The restoration project at Abbotsford will be a long and complex process, bookmark this page and come back to see our progress
The stable block, 1st February 2011
Now, thanks to the amazing work undertaken by Rodger Builders, the original stable plan is clearly revealed, including aspects of the original structure, where Scott had intended his beloved Abbotsford to be. Now that the stables have been made safe, we hope visitors will enjoy walking around this quiet part of the estate, perhaps reflecting on Scott’s love of animals as they also take in the pet cemetery just across the way.
The stables are just one component part of the much bigger project at Abbotsford.
The inventory, May 2011
The inventory team have arrived. Each and every item including pictures, artefacts, clothes, pieces of furniture and photographs must be carefully catalogued and photographed before the decant process can begin.
Tree planting and sod cutting ceremony, 16th June 2011
The Duke of Buccleuch helps children from Tweedbank Primary School to re-plant a sapling from the construction site to a new position in Abbotsford’s grounds.
The Duke who is Patron of The Abbotsford Trust, also cut the first sod on the site of the new Visitors Reception Building.
Decanting the Hope Scott Wing, August 2011
Joyce Cook has been a guide at Abbotsford for the last six years. Earlier this year she volunteered to help Joanna our Conservator to pack up the Hope Scott Wing of Abbotsford. Joyce has been amazed at some of the wonderful items she has come across; from silverware, jewellery, books, pictures, and trinkets to beautiful dresses and hats once worn by Dame Jean and Mrs Patricia Maxwell Scott.
Joyce said “she has never moved house in over thirty years so didn’t know quite what to expect, each item has to be carefully wrapped, boxed and labelled. It has been very exciting not knowing what we might find next”.
Joanna and her team of volunteers are almost finished packing the Hope Scott Wing and will soon start on the historic rooms when the house closes on September 16th. Joanna said “the volunteers have been fabulous; I couldn’t have done this without them. It is so important that every object is cared for and packed appropriately until further research can be carried out to establish how significant some of these pieces might be”. Joyce is pictured in the sitting room of the Hope Scott Wing wrapping a gilt-metal renaissance style candlestick lamp.
September 2011
Work progresses on the Visitor Reception Building carpark, with the main roads set out and drainage works underway.
Bulk excavation works underway on the site of the Visitors Reception Building
The new building takes shape with retaining walls and floor slab cast
November 2011
The timber frame for the Visitors Reception Building is erected on site