A NEW visitor centre at the home of Sir Walter Scott will open on Monday with the mission of putting the writer back on the educational and political agenda.
Two hundred years ago, Scott was the most famous writer in the world, but for years his star has been declining. He is now no longer widely read and many Scots recognise him only as the man on the bank notes, or because of the monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh.
The team behind the new visitor centre at Scott's home, Abbotsford near Melrose in the Borders, intend to reverse that process. For the last year, they have been working on a £12 million conservation project at the house and the opening of the centre is the first phase.
The centre will tell the life story of Scott, highlight his writing, including Ivanhoe and Waverley, and showcase some remarkable objects in the writer's memorabilia collection.
They include Rob Roy's sword, a clock once owned by Marie Antoinette and a lock of Napoleon's hair. The centre will also include a shop and restaurant overlooking the main house, which will reopen next year.
Jason Dyer, chief executive of The Abbotsford Trust, which runs the house, said: "The centre looks fantastic and it's quite a foil to Abbotsford in that it's quite a modern, square design compared to all the nooks and crannies you see in the main house. But I think it's a building that Scott would love because he was an innovator."
The new centre, and the conservation of the house, have been paid for by money from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Scotland, Scottish Borders Council and Scottish Enterprise, as well as a number of private individuals and charitable trusts. The Scottish Government also contributed £1m.
Mr Dyer said the fact so much money had been contributed was a measure of a desire by the Government to see Scott's star rise again.
"Our objective is to get Scott back on the agenda in Scotland and I think the project has already had an impact," he said. "There are more people taking note of him. Before I started at Abbotsford I had no real understanding of Scott's reach outside of Scotland where he's very well understood and I think being able to convey that back to the Scottish public is important."
The centre will explain this reach, particularly in Russia where Scott is feted as a inspiration for Tolstoy and Pushkin.
Mr Dyer said the work to conserve Scott's collections was to be completed next summer. Ticket prices will rise from £7.50 to £8.75 to help raise funds .
He added: "We have about £800,000 still to secure but we had enough to start the work and the centre is completely funded. It's a huge achievement in the current climate."
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