Achi news desk-
Now there are hopes that the 18th century mansion near Edinburgh, with its array of historical links which add to its character as one of Scotland’s architectural treasures, could be within striking distance of being saved from the end.
And, that the very dining table could be at the heart of the rebuilt property around which some of the nation’s brightest minds had once gathered.
Campaigners who have dedicated decades to trying to save the category A listed building are eagerly awaiting news of the latest desperate fundraising effort that will secure its future.
The decision by the National Lottery Heritage Fund is believed to be in response to a request for a £5 million grant to help save the house and restore it as holiday accommodation with communal space, within a great distance.
The Fund’s trustees have received the application from The Landmark Trust, a charity dedicated to the restoration of historic buildings, recently carried out a comprehensive site visit and, with its members due to meet in March, are expected to make their decision from within weeks.
If given the go-ahead, it will end decades of lockdowns which have seen growing fears about the once grand villa designed by leading architect William Adam in collaboration with Sir John Clerc of Penicuik, a leading Enlightenment figure Scotland.
As if to announce a change in the building’s checkered fortunes, the small but dedicated group that has tried to secure its future for over 30 years, is already celebrating a small success.
By chance, William Kay, an architectural historian who had researched the property for The Mavisbank Trust, was scrolling through an Edinburgh auction house catalog recently when he spotted a 1730s dining table among the lots.
He was fresh from working on a digital reconstruction of the property and its key rooms which had involved scouring thousands of detailed records, plans and centuries-old invoices for furniture. And he realized that the mahogany table – large enough to comfortably seat 14 diners – had direct links to the house.
The table is unusual, made from a single piece of wood and is a very early example of a mahogany table as before the 1700s most were made from pine, oak, beech and other European woods.
The discovery – confirmed by the existence of an old invoice proving its purchase – led to an urgent appeal to raise the money to buy it, meaning that if the house was indeed rebuilt, the table could be returned to its place where he was standing.
Read more: Without the American golfers, ‘we probably wouldn’t be here’
Increased visitor demand for Scottish food and drink experiences
New watchtower being brought to ‘birthplace of Scottish tourism’
Chris Lewis, Trust adviser and former Mavisbank Trust trustee, says Adam – whose sons, Robert, John and James went on to become famous for their architecture – and Clerk, politician, judge, composer and a leading figure in the creation the Act of Union, keeps comprehensive records of the construction and interior of the house making it possible to accurately visualize how it would have looked in its heyday.
The archives have enabled the Trust to create digital examples of the interior of Mavisbank, even down to the paint colors on the walls as they would have been 300 years ago.
“When Adam and Clerk built the house they kept every plan and invoice even down to the detail of a 10ft mural painted on one of the walls,” he adds. “It meant we were able to establish the origin of the dining table.
“It was a few weeks before the dining table went up for auction, but thanks to donors from all over the country we were able to raise enough money with only days to spare.
“The idea is that when Mavisbank is restored it will take its rightful place there.”
Mavisbank House was built in the 1720s as a useful country retreat for Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, within striking distance by a pony of the heart of Edinburgh’s polluted city centre.
He had been educated in Leiden and had traveled through Europe. With experience of European buildings and culture, he tried to develop his own form of classic villa.
Intended as a halfway house between his obligations in Edinburgh and his main family seat in Penicuik, his new Palladian style consisted of a central block and two pavilions, kicking off a trend for similar mansions across the country.
In its Enlightenment heyday, Mavisbank hosted gatherings of the brightest minds, but eventually the Clerk family moved on and in 1815 it was sold.
After a period in private hands, by the 1850s it had entered a new era as a private mental health asylum.
Renamed New Saughton Hall, pioneering doctors led by Dr John Batty Tuke introduced innovative practices that saw more humane treatment for patients and a compassionate approach.
Rather than seeing them as criminals or undesirables, they offered gentle therapies such as gardening, and considered their condition medical.
The appointment of a woman as its head gardener was equally radical: Mary E Burton was self-taught and the first female professional gardener in Scotland.
During the First World War, Mavisbank would become a place of recuperation for soldiers discharged due to illness and shell-shock.
It began its demise in the 1950s when it was taken over by a private owner who used it as a car breaking yard, among other things.
A fire in the 1970s was followed by neglect and abandonment. With the roof and most of the floors gone, and confusion over its ownership which saw the FBI scour America for what turned out to be bogus owners, it looked as if it was going to be demolished .
A last gasp appeal from campaigners saw him saved from being lost forever, but pleas for him to be reinstated failed.
Instead, categorized as ‘High Risk’ and in ‘Dilapidated’ condition on the Buildings at Risk register, it has been wrapped in scaffolding by Historic Environment Scotland to help prevent total collapse.
With the building deteriorating, two attempts to win National Lottery money failed. The property even gained UK-wide prominence when it was featured on the BBC’s Restoration series, only to miss out on millions of pounds of funding.
In what is seen as the final roll of the dice, the Landmark Trust has said it hopes the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund could boost additional funding towards a restoration bill that is likely to be more than £12 million.
“The CGDG grant of around £5 million would enable Landmark to pursue phase one of a new plan to give Mavisbank House a vibrant and sustainable future,” he said.
“This vital step would see the crumbling building and pavilions stabilized before any more historic structures disappear, enable contemporary condition surveys and resolve the long-standing ownership and access issues.”
Meanwhile, the Mavisbank Trust, which has submitted a number of unsuccessful applications for funding with the aim of saving the property, has thanked donors for helping to protect the food table. He is now focusing on establishing a ‘Friends of Mavisbank’ group which aims to engage the local community and engage in activities on the property grounds.
Mr Lewis added that local residents appeared to have support for The Landmark Trust’s holiday accommodation and community use schemes: “It has been in limbo for many years, it has an international reputation and there is a great deal of support.”
Although the newly purchased dining table has special significance: “It’s a symbol of how Mavisbank House has survived against all odds,” he adds.
