Heart of Hawick
The £10m Heart of Hawick multi-agency arts and heritage initiative is one of the biggest and most unique regeneration projects in the Scottish Borders.
Tower Mill - now a brand new cinema/theatre, cafe/bar & visitor centre.
• Cinema/theatre with film or live events every day
• Café/bar space serving hot food/drinks all day
• VisitScotland TIC open 7 days
• Meeting room, seminar and conference facilities with break out space
• Workspaces for lease
• Category A listed building of significant architectural interest, including 14-foot Victorian waterwheel under a large glass floor
Heritage Hub - now the new Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre.
• State of the art archive of national importance
• Open long hours, plus two evenings and all day Saturday
• Professionally qualified staff with extensive local knowledge and experience
• Exhibition space with a regularly changing exhibition
• Facilities for young and old, with level access and high quality ICT and archive resources
Footfall & Vibrancy
Heart of Hawick is an arts and culture led regeneration project designed to make a substantial contribution to the social, cultural and economic regeneration of Hawick and the wider Borders. By transforming two derelict buildings in the town’s West End, Heart of Hawick has created new, sustainable facilities that add value by creating jobs, encouraging visitors, building civic pride and promoting social inclusion.
Tower Mill
A derelict spinning mill and Category A listed building, Tower Mill is unique in Scotland in that it sits on a massive arch over the Slitrig Water and incorporates a 14 foot high Victorian waterwheel, Tower Mill has been completely transformed into:
• 111 seat auditorium configurable as a cinema, theatre and conference centre. On Monday 8th October 2007, cinema returned to Hawick for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century
• The Scottish Borders first Beanscene coffee & music house, creating jobs and generating national career opportunities for locally recruited staff, opened in September 2007
• 10 rentable workspaces and exhibition spaces for creative industries
• Meeting rooms for hire: regular hires include People First (a charity for people with learning difficulties); Borders Youth Theatre; and Hawick Bridge Club.
• VisitScotland Borders Tourist Information Centre now open all year round and with extended opening hours.
• Additional features include underwater cameras to see the nearby otters, heron, bats and salmon; a glass floor over the waterwheel; a two storey glass entrance; and an external glass terrace built over the river.
Heritage Hub
Formerly the Corn Exchange, now the Scottish Borders Archive and Local History Centre providing research and archive services for existing and non-traditional audiences including clans and family history societies, archive & genealogy businesses, international visitors and young people. The Heritage Hub opened to the public in May 2007.
Ancestral tourism is a key market for the Heritage Hub and represents a real opportunity for the Scottish Borders as a whole given the diverse nature of ancestral attractions and the knowledgeable, professional staff on the ground.
Civic Space
Connecting the campus, the civic space is an external performance and community space, an outdoor café bar in fine weather, a site for civic artwork, a home to Farmers’ and Continental Markets and a river viewpoint.
Awards
• Heart of Hawick achieved the Scottish Urban Regeneration Forum 2007 Awards for best practice in urban regeneration in the category of Place.
• Winner of the Edinburgh Architectural Association 2008 Award for Regeneration and Conservation.
• Joint winner in the Regeneration Category of the Scottish Design Awards 2008
• Winner of the Scottish award for Enterprising Britain
Some projects we’ve worked on recently
Engaging with young people - via the Hawick High School Junior Working Group and History Club as well as schools performances, workshops and film screenings - has been a key priority of Heart of Hawick from the outset. Specific projects include:
“Causeway” Cobble Project
For nine months during 2007, 255 pupils worked with Jane Gaze, artist-in-residence at Hawick High School to create the “causeway” cobble project. Each pupil created an individual ceramic cobble into which they impressed their surname. The cobbles have been installed in the Civic Space outside the Heritage Hub.
“Tracing the Tracks”
As part of the eighth national Big Draw campaign, 50 pupils from Stirches Primary School in Hawick and Philiphaugh Primary in Selkirk, created a huge chalk drawing, based on the themes of transport and communication in the Civic Space.
Opening Hours
Tower Mill café space opens 9am till 10pm (and sometimes later) 7 days per week
Tower Mill reception/VisitScotland Tourist Information centre open every day
Heritage Hub open Mon – Sat (Wed for pre booked groups)
Cinema or live events are arranged for most days including all weekends. See monthly programme or website for more information.
Drumlanrig’s Tower is being renovated, and will re-open from April 2009
Contact
Heart of Hawick
Heart of Hawick
Hawick
Roxburghshire
TD9 0AE
Great Britain
Tel: +44 (1450) 360682
Fax: +44(1450) 360429
E-Mail: heartofhawick@scotbroders.gov.uk
WWW: http://www.scotborders.gov.uk/heartofhawick
