Ponton House

My blip today shows Ponton House. It was designed by architect Frank W. Simon and built in 1898. The splendid building, complete with corner turrets, housed the Edinburgh Industrial Brigade Home, which provided a dwelling for homeless and orphaned boys serving as apprentices. Most were from Edinburgh but some were from further afield and poor families who could not support them whilst they learnt a trade in the city. In 1928 the organisation renamed itself The Edinburgh Home for Working Lads (which today sounds a bit suspect!). During 1949 a reconstruction appeal raised funds for major improvements to the facilities, designed by Basil Spence, for the 85 boys who lived there, making it the largest such institution in Scotland. Quitting the premises in 1962, the organisation survived until 1977. A successor called The Ponton House Association was created in 1988 to help find employment for disadvantaged young folk. This still seems to be functioning but I can't find much information about it. Today the ground floor of Ponton House is used by Rowan Alba Ltd, a company that works to prevent homelessness, whilst the upper floors are housing association flats.