Mavisbank House video

some shaky camera work super video nevertheless Stephen Spielberg I am not!

Important Message: Please do not climb the fence it's very dangerous this historic building is very fragile this video was made to encourage you not to do this please respect this and view from a safe distance thanks.

Information kindly provided by friends of Mavisbank House

History
Design and construction Sir John Clerk's father, the first Baronet of Penicuik, planned a house on the Mavisbank estate in the late 17th century, for which a drawing of 1698 survives. Sir John Clerk, 2nd Baronet (1676-1755) was a Member of the Parliament of Scotland, and, after the union of 1707, of the Parliament of Great Britain. He was also an artistic patron, a composer of music, and an amateur architect. In 1722, he inherited his father's estates, and began planning the new house. Around this time, William Adam was engaged on his first major commission, the remodelling of Hopetoun House for the Earl of Hopetoun. Clerk and Adam collaborated on the design of Mavisbank, which was based on the 1698 proposal. Each claimed the greater part of the credit for the design. Clerk wrote in a letter that he designed the house "under the correction of Mr Adams, a talented architect", while Adam credited the design to himself in his book, Vitruvius Scoticus. It is clear that Adam enjoyed an unusually close relationship with his client, despite their differences of opinion. Clerk certainly criticized some of Adam's suggestions, although surviving correspondence suggests Adam got his way on a number of points.The foundations were laid in 1723, with construction entrusted to the mason and contractor John Baxter Senior, with stone carved by William Sylverstyne. However, William Adam himself was later appointed to complete the works. Later history and decline
The house passed out of the Clerk family in 1815. In 1840, the house was extended, possibly to designs by Thomas Hamilton, the symmetrical additions including a ballroom. The building became an asylum in 1876. Additions were made to the front of the pavilions in the 1880s. Further extensions were made in the 1920s, but in 1946, Dr W. M. Harrowes, Medical Superintendent for Edinburgh purchased the property, and demolished all the additions made since the 18th century. His intended restoration of the house went unrealised, however. In the 1950s, the forecourt was used as a car park for cars both used and scrap by local man Archie Stevenson, and neglect set in. The building was gutted by fire in 1973, destroying the roof and interiors. In 1986, Mr Stevenson was evicted from Mavisbank along with serveral other people who stayed in caravans on the property. Ownership of the house remained uncertain, however, as Stevenson had sold portions the property to three possibly fictitious persons in the USA. In July 2008, Historic Scotland was still pursuing compulsory purchase of the building. Restoration proposals Previous stabilisation work was carried out in the 1980s under emergency powers, following the threatened demolition of the structure. The Mavisbank Trust, a subsidiary of the Edinburgh Green Belt Trust, was formed in 2003 to oversee maintenance of the building and grounds, and to explore longer-term solutions for their restoration. In August 2003, Mavisbank was featured in the BBC Television programme Restoration, in which the public were invited to vote for restoration proposals. Mavisbank reached the final round, but lost out to Manchester's Victoria Baths. In 2008, Historic Scotland were examining two options: stabilisation of the building as a ruin; or creation of a "developer's shell", which could be sold and completed by a third party. A local campaign group, Friends of Mavisbank, has been formed with the aim of promoting more limited architectural intervention, while improving public access to the estate.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mavisbank_House
Music:
A Good Ending
artist: Musicshake
length: 9:24
genre: Instrumental

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Mavisbank
• House
• Loanhead
• Midlothian
• near
• Edinburgh

[Pianoguy32]

just saw on the bbc that is is being saved by the local council.

[TUBA187]

I was there yesterday! I feel sorry for the poor old building. I've been fantasising about winning the lottery and restoring it all day.