Renovation News
The renovation work to Abbot House began in 2019 on receipt of the first portion of grant funding from Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, Fife Council, the Architectural Heritage Fund and the Common Good Fund. Upgrades were made to the now complete gift shop in the East Wing of the building, artisan studios on the upper floor, the external toilet block and an artisan Workshop in our outbuilding.
Following the pandemic from March 2020-March 2021, our extensive external renovation commenced thanks to grant funding from Historic Environment Scotland. This external renovation was completed in October 2021 and included work to the lime plaster, roof and windows. The building repair work was carried out by heritage experts G. Brown Stonemason Ltd., who won the contract through a rigorous tender process. The repair programme was project managed by William Napier, who is a Chartered Building Surveyor and Heritage Consultant from Adams Napier Partnership. The project included an opportunity for the community to attend heritage skills workshops and to learn about traditional building practices in conjunction with the Scottish Lime Centre Trust http://www.scotlime.org.
The final phase of ongoing renovations began in January 2022, with grant funding from the Fife Environmental Trust. This involves internal upgrades of the Coffee Shop and the remainder of the first and second floors, including electrical upgrades, lime plaster repairs and repainting. All important heritage features have been retained, with professional restoration to both the Alasdair Gray and war murals.
TOTAL RENOVATION FUNDING – £635,000
There were varying views on how much needed to be spent on renovating Abbot House which were all driven by different end use models, however we are delighted that our final operating model has allowed the Trustees to keep the renovation costs to a minimum. On completion of the final phase of works, Abbot House will have been awarded grants totalling £635,000 over a five year period, which have been used directly to renovate both the inside and outside of this beautiful building to ensure that it can self sustain for years to come.
If you have any questions we’d be delighted to help you by emailing hello@abbothouse.org.
ABBOT HOUSE – CHERISH THE OLD, EMBRACE THE NEW
Much of the inspiration for the Abbot House SCIO’s strategic plan derives from the innovative Scottish town planner and sociologist, Sir Patrick Geddes (2 October 1854 – 17 April 1932). It is documented that Patrick Geddes once worked from Abbot House when commissioned by Carnegie Dunfermline Trust to create a vision for Dunfermline and its parkland in 1904. It, therefore, feels appropriate to use Geddes and his passion for people led projects as inspiration for the vision of Abbot House.
Geddes was driven by the idea of ‘connection’, connecting people with everything that has the potential to bring about balance and pleasure in our lives, like buildings, culture, art, nature, and education.
Like Geddes, community and people will be placed at the heart of Abbot House, ‘connecting’ them with what makes them happy and fulfilled through social interaction, learning and creativity.
CONNECTING PEOPLE ON EVERY LEVEL
The vision to connect people on a social, learning, and creative basis will be rolled out across the three floors of Abbot House, celebrating the best of ‘local’ from not only our past but also our present and future. We have a lot to be proud of in Dunfermline and each day we are creating our very own history for future generations to look back at.
GROUND FLOOR – Socialising
Our ground floor will feature a gift shop and coffee shop. Both will have an artisan feel, with an emphasis on local produce. The Coffee Shop will open during the day and offer pop up/ hire events in the evening.
FIRST FLOOR – Learning
The first floor will be dedicated to learning through an Education Centre, offering a calendar of both heritage and contemporary events. We aim to work with local interest groups, schools and universities to appeal to a wide range of age groups and interests. Space will be flexible and will include exhibition and room hire opportunities. There will also be an area dedicated to Abbot House, hosting a digital archive of the house and its history.
SECOND FLOOR – Creativity
Our top floor will be offer room and open unit rental space to local artists, designers and makers. There will be a flexible space that will be used for exhibition and pop up events. Our resident designers currently include the talented http://www.clarabellachristie.co.uk , Dave McNaughton http://www.rachelhendersoninteriors.co.uk.
If you are interested in renting creative space please contact us at hello@abbothouse.org.
WORKSHOP & GARDENS
The Workshop and gardens is an accessible overflow space from the café for art events, education, concerts and food and shopping fayres. The creative workshop events will focus on heritage and contemporary learning opportunities, which will include our resident artists and gift shop suppliers.
