Support for Mavisbank
A MOVE to save an ancient Midlothian mansion is being supported by the creator’s ancestor.
Sir Robert Clerk of Penicuik, the 11th Baronet, hopes a new legal action will halt the decline of Mavisbank House and lead to its restoration.
He was responding to last week’s news that Midlothian Council is preparing to use compulsory purchase powers to secure legal title to the house. This would then be passed to the Mavisbank Trust to oversee the renovation process.
The A-Listed house was designed in the early 18th century by the 2nd Baronet, Sir John Clerk, and the noted Scottish architect, William Adam.
Sir Robert said: “Anything that leads to the house being saved has to be welcomed. It’s very sad to see it in its present condition. Mavisbank is far too important a building to be lost.”
The council’s action has also won support from broadcaster Kirsty Wark, the building’s celebrity advocate when it featured in the first series of the BBC’s Restoration television programme in 2003. Speaking exclusively to the Advertiser, Ms Wark said: “Mavisbank is a house in our heritage and is a wonderful, atmospheric place.If we lose this house, we lose it at our peril.”
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Friday 25 May 2012
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