The Landmark Trust has been awarded £5.3million, saving the Category A building, and the heritage it represents, from being lost forever.
A fascinating story
Mavisbank House, just outside Edinburgh, was built by celebrated Scottish architect William Adam in 1723. The house was a summer residence for John Clerk of Penicuik, a leading figure of the Scottish Enlightenment, and signatory of the Act of Union (1707), whose European travels provided the inspiration for its design.
It was a pioneering example of a neo-Classical style which William Adam’s son Robert Adam and others would develop for Edinburgh’s New Town a generation later. Mavisbank was built by a workforce of outstanding Scottish craftspeople whose names and individual contributions are recorded in remarkable detail in the surviving archive.
Mavisbank became a ground-breaking mental hospital in the 19th century, where reforming Doctor John Batty Tuke developed compassionate approaches to mental illness, including through exercise and gardening. His work to reform the national Lunacy Laws in Parliament helped stop those with poor mental health being regarded as ‘psychological curiosities’ but treated instead as sufferers of illnesses that might be understood and cured.
The asylum closed and Mavisbank was sold, but following a major fire in 1973 it was at risk of demolition. However, volunteers staged an emergency round-the-clock vigil until the decision could be halted. A number of attempts have been made since then to secure funding to save the building.
A brighter future
The Landmark Trust have now been awarded £5.3m of our funding to support the purchase of the house, re-establish public and vehicular access via an access road and carry out vital work to stabilise the building.
This funding is the first step in the Landmark Trust’s ambition to use Mavisbank House for residential stays and other uses for public benefit.
The Landmark Trust specialises in saving historic buildings at risk and giving them new life. With our support, this important place can now move towards long-term conservation and public access, ensuring people across the UK can experience and learn from a remarkable part of Scotland’s heritage.
Find out more about the many projects we have supported since 1980.