(Secretary of State: Mr Gordon Campbell).

27 November 1972: The Scotsman quoted

Lord Melgund: “the mansion will be

demolished, probably in February”.

1977: Expiry of 1972 listed building

consent. De-listed, there being three

explanations, all deriving from Historic

Scotland, as to why: it was assumed that it

would be demolished; that it had been;

under pressure from the family (Secretary of

State: Mr Bruce Millan).

1986: Lord Minto re-elected to Borders

Regional Council (he had previously served

1974-80), becoming Convenor in 1990. He

is also on the Planning Committee.

July 1987: Mr Lauder-Frost (of Duns and

London) wrote to SAVE seeking its support

for the setting up of “a Building

Preservation Trust with the aim of

rebuilding and restoring Minto House”. He

applied — unsuccessfully — to Borders

Regional Council for the service of a

Building Preservation Order. Written

response from Lord Minto: “I do not wish

to sell”. This was one of many known

enquiries over the years (Secretary of State:

Mr Malcolm Rifkind).

March 1991: Press announcement of the

‘Japan deal’: Minto House to be dismantled

stone by stone, shipped to Japan,

reconstructed and restored as part of a

country club development. By now it had

become a roofless structural shell, but was

clearly in a good enough condition for this

deal. Unsuccessful lobbying for listed status

to be reinstated.

28 July 1992: Minto House visited by an

Historic Scotland Inspector and the Borders

Regional Council Conservation Officer.

20 August 1992: The Scotsman announced

abandonment of the Japan plan; recession

blamed. Lord Minto quoted as saying

demolition will start “next month”. SAVE

wrote to Historic Scotland.

22 August 1992: I visited Minto House,

photographed it and reported to SAVE.

Some stone superlative, some badly

weathered, centremost four bays of south

elevation collapsed but otherwise, apart

from some minor distortions, impressively

sound in its structural shell. Conservation

Officer’s assessment coincided with this.

27 August 1992: Telephone call mid

morning: demolition had commenced and

fires were burning (internal timbers). It later

transpired that the works had started,

unobserved, on 25 August. Historic

Scotland press release, around 4.30pm:

spot-listed category A by Secretary of State

(Mr Ian Lang) who “interrupted his holiday

to take the decision personally”. Listing

refers to “Minto House and Garden

Terraces”.

28 August 1992: Demolition halted. Press

release by Lord Minto: “I have been advised

(by the Building Control Officer and the

surveyor employed to arrange the

demolition) that it would be unrealistic to

try to make the structure safe, and the

correct course is to proceed immediately

with the interrupted demolition”.

30 August 1992: Douglas Connell, Lord

Minto’s solicitor, over the ‘phone: “Lord

Minto wants to keep the Lorimer terraces”.

31 August 1992: Lord Minto applied for

listed building consent to demolish. Site

meeting with Borders Regional Council

officials, Lord Minto’s surveyor, and

observers from Historic Scotland.

1 September 1992: First (of three)

Dangerous Building Notices served by the

Building Control Officer (dated 31 August).

Notice related primarily to the central core,

at and around the main stairhall, but also to

two-thirds of one side of the garden

elevation (south), including the chamfered

south-west corner with its William Adam

fenestration. The courtyard walls were

agreed to be structurally sound; however,

the ‘giant mechanical digger’ was ordered by

the Director of Planning to go into the core

through the east wing because “the gardens

are as important as the building”. The

Building Control Officer has described this

as a “categorical insistence”. The gardens are

completely overgrown and are not listed;

the garden terraces are. There exists a route

into the gardens which avoids the terraces,

and indeed this route was employed

subsequently for mechanical access to shift

and tidy up the demolished walling.

Additionally, when asked why a fence could

not have been erected in the manner of

Mavisbank (another William Adam house),

the Director of Planning advised that “it

would have taken nearly a week” (even if

true, so what?). Press release by Lord Minto:

“I have issued instructions that the terms of

Minto House from the south-east, showing the courtyard, 22 August 1992.

CONTEXT 36