Moat Brae House, 61, George Street, Dumfries

Medium scale Greek revival villa, now a hospital. 2 storeys with railed basement. 5 bays. Polished red ashlar (stone-cleaned 1985). Central pedimented Doric porch; aproned windows throughout (sashes, with 12-pane glazing pattern) with architraves linked to band courses dividing floors; consoled cornices to ground floor windows. Main cornice and coped low parapet; corniced end stacks; slate roof. Spear-head cast-iron railings to basement area and flyover steps. Interior: square central hall with circular first floor gallery, domed glazed roof. Plasterwork with Greek revival ornament, Doric frieze in entrance lobby. Altered during conversion to hospital.

Perhaps by Walter Newall. Compares with 61 Irish Street. Associations with J M Barrie who visited as a child between 1873-8. Barrie moved to Dumfries from Kirriemuir where he was born in 1873 to attend the Dumfries Academy. He was then 13. He became friends with the two boys who lived at Moat Brae and it is apparently here that the odyssey of Peter Pan was born, from their boyhood antics. (Historic Scotland)

1997: The Moat Brae Nursing Home closes and the building becomes vacant. 2000: The building is put up for auction. SCT understands that the property is subsequently bought by a private businessman who intends to restore the house as a hotel with a Peter Pan-themed play area. September 2002: The Dumfries and Galloway Standard reports that the interior has been badly vandalised, after fires were started in several rooms. The bathroom suites have been destroyed, windows and mirrors smashed, and plasterboard ripped from the walls. The police are now to closely monitor the building. 1 September 2003: The Herald reports that the owner is seeking a partner to fund the hotel conversion. If he is unsuccessful he will seek a buyer for the property next year. Planning applications were submitted last year, but the owner has now submitted revised plans on the advice of local planners. November 2003: External inspection reveals that whilst the front of the property appears in reasonable condition, the rear elevation windows are smashed at both the ground and first floors. The garden which inspired J. M. Barrie to write Peter Pan is now overgrown. 29 October 2004: The Dumfries and Galloway Standard reports that the building has suffered from sustained vandalism and the council has now secured the building with new fencing and boarding. The house is owned by Manus Merx. The local councillor is pushing for Compulsory Purchase proceedings. October 2006: Member of the public contacts SCT detailing the level of general disrepair of the property ,additionally a number of acts of vandalism have taken place. It is noted that the statue of Peter Pan in the rear garden has been removed. 6 June 2007: The Dumfries and Galloway Standard reports that an 11 year old girl has set up a petition to save the house. A council spokesperson confirmed that the council had no need for the house and would not be taking it on.

April 2008: The Scotsman reports the building is to placed on the market shortly. A Barrie House Action Group is reported to have been formed to save the building.

May 2008: BBC News website reports that Loreburn Housing Association has bought the property, the CEO is quoted as stating " we would like to preserve as much of the garden as possible because that is the real link with JM Barrie".

May 2009: The Dumfries and Galloway Standard repeats the story and notes the possibility of the Peter Pan House Action Group setting up a Moat Brae Building Preservation Trust to enable the building to be saved.

May 2009: The Scottish Daily Express reports that the Loreburn Housing Association have stated they do not have sufficient funds to save the property.

July 2009: The BBC website reports that the Loreburn Housing Association intends to start work to repair the building and create a visitor centre.

August 2009: The Herald reports that Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust has obtained an interim interdict to prevent demolition works at the site. Further discussions are ongoing about the future of the building.

August 2009: The Annandale Observer reports that the Trust is appealing for funds to continue its campaign and that Loreburn Housing Association will have to apply for listed building consent and planning permission before works continue on site.

August 2009: The Herald reports that the interim interdict has been withdrawn by a sheriff. The trust is attempting to buy the building from Lorebank Housing Association.

September 2009: The Scotsman reports that Loreburn Housing Association has agreed to sell Moat Brae House to the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust for £1 with an additional charge of £75,000, which the Trust will have 3 years to pay. The article goes on to note Conservation Architects have estimated restoration at approx £2million, with £25,000 of work required immediately to make the building wind and water tight.

October 2009: The Annandale Herald reports on the sale of the property to Moat Brae Trust.

April 2010: Dumfires and Galloway Standard reports on a visit to Moat Brae by South of Scotland MSP Mike Russell, along with Historic Scotland representatives, to see the plans by the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust to bring the building and gardens back into use.

July 2011: Accompanied (with building owners) internal and external inspection completed. The building continues to deteriorate. The house suffers from widespread damp and dry rot which have caused the loss of plasterwork in many parts. Some floors are unsafe. Window to the rear are boarded up, as are two to the front. Surviving frames are in mixed condition with a number requiring maintenance or repair.

August 2011: BBC news website notes the Moat Brae Trust has been awarded a grant of £250,000 from Historic Scotland for essential repairs.

August 2011: BBC news reports on the launch of a new £4 million fundraising campaign to restore and convert the building into a centre for children‘s literature by the Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust (PPMBT).

February 2012: Strathclyde Building Preservation Trust (SBPT) is to be working with the Moat Brae Trust to develop funding applications over the next few months.

3 July 2012: A member of the public advises scaffolding has been erected around the building - this is thought to be to allow works to construct a temporary protective roof for the building.