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Restoration work has been long underway at Penicuik House which was gutted by fire in June 1899. The Clerk family was able to rescue most of its furniture and paintings over several days while the fire smouldered and the nearby stable block was redesigned as their new home.

The original Palladian villa, regarded as the finest of its type in Scotland, was built for Sir James Clerk between 1761 and 1778. The pavilion wings were added in 1857. The drawing room was famous for its painted ceiling by Alexander Runciman showing scenes from the life of Ossian