THE real work begins now, declared a trustee of The Haining after the Selkirk mansion picked up around £50,000 from an auction of the estate’s contents, writes Kenny Paterson.
The highlights of the 200-lot sale at McTear’s Auction Galleries in Glasgow last week included £19,000, raised by a Charles Oppenheimer painting. Overall, the auction of items, belonging to beneficiaries of the will of Haining owner Andrew Nimmo Smith, collected more than £100,000, of which The Haining received half.
Trustee Susan Edington said: “The auction was very successful. The Haining can now invest in a catering kitchen and, hopefully, will be open for weddings and events soon. Now the real work of The Haining begins and Mr Nimmo Smith’s vision as The Haining for arts and culture can really get under way.”
Mrs Edington confirmed that work on converting the carriage block into holiday flats – which it is hoped will provide income for the 160-acre estate by next autumn – begins next month.
Another lot to catch the eye of collectors who attended last Thursday’s one-off auction was an 18th-century marble console table which was purchased for £9,300 – nearly 10 times the original estimate. And a painting of the Deposition by Renaissance artist Vincenzo Corsi was snapped up for £3,400.
Eight paintings by Selkirk artist Tom Scott raised almost £11,500 – including £2,800 for his 100-year-old piece Dusk on Yarrow Road.
Other notable sales were two giant clam shells which went for £1,000 and 11 waterline model cruise liners, which were expected to raise up to £80, but were sold for £1,200.
The auction was filmed by the BBC for a documentary to be screened later this year, which will show behind-the-scenes footage of the auction process.
Brian Clements, of McTear’s, said: “There was an incredible turnout at the auction with fierce bidding for just about every lot.
“The Haining Charitable Trust, who are to receive half the proceeds from this auction, is doing some fantastic work and I am delighted that the sale has raised a significant sum to help in the creation of an important cultural centre in the Borders.”