Restoration

Cairness has suffered from decades of neglect and was designated a Building at Risk by the Scottish Civic Trust in 1991.

Apart from some cosmetic works, no attempt had been made at restoration before the current owners acquired the house in 2000. Serious structural problems had been either ignored or covered up for many years. Routine maintenance had been neglected. The house was a conservation disaster and its future became an issue of national concern. By 2000, most of the building, and particularly the upper floors, had been ravaged by water ingress and dry rot.

The roofs and gutters were leaking badly causing major structural failures and many parts of the house were near to collapse or had already collapsed.

For the first time in 60 years of continuous neglect, these problems are now being addressed and gradually resolved.

Ninety per cent of all the major structural work has already been carried out, and a new roof scheme designed by the leading architectural practice Law & Dunbar Nasmith is currently being implemented.

The restoration of the house and gardens is being undertaken without any grant aid. Cairness has its own joinery and masonry workshops and a highly skilled in-house conservation team dedicated to this long-term project. All work is carried out using traditional materials and techniques faithful to the original 1790s construction.

Gatehouses Restoration

The Cairness gate houses are known as "The Inkwells" and are well-known local landmarks.

	The two symmetrical lodges were built in the 1890s to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the building of Cairness, to original designs by James Playfair. Left to decay for decades, these Category-A listed gatehouses were in critical condition and had a demolition order placed on them in 2000. They have now been rescued and sympathetically restored by the present owners.