Plans to restore a nationally important historic mausoleum in North East Scotland have taken another step forward with the award of a grant of £15,000 by The Pilgrim Trust

Now more than 200 years old the Elyza Fraser Mausoleum in Cluny Kirkyard is a category A listed building designed by an internationally noted Scottish architect of the 18th Century.

North East Scotland Preservation Trust (NESPT) own the Mausoleum and have secured the Pilgrim Trust’s support for a restoration project being developed in partnership with the Friends of the Elyza Fraser Mausoleum.

The Mausoleum was built in 1808 for Miss Elyza Fraser the owner of Castle Fraser (now a National Trust for Scotland property). It was designed by her friend the architect James Byers of Tonley, a founder member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a prominent Jacobite.

Elyza died in 1814 and is buried in her Mausoleum along with several generations of her family, the last interment being in 1946.

John Fraser, Chairman of the Friends Group, said: “We are delighted to receive grant support from the Pilgrim Trust which takes us close to our funding target. The Mausoleum is both an architecturally important building and a valuable link to Elyza’s fascinating life story”.

It is estimated the repairs will cost around £166,000 in total and grant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland have also been secured.

Thanks to a generous legacy from the late David Paton OBE, and ongoing funding raising efforts by the Friends Group, the NESPT is contributing £10,000 to the project. A further £15,000 of funding is now required before the restoration project can start. If you would like to make a donation towards the project, please contact Paul Higson (details below).

The NESPT is a Registered Scottish Charity and Company Limited by Guarantee. It works across the north-east to restore historic buildings and to bring derelict properties back into productive use. Recent examples include the Sail Loft Bunkhouse, Portsoy, the Silversmith’s Quarters, Banff, and the John Trail Hotel in Fraserburgh.

For further information contact Paul Higson, NESPT Project Director.

07831 580165; info@nespt.org