Groam House Museum

Groam House Museum An outstanding centre of Pictish and Celtic art in Ross-shire featuring 15 carved Pictish stones all found in or around the village of Rosemarkie.

Groam House is an award-winning, independent museum in the seaside village of Rosemarkie on the Black Isle. We are situated on the High Street, on what would have been part of an important early Christian monastery enclosure 1250 years ago. Our centrepiece is the magnificent 2.6m high Rosemarkie cross-slab, an 8th century sculpted stone elaborately carved with enigmatic Pictish symbols and Christi

an crosses. It’s one of the most impressive and important stones on The Highland Pictish Trail. If you’ve never seen it, we guarantee you’ll be amazed at the intricacy and skill of the carving. It makes you realise what an important early Christian site Rosemarkie was. In addition to the Rosemarkie cross-slab and other Pictish sculpted stones, Groam House Museum cares for the collection of Celtic Art teacher George Bain (1881-1968). He was an inspiration for all lovers of Celtic design and his collection is now officially recognized as being of National Significance. We also have a small but important local history collection consisting mainly of photographs and documents but including a treasure trove of archaeological finds dating from prehistoric times to the 1800s. We are a registered charity, managed by a Board of Trustees and advised by museum specialists. We are determined to keep free entry to our museum therefore we rely on donations, fundraising events, shop sales and membership fees to survive. Our small part-time staff team is helped by a lively, enthusiastic group of volunteers and we all work together to achieve our mission:

to offer our visitors and followers a window into a past world, bringing our objects and their stories to life through our permanent displays, exhibitions, events and activities.

Groam House Museum is looking for a new Volunteer Treasurer to help us manageour finances effectively and plan confident...
02/09/2026

Groam House Museum is looking for a new Volunteer Treasurer to help us manage
our finances effectively and plan confidently for the future.
This role can be combined with becoming a Trustee of Groam House Museum, and
we would be delighted to welcome someone interested in contributing to the wider
governance and strategic direction of the Museum. However, becoming a Trustee is not essential: we are equally happy to hear from someone who would prefer to
contribute as Treasurer without joining the Board.
We are a small, ambitious museum on the beautiful Black Isle, caring for nationally
significant Pictish and Celtic collections alongside the work of artist George Bain.
Our activities depend on a committed team of trustees, volunteers and our Museum Manager.
This is an opportunity for someone with financial skills to make a real contribution to the future of a much-loved local museum and charity. Formal accountancy qualifications would be welcome, but they are not essential if you have relevant experience.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please email [email protected] for further information.

We have another mystery! This is a logo from George Bain's commercial work. It is 25.5cm wide and 31.6cm tall. Despite...
01/09/2026

We have another mystery! This is a logo from George Bain's commercial work. It is 25.5cm wide and 31.6cm tall. Despite searches, no association with the initials HFGI or or IHFG has been found.

See more of George Bain’s exquisite work at Groam House Museum’s temporary exhibition. Open daily 10.30am - 4pm - entry by donation.

Today we’re bringing you some more new items in the Groam House shop which feature the famous GHM logo! We have two size...
31/08/2026

Today we’re bringing you some more new items in the Groam House shop which feature the famous GHM logo! We have two sizes of the new style tote bags and lined Hygge bobble hats in the GHM logo colours. The nights are drawing in, so time to invest in a cosy winter bunnet!

Exclusively available now in the Groam House shop, open daily 10.30am - 4pm. 10% discount for GHM members and local residents!

Don't forget to book your table space for our De-Stash and Upcycle Sale on Saturday 19th September. Great time to sell ...
30/08/2026

Don't forget to book your table space for our De-Stash and Upcycle Sale on Saturday 19th September. Great time to sell those materials you bought for the next project you never got round to and the leftovers from the projects you did. Just message us for further information.

We're very excited that Groam House and our George Bain collection is featured in this month's edition of the Scottish F...
28/08/2026

We're very excited that Groam House and our George Bain collection is featured in this month's edition of the Scottish Field magazine.
The article highlights how our "tiny village museum" is "keeping his flame alive".
Groam House is incredibly privileged to be custodians of the national collection of Bain's pioneering work, which brought Celtic Art to such a wide audience in the early 20th century.

