AN INSCRIBED lintel stone from Musselburgh’s old ‘fever hospital’ has returned to its ‘home’ as a monument to the town’s past.

The stone was saved by the late George Montgomery, a local community councillor and past president of the Old Musselburgh Club, after the building was knocked down.

On May 17, 1907, the Hospital for Infectious Diseases, known locally as the ‘fever hospital’, was opened in what was then Cottage Lane, and renamed later as Park Lane.

Shortly after the Second World War, the hospital became the Musselburgh Maternity Hospital, where a large number of the local population were born.

Before demolition, the building was known as Park House and used as a day centre.

The site was eventually cleared to make way for the Park Gardens housing development.

Mr Montgomery arranged for the safekeeping of the stone close by in the council’s plant nursery with a view to its being returned as a permanent marker on the site of the hospital. Sadly, he passed away before his could happen.

Just before the Covid-19 pandemic, John Smith, a member of the Old Musselburgh Club, drew the club’s attention to the fact that, for many years, the lintel had been “languishing” in a corner of the Musselburgh allotments.

The Old Musselburgh Club, with the co-operation of the Musselburgh Allotment Association and the help of Councillor Andy Forrest, has now realised Mr Montgomery’s vision to have the lintel returned to the vicinity of the hospital as a reminder to future residents of this part of Musselburgh’s history.

The stone lintel now sits at the top of Park Lane at the entrance to Lewisvale Park, adjacent to the Park Gardens development, for all to see.

David Stillie, secretary of the Old Musselburgh Club, said: “This venture is very much in keeping with the aims of the Old Musselburgh Club, which was formed in 1961 to foster interest in local history, to support local traditions, to encourage art and literature, to commemorate local historical events, and to perpetuate the memory of worthy local people.”