A petition to resurrect Dunfermline’s oldest house as a visitor attraction has almost reached its 2500-name target within days of its launch.
Abbot House, which sits across the graveyard from Dunfermline Abbey, closed down as a heritage centre last year amid financial problems, with Abbot House Heritage Centre Trust claiming the closure was “forced” upon them.
Since then the “pink hoose” in the town’s heritage quarter has lain empty, while work progresses on its new £10 million Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries, funded by Fife Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, right next door.
Now Visit Dunfermline’s chief executive Thomas Moffat has launched the online petition to safeguard the future of the house, a survivor of the Great Fire of Dunfermline in 1624.
Explaining his reasons behind pushing for the reopening, Mr Moffat outlined what a wonderful contribution the popular heritage centre had once made in helping attract tourists to Dunfermline.
“Abbot House was a vibrant attraction that was extremely popular with visitors and tourists alike,” he said.
“‘Visit Dunfermline is of the opinion that the sooner it reopens the better.
“It’s a sad loss to Dunfermline, Fife and Scotland not having this unique, historic building open to the public.”
Mr Moffat added: “We work with many of the other tourist attractions in and around Dunfermline as part of our remit to bring people to the ancient capital of Scotland, as well as promoting many of the local businesses in the town.
“Feedback that we have received in the course of our day-to-day work over the past few months is that it would help tremendously to get it up and running again as soon as possible.
“We are happy to play our part in helping bring this about and raising awareness of how strongly people feel about this issue.
“The many positive messages of support that we have received in the short period since we set up the petition have been very gratifying and shows how seriously people in and around Dunfermline take this matter.”
Already international signatures have been added, with Pamela Newsom from Oregon commenting: “I visited back in 2003 and it was one of my favourite memories of my trip to Scotland.
“I’m stunned that it’s no longer open to the public.”
Carnegie Dunfermline Trust vice- chairman David Walker said the conveyancing process was continuing with the respective lawyers and should be concluded soon.