The Groam House team has had a wonderful time working with Heather, who has been our PhD student intern at the museum fo...
28/08/2026

The Groam House team has had a wonderful time working with Heather, who has been our PhD student intern at the museum for the last few months. She has done amazing work and we really miss her! She has brought so much knowledge, ideas and insight to the museum and everyone who got a chance to work with her was inspired by her.
Her last day was bright and sunny and some of the team, who closely worked with her during her time with us, took her on a trip to Portmahomack where they had a great visit to the Tarbet Discovery Centre. They enjoyed meeting some of the volunteers at Tarbat, who were really keen to share stories about their exhibits and showed them round the museum. Of course nobody could resist purchasing something in their great gift shop and the day was completed by a lovely lunch in sunny Portmahomack. Heather's wonderful work with us will be revealed towards the end of the year - details to follow!

We were delighted to welcome travel blogger “The Big Pict” when he and his partner visited Groam House recently. He’s ma...
27/08/2026

We were delighted to welcome travel blogger “The Big Pict” when he and his partner visited Groam House recently. He’s made a great wee film about the museum and our George Bain collection exhibition. Have a look!

https://www.instagram.com/the.big.pict/reel/DbyWsz_oMct/

Today we're introducing Aila who has been our amazing Curator & Manager at Groam House Museum for the last two years. "O...
26/08/2026

Today we're introducing Aila who has been our amazing Curator & Manager at Groam House Museum for the last two years.
"One of the things I love most about the museum is seeing people discover connections with history that they didn't expect. A lot of my work involves exhibitions, events, interpretation, funding applications and projects, and I'm always looking for different ways to tell stories and help people engage with the collection.
My greatest success so far? Probably a behind-the-scenes tour for teenagers. Not because it was particularly large or complicated, but because I was fully prepared for the kind of brutally honest feedback only teenagers can provide. Instead, they listened attentively and at one point I even got a "Wooooow, this is so cool!" Honestly, who gets to impress teenagers these days?
Seriously though, moments like that where people, who were initially not completely convinced, suddenly get excited about history or are surprised are why I love museum work. I'm also incredibly lucky to work alongside a wonderful group of volunteers. The amount of knowledge, enthusiasm, time and care they bring to this little museum never ceases to amaze me.
I generally prefer being behind the scenes, so over the coming months I'll be sharing some of the things I enjoy most about museum work: favourite objects, behind-the-scenes moments, and stories from around the museum. And yes, for anyone wondering, choosing a favourite object is impossible."

If Aila’s story has inspired you to become involved with Groam House, we’d love to hear from you! Message us or email [email protected]

This week's collection item is not a ball of wool! It was produced between 1946 and 1968. This chart is four stags whose...
25/08/2026

This week's collection item is not a ball of wool! It was produced between 1946 and 1968. This chart is four stags whose antlers are intertwined to form a knot. It is drawn on squared paper in pencil and measures 33.2cm wide and 23cm tall. George Bain was interested in textiles and developed designs for rugs which has been covered in earlier posts. The charts were submitted to the manufacturer Messers Quayle and Tranter of Kidderminster and this one was found amongst archive material left to the museum.

See more of George Bain’s exquisite work at Groam House Museum’s temporary exhibition. Open daily 10.30am - 4pm - entry by donation.

We have some exciting new items in the Groam House Museum shop - exclusive greeting cards produced from artwork by Donna...
24/08/2026

We have some exciting new items in the Groam House Museum shop - exclusive greeting cards produced from artwork by Donna Betts, our Canadian "Groamie"! Available as individual cards and sets of six, they are based on stones found on the Highland Pictish Trail, including Groam's wonderful Rosemarkie cross-slab.

From 300 CE to about 900 CE, the Picts ruled much of what is now Scotland and the Highlands were an important centre of Pictish power, culture and religion. Today, you can experience their fascinating legacy across the Highlands – enigmatic and expertly carved stones, important religious sites and hillforts, and metalwork and sculpture exhibited at Groam House and other local museums along the Trail. To learn more, visit https://highlandpictishtrail.co.uk/

Available now in the Groam House shop, open daily 10.30am - 4pm. 10% discount for GHM members and local residents!

Address

High Street
Rosemarkie
IV108UF

Telephone

01381 620961

Website

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