A CONTROVERSIAL new development at a rugby club playing field could win the prize of a national museum dedicated to the sport from the home of the Scottish game.
Campaigners have fought for years to have a purpose-built museum at Murrayfield, the encampment of the Scottish Rugby Union and national team.
However, now Edinburgh Academicals' £8 million stadium rebuild a few miles across Edinburgh at Raeburn Place in Stockbridge is to house memorabilia related to the country's international history, as well as the famous club's own story.
It has a key part in the game's history - at 157 it is the oldest club in Britain - and was the first in the world to host an international rugby match in 1871, when Scotland beat England.
The SRU is to work with the historic club on its museum project which is due to begin this autumn.
The Murrayfield museum is said to be "still a work in progress".
The push for a museum at Murrayfield, built in 1925, was led by fans and others connected with the stadium and its library, and three years ago a proposal for a £250,000 facility was put forward and agreed but critics say little visible progress has been made on that project.
The Academicals also face potential difficulty though, with many residents in Stockbridge opposed to the redevelopment of the ground next to Inverleith Park that will include a row of shops.
Frank Spratt, Academicals' president, said the museum's contents are still under discussion but video and interactive features will be included as well as artefacts.
He said: "One of the things we certainly want to do is highlight the ground's importance as where the first international was held - and some say the first international in any major sport. We've been speaking with other parties."
An SRU spokesman said: "We are actively engaged with Edinburgh Accies on this project.
"Edinburgh Accies are renowned as one of the world's oldest rugby clubs, having been established as far back as 1857.
"Scottish Rugby endorses the proposed redevelopment of the club's Raeburn Place ground and welcomes the club's desire to incorporate appropriate facilities to showcase the club, the venue and its place in international rugby's history. We look forward to continuing to work with the club as the project develops and commends the planned museum development to others within the wider rugby and sporting communities.
"We believe that this development will be of note to all those interested in the history and heritage of rugby football and the development of international sporting contests in general."
There is no estimated completion date yet for the Murrayfield museum, but special exhibitions at existing display sections are planned. The spokesman added: "Among the specific elements we're working on at present are material relating to the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War, in which Scotland lost more internationalists than any other rugby playing nation."
Richard McBrearty, curator and historian at the Scottish Football Museum in Glasgow, said: "The club has an exceptionally important place not only within the early development of rugby football in Scotland but, in my opinion, within a broader history of football in the country prior to its codification along association and rugby lines.
"It is clear that a focal point for rugby football should exist within Edinburgh and that Raeburn Place, site of the historic first international match of 1871 would be the most appropriate venue for such an attraction.
"Raeburn Place, like the Edinburgh Academicals Club itself, is a living ancestor of the rugby game in Scotland and as such should be treasured."
Mr McBrearty added: "The proposals to develop the stadium facilities will help ensure that the venue is an excellent attraction for rugby fans, tourists and other users, and will be a benefit and credit to the city."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article