The odd collection of bits and pieces – an old pepper pot, a horned spoon, a knitted beaded purse – stopped the royal visitor in her tracks.

Laid out on a table at the 1949 Royal Highland and Agricultural Society’s show in Dundee was an eclectic display of objects which many at the time may have thought had little in the way of value.

Behind the stall, Lady Jean Maitland explained to how some items had been rescued from in and around Queen Elizabeth's family’s Glamis estate: the pepper pot came from the Castle, the horn spoon was made by a village joiner, there was a quern for milling corn, and the knitted bead purse which belonging to the great, great grandfather of the late schoolmaster.

Queen Elizabeth - eventually the Queen Mother - approved. These old things, she declared, should be preserved, not thrown away.

For Lady Maitland - who would roll up to junk yards and farm sales "chauffeur-driven" by her very understanding husband to barter with ‘scrappies’ over rusting farm machinery – it was a very public royal seal of approval.

The objects she rescued from being binned, picked up for a few shillings from auction houses or in exchange for tea and old clothes from tinkers, eventually stretched to more than 1000 different items. Piled high in the laundry room of her home in Burnside, Angus, she believed they told a precious story of a rapidly disappearing way of life.

Cleaned and labelled, they formed the nucleus of Angus Folk Museum creating exhibits that have helped generations appreciate times when ploughing was done by hand, traditional crafts thrived, and life was far simpler.

Now, the museum and Rutherglen-born Lady Maitland’s carefully curated items will feature at the heart of a new heritage park, part of the National Trust for Scotland’s £750,000 reimaging of the House of Dun near Montrose.

Set in the courtyard of the 18th century William Adam-designed house, it will share the story of the Angus landscape and its people, from the well-heeled who lived there to the countryside workers.

Alongside will be exhibitions examining the area’s history and traditional skills, among them whisky production, spinning, weaving and linen. Once open later this month, it is hoped it will sit with V&A Dundee and the new Aberdeen Art Gallery on the east coast heritage and culture trail.

According to Lady Maitland’s granddaughter, Caroline Graham-Watson, she would have been “amazed and delighted that her collection was being so beautifully preserved and displayed.”

She adds: “My grandmother always felt that the heritage of the aristocracy and 'upper classes' was very well preserved in sundry castles and stately homes, but what would be just as interesting - in fact more interesting - for future generations would be to see how the local working class people lived and worked.

“Despite the grandeur of Lady Maitland’s own life she was not a snob,” she says. “She had a great affinity for the ’tinks’. She is mentioned fondly in the well-known book “The Yellow on the Broom” by Betsy Whyte about the Scots gypsy travellers.”

Known for always wearing her hat – straw in summer, felt in winter - Lady Maitland had been inspired by Dr Isobel Grant, founder of the Highland Folk Museum, who by the time they met in 1930 had already amassed a wide collection of items reflecting the skills and heritage of the area.

Despite having no professional knowledge of collecting heritage items, she set about creating her own folk life collection teaching herself through correspondence with experts at home and abroad.

Having never learned to drive, she cut a rather unusual figure as she rolled up in the passenger seat of her husband's car to rummage through discarded machinery, farm tools and domestic furniture. After bartering with the owners for anything from rusty tractors to old tools, she would often depart with the vehicle piled high or her latest find trailing behind.

While a home condemned as unfit to live in would see her attempt salvage anything she could, from bunk beds to iron pots and pans, cradles and handmade toys.

Eventually she became well-known among travelling traders, scrap merchants and auctioneers for her interest in items which few saw any value in.

According to Caroline, her grandmother saw value in a huge range of items, whether it was box beds, school slates, spinning wheels and wooden cradles or a harpoon gun retrieved from a local trawler.

While outings with her grandmother would often involve a trip to a dealer in search of more items to add to the growing collection.

“She used to take us along with her to 'Scrappie Urquhart’ sometimes where we would look for tin kettles or farm tools,” she adds. “The same scrappie still operates in Forfar. She did not go very far afield, it was Angus folk life she was particularly interested in,” she adds.

Lady Maitland encouraged her grandchildren to keep old skills alive, teaching them to spin yarn from wool retrieved from farm fences, while she developed her own – she was one of the first to experiment with creating lavish displays using dried flowers.

The Angus and District Folk Museum initially opened in a former manse in Rescobie in 1953, before moving to a row of cottages in Glamis where it was taken over by the National Trust for Scotland. However, problems with the building recently forced the museum to close.

Its new location at House of Dun is part of a major project aimed at transforming the 793-acres estate with a view to creating “the Culzean of the east”.

Designed by William Adam for the 13th Laird, David Erskine, a judge of the Court of Session, House of Dun and was built in 1743 to replace the medieval tower house which had been home to the Erskine family since 1375.

The large estate includes the Old Dun Kirk – once visited by John Knox - Erskine Mausoleum, the Montrose Basin Nature Reserve and a two-mile stretch of the River Esk.

Due to reopen later this month, it will feature multi-sensory interpretations on subjects ranging from toys of the past and the Declaration of Arbroath to hidden Jacobite secrets, as well as costumed storytelling, new cafes and shops.

Phil Long, chief executive of National Trust for Scotland, said: “More than any other property it will bring together everything that the Trust does. House of Dun presents wealth and extravagance alongside agricultural toil, with both as important as the other to the story of Scotland.

"This place is as much about the manicured, ornamental gardens that surround the Georgian house as it is Montrose Basin Nature Reserve and its abundance of wildlife.”