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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
Kris Gourlay

Incredible drone footage shows East Lothian's abandoned village trapped in time

An incredible drone footage of an abandoned hospital village in East Lothian has emerged.

The former Edenhall Hospital in Musselburgh was initiallly named Pinkieburn House when it served the Lindsay family in the early 1820s.

During the First World War, Pinkieburn was purchased to become the new home of Edenhall Hostel for limbless soldiers and sailors after the original premises in Kelso, Scottish Borders, wasn't deemed big enough.

The main estate, along with new extensions, went on to form the basis of the hospital which during the Second World War, was expanded in the form of further extensions and new huts.

READ MORE: Historic Edinburgh Victorian tram cable wheels to be put on permanent public display

In the early 1950s, Edenhall Hospital was transferred to the National Health Service and continued to operate for six decades until its closure in 2010 according to the NHS. Instead of being demolished or transformed into houses, the estate on which Edenhall is based lies completely frozen in time.

With the building being targeted by vandals in recent years, the area has been cordoned off and is monitored by CCTV cameras. Property developers have earmarked the site for a potential redevelopment project, but Edenhall remains largely untouched for now.

The main building has been subjected to vandalism and arson in recent years. (YouTube)

Throughout the years, several explorers and locals have gained access to the site, which resembles somewhat of a ghost village with all the extensions and huts built throughout the First and Second World War left standing to this day, albeit consumed by their surroundings.

Originally there were 43 beds in the hospital but wings were added to the mansion house to increase the accommodation to 100 beds. In 1920 the Ministry of Pensions took over the running of the hospital and it was opened to convalescent cases as well as the limbless.

Most of the extension buildings and huts have been boarded up. (YouTube)

In the period up to the Second World War it then became the main Ministry of Pensions Hospital in Scotland providing general medical and surgical treatment for war pensioners.

Footage uploaded to YouTube shows the main hospital building, as well as several out-buildings and huts boarded up, although various signs and names of each wing remain such as 'X-Ray' and 'Out-Patients'.

The site is completely frozen in time. (YouTube)

The grounds surrounding the hospital have also become overgrown as well as a glass greenhouse to the rear of the main building which has had most of its windows smashed.

In 2019, plans were withdrawn for a change of use application to transform the former Pinkieburn House to form eight flats, as well as alterations to a former stable block to form three houses.

Various signs remain darted around the hospital building and the entrance on Edenhall Road. (YouTube)

A further 52 houses and 12 flats were also earmarked as part of the development. According to the East Lothian Council's planning portal, no further applications for the site have been submitted.

The grounds of the hospital have been fenced off and are security monitored. Due to the dangers of entering a site such a this, and the laws around trespassing, entering is never advised.

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