Building Traditional Skills Eyemouth
Summary
SHBT’s pilot project in Eyemouth aims to save historic buildings through traditional skills training.
Project Stage:
Pilot Project
Our Vision
Rural Scotland is suffering from twin crises, in the dereliction of historic buildings and endemic gaps in the traditional construction skills needed to repair them. SHBT is embarking on a new project which aims to tackle both of these issues together.
The project aims to tackle the crisis in traditional construction skills by increasing training opportunities for local people close to where they live.
Dr Samuel Gallacher, Director of Scottish Historic Buildings Trust said, “Inspired by the National Trust for Scotland’s Little Houses Improvement Scheme and driven by the critical traditional building skills shortage in rural areas, this new model promises to both save historic buildings and provide aspirational and meaningful career paths for local people who want to learn and work in the area they grew up in. We are excited by the socio-economic benefits of this approach, helping to counter the negative impacts of unmaintained historic buildings in small towns and villages.”
Colin Tennant, Head of Technical Conservation at Historic Environment Scotland, “We welcome Scottish Historic Buildings Trust’s ingenuity and initiative to propose this fresh approach to dealing with some of our historic built environment’s most entrenched issues: skills and rural dereliction. Historic Environment Scotland is delighted to support this feasibility work and will be providing our knowledge and advice to help steer this important project.”
Our Pilot Project
In January 2026, our pilot project started on site in Eyemouth. Funded by Scottish Borders Local Employability Partnership Grants and the City Region Deal HCI Skills Gateway, and with support from Fred Olsen Renewables, up to fourteen trainees will take part in a 20-week programme offering two days training each week in the skills needed to work on historic buildings, such as stonemasonry and joinery.
Trainees will have the chance to undertake hands-on training at one of Eyemouth’s most significant historic buildings, the Category A listed Gunsgreen House. Repair works including raking out and repointing to the masonry rubble retaining wall, along with joinery repairs to window sills, will provide valuable introductory learning opportunities for course participants as well as delivering benefits to the fabric of the historic building.
Riddell Graham, Chair of the Gunsgreen House Trust said: “Too often, young people and career-changers who live in smaller rural towns in Scotland find they are required to travel long distances to seek training. The Building Traditional Skills Eyemouth scheme will bring traditional construction skills training to people in Eyemouth, increasing the opportunities available to people on their doorstep. We are delighted that the environs of Category A-listed Gunsgreen House will provide a training site for this exciting pilot project.”
Participants will also learn joinery skills as they undertake repairs to the Old Coble House, which once housed rescue skiffs for local fishermen in the 1800s and is now the home of Eyemouth Rowing Club. The building is unlisted but locally significant, and was originally constructed with the upturned hull of a boat forming part of its roof.
Our Feasibility Study
In 2024, Scottish Historic Buildings Trust (SHBT) received funding from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support a feasibility study a new project. The study aimed to identify historic buildings in Eyemouth in need of repair and conservation, and design a traditional skills training curriculum in response to opportunity and need in the town. Over the winter 2024/25, SHBT worked with with two local consultants to deliver the feasibility study.
Adams Napier Partnership, a firm of Chartered Building Surveyors and Heritage Consultants based in Peebles, were appointed to conduct the Building Identification and Condition Assessments. This was led by Dr William Napier, a chartered building surveyor, architectural historian, and decorative plasterer with over 30 years’ experience of working on historic and traditional buildings throughout Scotland.
Kevin McClure of Elements Scotland, based in Coldingham, led the design of the skills training curriculum. With many years’ experience both as an educator and a joiner delivering contracts for private and public sector clients, Kevin understands Eyemouth’s specific context—the high vacancy rates, heritage buildings at risk, and limited local access to services. He is a long-standing advocate for access to community-based skills training and aimed to design a programme that address Eyemouth’s specific needs and celebrates its cultural heritage, while creating opportunities for skill-building.