Photo © Kirsty Hall Photography

Welcome

The Macfie Hall is vibrant hub of activity at the centre of village life, with a rich history and a dedicated team of committee members.

About Macfie Hall

The Macfie Hall was built in 1921, funded by Mary Macfie of Borthwick Hall, in memory of her husband David, and gifted to the community. No alcohol could be consumed on the premises – but this was overturned by popular demand in the mid 1960s! Before this, you could often spot folk out in the car park with their hip flask in between dances …

Around the 1930s, the hall was passed into Council hands, because the community wasn’t able to maintain it. In 1994 the day-to-day running of the hall was passed back to the community and the Macfie Hall Committee was born – in various incarnations, the Committee has been here ever since!

Over the years the Hall has seen many events within its walls, from christenings, weddings and funerals to all manner of fundraisers and social events. In recent times successful carpet bowls and badminton teams have called the hall home, with Heriot Junior Drama and the Heriot Players in residence on other days, including for their much-anticipated annual shows and pantomime.

Dances, lavish balls, farmers markets, quiz nights, race nights, Burns night suppers, craft days and a community café have also taken place in our much loved hall.

A time for change

By 2013 it was clear that the MacFie Hall needed to be refurbished and extended, to meet the needs of the Heriot community. An architectural competition was held, with five of central Scotland’s top architects answering the brief – which called for a design that supported existing activities, opened up opportunities for new ones, and transformed the hall into a brighter and more contemporary space.

The local community were invited to comment on the designs and Oliver Chapman Architects were chosen to take the project forward.

PJM Joinery & Building from Haddington worked with Oliver and his colleagues to make their vision become a reality by late 2020 – thanks to grants from SSE Carcant and Toddleburn Windfarm Community Fund, Dunlaw (Soutra wind farm extension) Community Benefit Trust, Robertson Trust, National Lottery Awards for All, Moore Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Heriot Community Council and the Scottish Borders Council Communities Fund. We also received many individual donations, including one from as far away as the United States, the current home of 90-year-old Bert Keay, who grew up in Heriot and read about the project in the Southern Reporter!

A huge thanks to all of our funders, whose generosity means we now have a hall which will be filled with love, laughter and music for years to come.

The Committee

The Macfie Hall is owned by Scottish Borders Council and leased to Heriot under a 50-year lease to the MacFie Hall Committee Ltd. The directors of the Committee form the Management Committee, together with co-opted members.

Membership is open to any Heriot resident, which entitles you a vote at the AGM and a say in how the Hall should be run – for the benefit of the Heriot community and everyone beyond.

Directors are appointed each year at the AGM.