Work has finally begun to restore Leslie House, 12 years on from a devastating fire.
The 17th century mansion house between Leslie and Glenrothes is encased in scaffolding as development work gets under way.
The A-listed building, home of Titanic heroine the Countess of Rothes, was gutted by fire in 2009 and has since been targeted by vandals.
But it will soon be transformed into 28 flats after planning permission was granted last year.
And a further eight houses will also be built in the grounds.
The work is being done by Byzantium Developments, who say it will bring one of Scotland’s most at risk mansion houses back to its former glory.
Original features and new builds
The developers say their work will retain most of Leslie House’s original features.
And the new build element of the plan will generate the funds needed for the remaining work.
The design statement said: “This has been achieved without a detrimental impact on the listed building.”
Leslie Community Council objected to the plans amid fears the listed building would be buried within a new housing development.
But councillors were concerned it would be lost to the elements if nothing was done and described the application as “the least worst option”.
Byzantium said the new build aspect would be in a “contemporary style” in a deliberate departure from the style of the mansion house.
The houses will be grouped in a courtyard design, while the gardens will also be redeveloped.
Leslie House history and the Titanic
Leslie House was originally the seat of the Earl of Rothes.
Noel Leslie, Countess of Rothes, was on board the Titanic during its fateful journey in 1912 and famously helped third class passengers on board a lifeboat as she escaped the disaster.
She later converted a wing of Leslie House into a hospital for wounded soldiers invalided from the front during the First World War.
Leslie House remained a private residence until the end of the Second World War.
It was then gifted to the Church of Scotland and used as an eventide home, resulting in extensive alterations inside.
However, it closed in the 1990s and has lain empty ever since.
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