NEWHAILES House in Musselburgh has suffered water damage after a leak at the historic mansion.
STAFF at Newhailes acted swiftly to ensure its important collections were safe yesterday (Wednesday) after a leak was found coming from the top floor.
It was discovered at about 9.15am and National Trust for Scotland workers immediately put their emergency recovery training into play to safely stop the water and remove important pieces from the property.
The house is currently closed to the public and its collections were under cover for the winter season.
The main areas affected were the costume and textiles store and the Chinese sitting room (pictured below). The cause of the leak is currently under investigation.
Linda Wigley, general manager for Edinburgh and East, said: "Thanks to the speedy actions of staff, the impact of this incident has been limited and the books and furnishings which did get wet are already drying out in line with the best conservation practices.
"There may be some minimal water damage to boxes of textiles from the store – we’ll be assessing this in the coming days.
"The main issue is the ceiling of the Chinese sitting room, which has borne the brunt of water coming from above.
"We have made this safe to allow it to dry out over the next few days and we will then assess what remedial works need to take place in the coming months."
Newhailes House is a 17th-century Palladian villa. Once the home of the Dalrymple family, it has strong links to the Scottish Enlightenment.
It has been in the care of the National Trust for Scotland since 1997.
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