Page 8 - Hall of Clestrain - Conservation Plan

but not exclusively, those areas associated with John Rae, through a broad
range of activities.
 To develop the Hall of Clestrain as a memory to John Rae and as a centre for
all things Arctic.
 As noted in its constitution, the John Rae Society (JRS) has the ‘power to do
anything which is calculated to further its purposes or is conducive or
incidental to doing so’.
The Society is governed by a Board of Trustees. The Society has a number of highly
prominent patrons.

The Society had 340 members as at 28 April 2020. Since its formation, the Society has
been undertaking a wide range of activities.

Over recent years the JRS has demonstrated a dynamic and successful track record
with 2016 seeing the purchase of the Hall of Clestrain, following a highly successful
fund-raising campaign, and then the purchase and installation of a temporary visitor
centre, employment of a project manager and numerous events, activities and outreach
with schools’ educational resources (John Rae box).

As the Birthplace of John Rae, Hall of Clestrain has great importance to the Society. It
is the building on Orkney that can be most closely associated with his family and his
early life. The Society aim to renovate the Hall of Clestrain and transform it into a
visitor attraction and community facility.
2.4 Objectives of this Conservation Plan

This conservation plan is intended to inform the conservation, repair, use,
management and future alterations of the designated historic asset, the mansion house
of Hall of Clestrain and its landscape setting.

This conservation plan sets out and assesses what makes the historic building,
including its setting, important in national terms. Based on this, it makes an assessment
of the cultural-heritage significance of the individual elements and the historic asset as
a whole.
Conservation policies and individual recommendations are laid out which will enable
the cultural-heritage significance to be retained, revealed, enhanced or at least
impaired as little as possible, in the future. This document does not simply suggest
constraints on future action; it introduces flexibility by identifying areas and elements
which can be adapted or developed with greater freedom.

Figure 4 View westwards from Hall of Clestrain (S&B)

6 Hall of Clestrain, Orkney – Conservation Plan