The Chambers Institution

Back to the High Street today to look at possibly the oldest building in Peebles, known today as the Chambers Institution!

It dates back in part to the 16th century, when it belonged to the church and was the Dean's house. Later it passed into the hands of the Queensberry family, when it became known as Queensberry Lodging. A descendant of this family was the 8th Duke of Queensberry who created The Queensberry Rules of Boxing.

Later it was bought by William Chambers, who had been born in the town, and was then a successful Edinburgh publisher, along with his brother Robert. W&R Chambers Dictionaries and Encyclopedias are well known even today. William had a lot of work carried out to improve the building and finally handed it over to the ownership of the town. In 1911 millionaire Andrew Carnegie provided Peebles with a library which was housed in a new extension to the main building. It is on the right of the photo, above the Tourist Information Office. Over time the building was further extended and became a civic centre, with a hall for assemblies, concerts, etc, a galleried museum, offices, including the Registrar's, and meeting rooms where the town council met till 1975 when the system of local government was reformed.

Today it still houses the Burgh Hall, the Registrar's, the Library, an Art Gallery, the Museum - mostly used for exhibitions - and some council offices. What is now known as the Secret Room was discovered in the 1990s and restored for public viewing. Along the walls of this room that had been a humble store room for years, are plaster frescoes of sections of the Elgin Marbles, and a copy of The Triumph of Alexander by a Swedish sculptor Bertil Thorvaldsen. The room was cleared out and cleaned up and is now on show along with a small permanent exhibition on the history of Peebles.