Banff Museum

Banff Museum

Banff Museum is one of the oldest museums in Scotland, founded in 1828. The museum hosts displays on Banff silver, local geology, history, and geography.

The museum has a special collection of scientific equipment used by James Ferguson, known as 'The Banff Astronomer'. There is also a large natural history display based on artefacts gathered by Thomas Edwards.

Collection Highlights

Perhaps the most unusual and fascinating object is a copy of the Deskford Carnyx, an unusual war trumpet crafted about 2000 years ago. The 1st-century trumpet was found near Banff in the 19th century. The original is loaned to the National Museum Scotland, but a Victorian replica can be seen.

With Banff's heritage as a centre for making silver, it should come as no surprise that a large part of the museum is based on the silver industry. Perhaps the most valuable object is a silver teapot made a local silversmith around 1715. This is one of the oldest silver teapots in Scotland and shows that the Banff silversmiths could produce goods to rival those made in Edinburgh.

The museum has limited opening times, usually several days each week during the summer months.