Mavisbank House facts for kids
Mavisbank is a beautiful old country house located near Loanhead, just south of Edinburgh in Midlothian, Scotland. It was designed by a famous architect named William Adam and his client, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. They worked together to build it between 1723 and 1727.
Mavisbank was the very first house in Scotland built in the Palladian style. This style was inspired by ancient Roman buildings. Experts at Historic Scotland call it "one of Scotland's most important country houses." The house was changed a bit in the 1800s. However, it was left uncared for during most of the 1900s. A big fire in 1973 destroyed the inside, and now it is a ruin. People are still working on plans to fix parts of it and make the land around it useful for the local community.
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Designing and Building Mavisbank House
Sir John Clerk's father first thought about building a house on the Mavisbank land in the late 1600s. There's even a drawing from 1698 showing his idea. His son, Sir John Clerk, 2nd Baronet (1676–1755), was an important person in Scottish politics. He was also an artist, a music writer, and liked to design buildings.
In 1722, Sir John Clerk took over his father's estates and started planning the new house. Around this time, William Adam was working on a big project at Hopetoun House. Clerk and Adam worked together on Mavisbank's design. It was based on the older 1698 plan. Both men later said they deserved most of the credit for the design!
Sir John Clerk wrote that he designed the house "with help from Mr Adam, a talented architect." But Adam wrote in his own book, Vitruvius Scoticus, that he designed it himself. It seems they had a very close working relationship, even if they disagreed sometimes. Clerk did criticize some of Adam's ideas, but Adam often got his way. Building started in 1723. A builder named John Baxter Senior and a stone carver named William Sylverstyne helped. Later, William Adam himself finished the work.
What Happened to Mavisbank Later
The Clerk family stopped owning the house in 1815. In 1840, the house was made bigger, possibly by an architect named Thomas Hamilton. New parts were added, including a ballroom. In 1876, the building became a special hospital. More parts were added in the 1880s and 1920s.
However, in 1946, a doctor bought the property. He decided to remove all the parts that had been added since the 1700s. He wanted to make the house look like it did originally, but he never finished this plan. In the 1950s, the area in front of the house was used to park old cars. The house slowly started to fall apart.
A big fire in 1973 destroyed the roof and everything inside. In 1986, a local man and others who lived on the property were asked to leave. But it was hard to figure out who truly owned the house. This was because the man had supposedly sold parts of it to people in the United States. In 2008, Historic Scotland was still trying to officially take ownership of the building.
Plans to Restore Mavisbank
Some work was done in the 1980s to keep the building from falling down completely. In 2002, a group called the Mavisbank Trust was created. They wanted to find ways to fix the house and its grounds for the long term.
In 2003, Mavisbank was shown on a TV show called Restoration. People could vote for which historic building should be restored. Mavisbank made it to the final round but did not win.
In 2008, Historic Scotland looked at two main ideas. One was to just make the building safe as a ruin. The other was to fix the outside so someone else could buy it and finish the inside. The Mavisbank Trust still works with the community and other groups. They want to find a way to save Mavisbank that respects its history and nature. They also want to make sure local people can visit and enjoy the estate. A local group, Friends of Mavisbank, also wants to help fix parts of the house and improve public access.
In 2016, Historical Environment Scotland removed Mavisbank House and its garden from their list of important ancient monuments.
Images for kids
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Mavisbank House, a historic Scottish country house.
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An old drawing of Mavisbank from Vitruvius Scoticus.
