Gardyne's Land, Dundee
Gardyne’s Land is a complex of five historic buildings in the High Street of Dundee. At the heart of the site is a tower house, the only surviving example of a 16th century Merchant’s House in the city. Gardyne’s Land is unique in having survived the clearances which followed the 1871 Improvements Act and mid 20th C redevelopment.
The project faced many difficulties and ten years were spent in negotiation before restoration work was able to begin. In 2005 ownership passed to Dundee City Council and work began with HOPPO Backpackers as the intended user. Preserving evidence of the past has been as important to the project as the restoration of individual rooms. Wherever practical, rough areas of plaster, worn stone steps and crumbling timbers have been left exposed. The top floor of the 1640 tenement building retains evidence of its former inhabitants, including W Fergus, Watchmaker, and McLeod, Bagpipe Maker. A former model maker’s room will be the public access library where all artefacts found during construction, books donated by the city, and all building information will be stored. A surviving 18th C panelled room, with its ‘buffet’ restored, will become a reading room.
