Shillinghill

(The Children's Village)
East Lothian

Lying prominently on a hillside, a quarter-mile (0.4 km) southeast of Humbie in East Lothian and 4 miles (6 km) south of Pencaitland, is Shillinghill, formerly known as the Children's Village. Built in 1905 to provide holiday accommodation for disabled children, the village takes the form of a series of arts and crafts style cottages, several of which were named after their generous sponsors, built next to a school-house and dining hall with its impressive bell-tower. The village has been redeveloped and extended as private housing from c.2008.

The village was latterly run by the Algrade Trust, a fundamentalist Christian group established in 1968 but later exposed following allegations of abuse, neglect and financial irregularities. Management was transferred to the Church of Scotland, but the village closed in 1999 and remaining (adult) residents were relocated to new accommodation in the region. Alternative uses as a conference or training centre were explored, but the village hit the headlines once again in 2006 when it was put up for sale in its entirety. The buildings are listed for their special architectural and historical interest.


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