Abbotsford Trust

In 2007, Abbotsford came under the care of The Abbotsford Trust - a new charitable trust created following the death of Dame Jean Maxwell-Scott, the last descendant of Scott to live at Abbotsford. The Patron is The Duke of Buccleuch and the Trust aims to preserve and protect Abbotsford for future generations and act as a guardian of Scott's legacy by continuing to educate the public about his home and his work. In order to guarantee Abbotsford's long-term future as a visitor attraction, the Trust began to raise the £14.5 million required to save the house, its buildings, lands and contents for Scotland and the wider world in 2009. With help from statutory bodies, such as The Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Scotland, over £12 million was raised for the capital project which has allowed us to restore and conserve the house and its collection of 9,000 books and 4,000 objects, all of which were collected by Scott. Alongside the restoration of the house a new Visitor Centre was created, including a free to access introductory exhibition on Sir Walter Scott and Abbotsford; this opened in August 2012 and had welcomed over 35,000 visitors by the following July, despite the historic house still being closed for restoration. In July 2013 the house successfully reopened to the public and welcomed over 70,000 visitors in its first season following redevelopment. To date, the Trust has raised over £12 million, thanks in large part of the generosity of public sector bodies including the Heritage Lottery Fund, Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Government and Scottish Borders Council, as well as private individuals, trusts and foundations, however £2.5 million still needs to be raised to safeguard this unique historic property.