July 5 2019

A seaside town in East Lothian has seen one of its most striking buildings given a new lease of life following its conversion by CALA Homes to form 21 apartments.

Formerly Gullane’s Marine Hotel the property was latterly in use as a training centre for Scottish Fire & Rescue in an eventful history that also included a spell as headquarters for the Polish Army during World War 2.

This history has been preserved through the retention of period features such as large bay windows while altering the interior layout to accommodate a mix of duplexes and main entrance flats.

Philip Hogg, sales and marketing director at CALA Homes (East), commented: “This is a truly special piece of local history and we’re delighted to say that the refurbishment of Henderson House is now complete.
 
“Its significance as a town landmark has been very important for us throughout the project– we wanted to restore and modernise without losing its charm and character.”

Surrounding grounds now play host to the Marine Rise housing development masterplanned by Barton Willmore.

4 Comments

#1 Posted by Anne Whittet on 5 Jul 2019 at 23:10 PM

So sad....no character at all!

#2 Posted by StyleCouncil on 8 Jul 2019 at 09:22 AM

The surrounding houses by CALA and others are utterly rank.
'Marine Rise'?...WTF does this actually mean? the site is in a dip looking south over agricultural land.
The still from the video says it all- shiny laminate flooring, magnolia walls and basic joinery straight from a Wickes catalogue. Great work Philip...

#3 Posted by John MacCallum on 8 Jul 2019 at 09:24 AM

What a great opportunity lost to preserve the traditional features in the conversion. It is sadly lacking traditional character and just looks like another new build Cala house inside. With the likely profit to be made based on the location alone, surely there was the potential to re-create the traditional interiors and fit old style kitchens and bathrooms which would appeal to, say the Edinburgh market, but offering a more rural location.

#4 Posted by Walt Disney on 8 Jul 2019 at 13:02 PM

#3 Not sure is you ever went in to the old college, but after many decades of use and misuse by the armed forces and the fire service, there were precious few traditional features to preserve. Couple that with having to fire seperate floors I think they've done pretty well.

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