As published by The Scotsman
10 February 2010 TRUSTEES spearheading a £10 million campaign to transform the Borders home of one of Scotland's most celebrated writers have unveiled the first images of a new visitor centre to be built beside it.
The planned visitor centre at Abbotsford House, complete with café and shop, has been designed to fit in with the landscape, trustees say
They have also revealed that work is due to begin this year on a long-awaited restoration of Abbotsford, built by Sir Walter Scott near Melrose in the early 19th century.
The enduring legacy of the creator of the Waverley novels, Rob Roy and Ivanhoe will be explored in the striking new complex, to be built in a woodland area about 500 metres away from the existing baronial mansion.
The new building – which will also house a shop, café and reception area – will chart the changing face of Abbotsford estate, which had only a cottage and a farm steading when Scott arrived there in 1812.
The house was opened to the public in 1833, just five months after the writer's death, and was cared for by his direct descendants until the death of his great-great-great granddaughter in 2004.
However, it had been allowed to fall into decline and the number of visitors had slipped away due to its run-down state.
A group of trustees, headed by the Duke of Buccleuch, launched a campaign to save Abbotsford for the nation four years ago and won a pledge of £4.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund last year.
With Scottish Borders Council committing a £1.5m grant just before Christmas, the trustees announced yesterday that they were in a position to press ahead with the project later this year, subject to planning approval.
Historic Scotland has also been asked to support the project.
Community groups in the area are being given the chance to comment on the new building and the full-scale restoration and repair programme for the house over the next few weeks.
The entire project is expected to take about three years.
It will include the creation of six rooms of self-catering accommodation in the mansion, as well as new conservation and interpretation facilities and an education suite for school groups.
The visitor centre was designed by the same architects behind the restoration of Edinburgh's Festival Theatre and Usher Hall.
Trustee Tony Taylor said: "The site of the new building is a fair bit away from the house, in an area of woodland in the estate, and it has been very carefully designed to fit in with the landscape.
"It should make a huge difference to our understanding of Scott and his work.
"We don't yet know whether work will start first on the new building or the restoration but we're hoping to plan the work to ensure that Abbotsford remains open as normal every year from March to October."
David Parker, leader of Scottish Borders Council, said: "Our vision is for Abbotsford to be a world-class heritage centre and tourism attraction for the Borders.
"Abbotsford has been an underused asset for the area for a long time now, and this project should make a huge difference to our understanding of the life and work of Sir Walter Scott."
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