Event to celebrate the restoration of the Hearse House and to launch the Heritage Trail
9th August 2024
An event to celebrate the restoration of the Hearse House and the launch of the Heritage Trail has been organised for Saturday , August 24th 2024 .
The event starts at 10.00am at the Town hall where the Provost Councillor Debbi McCall will give a short presentation together with the manager of the Penicuik Heritage Regeneration project(PHRP) Rod Lugg explaining the background to the project , then attendees will be invited to go outside to view the Hearse House and to take part in a guided walk taking in the heritage trail display panels in the town centre .
The restoration of the Hearse House in St Mungo’s churchyard and the development of the Penicuik Town Centre Heritage Trail have been key projects in the Penicuik Heritage Regeneration Project (PHRP) community engagement, education and training plan.
The Hearse House which is located adjacent to St Mungo’s church is a category C listed building and was on Historic Environment Scotland’s list of buildings at risk. It was in urgent need of repair; the roof was in poor condition, structural movement in the stone walls was of concern. This small building was built in 1800 to house the original horse drawn hearse. The PHRP with aid of grants from the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Fund have restored the building, carrying out structural repairs to the roof and stonework, repairing the stone walls and repointing in a lime mortar and re-roofing with as many recycled natural slates as possible. This work is now complete. The adjoining churchyard stone boundary walls have been repaired and repointed and the entrance gates and railings will also be repaired.
The interior of the Hearse House contains an exhibition comprising 9 exhibition boards illustrating many aspects of Penicuik’s unique history and heritage. There is also be a model of the Clerk Mausoleum in the centre of the interior space . The Mausoleum is an important ancient monument situated in St Mungo’s churchyard. This will be a focal point of the heritage trail and will be open to visitors at pre-arranged times.
The heritage trail also comprises 6 interpretative panels located in key positions in the town centre with information about historic buildings, places and people which have had an impact on the town’s development over the years. A leaflet has been produced to help guide visitors along the trail.
The interpretative panels are located:
- Within St Mungo’s churchyard
- Outside the Town Hall
- In the High Street near the old water fountain
- In The Square
- In Bridge Street outside the Pen-y-Coe Press
- On Telford Bridge at the bottom of Bridge Street
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