Raising the Bar was a heritage and arts project investigating the local heritage of Cumnock in East Ayrshire – in particular the site of a 19th-century inn – and ran from July 2013 – March 2014.

The ‘Big Dig‘ archaeological excavation took place in September 2014 and involved local volunteers and over 300 schoolchildren, some of whom created their own exhibition using finds from the dig for Kids in Museum’s Takeover Day 2013. The project team also worked with local history enthusiasts to research and develop a new heritage trail for the town.

Raising the Bar involved many creative activities and events including the democratic carving of the ‘couthy bench‘, Capturing Cumnock in print and photography, and ‘Inn 3 Words‘ – an attempt to capture the essence of the pub as a social space.

You can read our end of project reports online, or download them as pdf’s from the About page.

Read more about the project here:  http://www.cumnockraisethebar.co.uk/