Mavisbank, Polton

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Ordnance Survey licence number AC0000807262. All rights reserved. © Copyright and database right 2024.

General Details and Location

Category
AT RISK
Name of Building
Mavisbank
Other Name(s)
New Saughton Hall
Address
Polton
Locality
Postcode
Planning Authority
Divisional Area
Reference No
6170
Listing Category
A
OS Grid Ref
NT 28807 65146
Location Type
Rural
HS Reference No
7404

Description

Classical country house or villa comprising 2-storey over basement, 5-bay square plan corps de logis, with flanking quadrant screen walls curving forward and linking to symmetrically disposed rectangular plan single storey over basement pavilions. Cream sandstone ashlar principal elevation and quadrants, rubble (formerly harled) walls to side and rear elevations, and pavilions, all with polished ashlar dressings and margins. Base course, eaves course, modillioned cornice at eaves, balustrade above with regularly spaced corniced and panelled dies surmounted by urns (missing 1996). Horizontally channelled strip pilasters framing centre 3 bays and clasping corners at principal and 1st floors, pilaster pedestals to outer left and right with Latin inscriptions. Margined window jambs with cill and lintel courses at forming grid pattern at principal floors to side and rear elevations of main block. Margined windows to screen walls and pavilions

One of Scotland's most important country houses, the well-documented collaboration between William Adam and the lawyer-scholar, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, resulted in a highly original design on a freshfield site. Sir John's father had planned a house here, and a drawing of 1698 shows a plain square box with coupled chimneystacks perched on top of a tall piended roof. This became the basis, enriched and Palladianized, of the present house. John Baxter Senior was the mason contractor, and William Sylverstyne the stone carver.

The house was recast circa 1840 with a symmetrical arrangement of large well-designed additions (possibly Thomas Hamilton) flanking the rear elevation to provide a drawing room and ball room (demolished 1954). It appears that the parterre within the principal courtyard was excavated at this time, and the cills of basement windows lowered with the forestair. Further extensions were added to the front of the pavilions in the 1880s, but these were also demolished in 1954. Until recent consolidation work, the corps de logis retained many timber sash and case windows, in a 12-pane pattern to the principal floors, and 16 and 4-pane patterns to the basement, although it is likely that the majority of the multi-pane windows are from the 1840 re-casting. A photograph of circa 1956 shows a blind window at 1st floor displaying what appears to be the original 24 pane arrangement with thicker glazing bars.

Since the fire of 1973, the house has lost some urns from the principal balustrade and pediment, and the ornate 19th century cast-iron balustrade to the principal forestair. It has also lost its roofs, essential to understanding the French and Dutch influence of the design. Of grey slate, they comprised a distinctive and unusual domical piended platform roof to the main block, piended and bell-cast roofs to pavilions with a monopitch to the service wing. A-group with Doocot, Gazebo, Walled Gardens, Ice House, Dairy, Game Larder, and East Lodge (Kevock Road, Lasswade).(Historic Environment Scotland List Entry)
Building Dates
1723-1727; later alterations
Architects
Sir John Clerk II and William Adam

Category of Risk and Development History

Condition
Ruinous
Category of Risk
High
Exemptions to State of Risk
Field Visits
20/02/2017, 26/2/2019, 10/03/2022
Development History
20 February 2017: Assessment for the entry of Mavisbank House onto the At Risk Register has been prompted by the removal of the designation as a scheduled monument in Autumn 2016: as an A-listed building the building falls within the remit of the At Risk Register.

A fire in 1973 seriously damaged the house, resulting in the loss of the roof and gutting of the interior. The site remained in use into the 1980s with the courtyard utilised as a scrapyard. From the late 1980s a series of feasibility studies explored options for public access to a restored house and grounds.

Negotiations to secure the ownership of the house and surrounding policies, including the potential use of compulsory purchase, were initiated during the 1990s. The policies and associated buildings were acquired by Historic Scotland in 1996 but the house remained in private ownership. Ownership of the house itself remains unknown. Midlothian Council has agreed to carry out a CPO, at the right time, should a suitable end user be identified to which immediate transfer of the property would be made.

Stabilisation works, designed to limit deterioration of the structure, were carried out by Historic Scotland in the 1980s. A management plan for the policies was compiled 2010 and Historic Scotland (now Historic Environment Scotland) has carried out remedial works in the grounds since then.

The building currently stands as a roofless, unconsolidated ruin supported by scaffolding. Security fencing surrounds the building.

The Mavisbank Trust was formed in 2002 with the purpose of finding a sustainable future for the house and grounds. As a result of an unsuccessful bid to the HLF in 2013, a Steering Group was formed with the Trust, Midlothian Council, Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace and Historic Environment Scotland to address barriers to progress. The group has been assisted by the Prince’s Regeneration Trust. At this stage, plans for the house as a high-quality holiday let are being explored. Potential restoration of the policies for community use is also under investigation.
24 July 2017: Further information to be assessed in connection with proposals for re-use.
26 February 2019: External inspection finds the former country house remains in much the same condition as seen previously - a roofless ruin, supported by scaffolding, and within a high security fence. Masonry is cracked and damaged, missing in sections. Openings are bricked up.
February 2020: HES is working with partners, The Landmark Trust and Midlothian Council, to unlock the full potential of the Mavisbank landscape, rather than focusing solely on the restoration of Mavisbank House. An activity programme would be developed to deliver social benefits to the local community and visitors. This would include built and natural heritage skills training, outdoor learning, community growing and more. In addition to these activity programmes, access to Mavisbank would be improved through paths, a small car park and interpretation. HES will be working with The Landmark Trust to develop the proposal for Mavisbank House and landscape before submitting an application to the Heritage Horizon Awards.
10 March 2022: External inspection finds the building to be in similar condition to previous report. Dense vine and vegetation grows around and on remaining masonry. The security fence remains intact and there are no signs of vandalism or unauthorised access.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the Landmark Trust, with the support of Midlothian Council, worked with several partner organisations to develop the proposal to restore the category A-listed building and realise a transformation of the surrounding landscape.

An application for funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) to redevelop Mavisbank House and Policies in Midlothian was unsuccessful. The project partners are reflecting on the outcome of the funding application and considering their next steps. The historic landscape surrounding Mavisbank House remains a property in care of Scottish Ministers and HES will continue to look after it for the benefit of all.
23 August 2023: The Landmark Trust is developing a project to consolidate and restore Mavisbank House. Details can be found on their website https://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/support-us/projects-and-appeals/saving-mavisbank/

Guides to Development

Conservation Area
Mavisbank
Planning Authority Contact
PAC Telephone Number
0131 271 3302

Availability

Current Availability
Not Available
Appointed Agents
Price
Occupancy
Vacant
Occupancy Type
N/A
Present/Former Uses
Name of Owners
Not known.
Type of Ownership
Unknown

Information Services

Additional Contacts/Information Source
Bibliography
Classification
Country Houses, Mansions and Large Villas
Original Entry Date
20-FEB-17
Date of Last Edit
07/04/2022