Scottish Maritime Museum

The Scottish Maritime Museum Trust is a registered charity founded in 1983 to preserve and celebrate Scotland’s rich maritime heritage. We operate two unique sites:

In Irvine, visitors can explore the Museum inside the spectacular Linthouse building — a vast, glass-roofed, Victorian former shipyard engine shop, relocated from Govan in 1991. This A-listed structure offers an immersive experience in a true ‘cathedral of engineering’.

In Dumbarton, the Museum is set on the historic grounds of the William Denny Shipyard. Here, you'll find the pioneering Denny Ship Model Experiment Tank — the world’s first commercial ship testing facility, built in 1883 to help engineers test and refine ship designs.