Meet Janet Moodie at Beauly Heritage Centre

It is a strange route that took Janet Moodie to be part of the Beauly Heritage Centre volunteering staff. Janet explains, “I am a member of the Highland Guild of Spinners Weavers and Dyers, and when the centre was planned as a place of excellence in textiles, I wanted to be on board”

 The centre also hosts a kiltmakers, but the full plans didn’t materialise. “The centre is still very active in textiles. We have a demonstrations of textile processes in the Summer. I still spin, but really just play at it.”

From her origins in Shetland, Janet pursued a career as a maths teacher, before her retirement. She has lived in Beauly for 25 years and believes in getting involved. “When you live in a place you should be part of the community.” She also is active in the church and set up a local book group, not least to integrate incomers, of which there are many in Beauly. “Now that we have a station, the benefits of commuting have come home. Beauly is much mellowed, a much more interesting place.”

Central to that must be the heritage centre. It is working to set itself up as a genealogical resource centre, offering a directory to local gravestones, and a very comprehensive bookshop for local interest. “We have super new exhibition, designed by Navy Blue of Edinburgh, telling our stories. Our catchment extends much beyond just Beauly, to all the Glens to the west – Fraser and Chisholm land. There is much on the Lovats and the military and ecclesiastical history of the area.”

The Centre itself is an old catholic school building, built in 1926, and closed in 1985. It has an unusual relationship with the Priory, securing access to the property, directly through its gardens. It is almost a one-stop shop for Beauly heritage.

The parent body of the heritage centre is the Beauly Firths and Glens Trust, who are recruiting interested people for all kinds of roles. “I have never worked on a till before, but am happy to do so. I get pleasure from just helping, doing something. I just do what I want.”

She would encourage others to join in whether in Beauly or not, or in the heritage sector or not. “Go ahead. Give something back. Give as much or as little as you can., and do what needs be done.”

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Click below for a video entitled "The trees of Beauly Priory"