Up-market homes planned for old manor house on edge of Edinburgh

PLANS have been unveiled to create 11 new up-market homes by redeveloping a manor house which served for years as a centre for children with disabilities.

A sketch of the proposals for Kirkland Mains House

The proposals for 19th-century Kirklands House at Gogarbank, formerly the Trefoil Centre, would see modern extensions to the building demolished, the main house converted to form five dwellings, a new extension added with four more units and two stand-alone houses built in the grounds.

The B-listed building was bought in 2015 by Jim Lennon, owner of Newcrest Residential, which specialises in one-off high quality conversion and new build projects. He considered adapting the house to become a hotel or restaurant but decided on a residential development – and he plans to live with his family in one of the units.

The proposed development would remove the modern west wing, hydrotherapy pool and north canteen extension and reveal more of the original building which dates back to 1868.

An impression of the courtyard area of the proposed development

The plans include a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units, while the main dwelling in the old house has six bedrooms.

One of the stand-alone houses will be a traditional gate lodge-style stone building at the entrance, while the other will be of more contemporary design in the courtyard area.

Gillian Hanley, principal architect at Crew Architects, said the aim had been to meet the client’s brief and find a design which was sensitive to the listed building and its grounds. “It is an exciting project for us to be involved with and it has been five years in the making, in very close consultation with the client. We have reached what we consider a very sensitive design which brings back the old building which has been concealed internally and externally and devoured by modern interventions.”

The Trefoil charity, which owned the building for more than 60 years, originated with an initiative by Girl Guides in St Abbs at the outbreak of the Second World War to help a group of disabled children evacuated from Edinburgh. They provided a home for the children which soon became known as Trefoil School. It had several different locations over the first few years but in 1951, thanks to a fund-raising drive, the school was able to buy Kirklands House and its 22 acre grounds. The grounds gave the children space to roam and let off steam and a field was also rented to the Guides for camping.

Trefoil School’s approach to the “all round” development of children with “special needs” became recognised as an example of best practice.

But changes in funding of special education in the 1970s saw the school lose most of its income and it switched to being a holiday centre for children with special needs.

Over the years, legislation regulating care services led to a decline in usage, property maintenance and other costs became a problem. The house was leased to the city council as a care home for five years from 2003 and then served as a temporary home for St Columba’s Hospice for three years while their own building was being rebuilt. The sale of the building allows the charity to continue its charitable work supporting disadvantaged young people.

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