WORK on a building at the heart of Haddington is finally set to be complete – but it was almost demolished nearly 65 years ago.

Repairs to the Town House have been ongoing for two years, with scaffolding covering much of the building.

However, that has gradually come down and the work by LTM Group, Kirkcaldy, is due to be finished within the next week.

Work carried out included stonework repairs, repointing, roofing works, lead work, remedial works to clocks and work to the tower/spire.

Haddington and Lammermuir councillor Tom Trotter was happy to see the work nearing completion.

He said: “I’m absolutely delighted. For a lot of people, that building is the first thing that hits them when they come into the town.” The cost of the work is about £245,000, with Historic Scotland providing about 25 per cent of the funding.

It also marks the culmination of a lot of work in the area, thanks to a scheme designed to spruce up some of the building.

Haddington CARS (Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme) was a grant programme supported by East Lothian Council and Historic Scotland that made available funds for regenerating and improving Haddington town centre through repairing and enhancing the historic fabric.

More than £1 million was spent over five years to help with projects, ranging from replacing sash and case windows to the Town House.

The Town House dates back to 1742, with construction complete three years later.

Assembly rooms were added in 1788, with a steeple also added in 1830.

At that time, several silver and copper coins, as well as a number of publications, were placed in a stone jar and left for posterity.

A number of other details about the building are also known.

In 1843, the weather cock had seized up and no matter the weather it was unmovable. That led to a young sailor offering to scale the steeple using a rope ladder to fix it.

However, the building nearly came to an end in 1950.

The Town Hall was in danger of internal collapse when dry rot was discovered.

It was said the easy solution was to demolish the building but instead the Burgh Surveyor, Mr William Lee Hogg, with the Town Clerk, Mr John McVie, put a strong case to the council to save it.

Restoration work was carried out by architect Peter Whitson in 1952 and Princess Mary accepted an invitation to perform the opening ceremony of the newly restored building in 1956.