agree storage is not a good use of the finest building in Leith, but we do not have the funds to construct new facilities at Granton to accommodate these objects.We would need additional, external funding."