FAMILY and members of the Peebles community have paid tribute to one of the founders of the Eastgate Theatre.

Margaret Jamieson passed away on April 30 at Peebles Care Home at the age of 101.

Margaret was a great lover of music and was one of the community forces behind the creation of the Eastgate Theatre.

Born in Edinburgh on July 26, 1920, Margaret was the eldest of five siblings.

Peeblesshire News: Margaret (centre) with her siblingsMargaret (centre) with her siblings

Margaret attended James Gillespie's where she met novelist Dame Muriel Spark – the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, who she would walk home from school with.

"Margaret would not answer directly, but must have been asked by others, 'Were you a Brodie girl?'," Margaret's friend Philip Hutton said.

After school, her career in education began as a PE teacher in Liverpool, and in 1965 she was elected as college principal at the IM Marsh College Liverpool – a position which she remained in until 1981.

Margaret also enjoyed travelling, visiting post-war Germany in 1947 to teach army children.

She also travelled to Iran, Yemen, Japan, Indonesia, Kashmir and Canada.

“She was a remarkable woman,” said Walter Jamieson, Margaret’s nephew. “She certainly travelled fairly extensively.

“She had some fantastic experiences.”

After a long career as a teacher, Margaret retired to Peebles where she built her own home. In her later life and as her health declined, however, Margaret moved to a flat on Dovecot Road and then to Peebles Care Home.

Margaret was an enthusiastic member of the community in Peebles and was a proud member of the group behind the town's theatre.

Peeblesshire News: Margaret with her family at Cringletie House to celebrate her 80th birthdayMargaret with her family at Cringletie House to celebrate her 80th birthday

Remembering Margaret and her role with the theatre, general manager of the Eastgate Caroline Adam, said: “Everyone at the Eastgate is sad to hear of Margaret’s death.

"She always enjoyed the arts and was very proud to have been part of the community that came together to create its own theatre.

"Margaret’s name is one of those that is commemorated on the original funder’s plaque that is still mounted on the outside of the building.

"Her favourite shows were live music and as recently as 2019 she was attending folk and classical concerts, always booked in to seat A7, in the middle of the front row.”

Margaret had a passion for music and had a number of stories she would tell about musicians she'd met over the year.

She was a member of Music in Peebles and although in recent years she was unable to attend concerts, she was able to enjoy performances put on by the group at Peebles Care Home.

John Fox, president of Music in Peebles, said: "Margaret had a great love, knowledge and understanding of music and had many stories of famous musicians she met over her long life, including the composer Malcolm Williamson (then Master of the Queen’s Music) and a very young Martin Roscoe, who is now one of the UK’s finest pianists.

"She was a committed and enthusiastic member of Music in Peebles for many years, serving on the committee from 1984 to 1989.

"Although her mobility was reduced in later years, the long flight of steps leading down from her home on Venlaw Quarry Road was not going to stop her attending concerts, and she was regularly to be seen in the front row of the Eastgate Theatre.

"Eventually, however, the time came when she was no longer able to get to concerts.

"Fortunately, Peebles Care Home on Tweed Green, where she was now living, regularly hosted concerts provided by Music in Peebles through its outreach programme, and Margaret was always delighted when the concerts came to her!"

Peeblesshire News: Margaret was a lover of the artsMargaret was a lover of the arts

A keen artist, Margaret filled her home with her own work as well as that of others she loved.

Mr Hutton, who is also a committee member of Music in Peebles, said: "She was a keen amateur artist and sent her work in to the annual exhibitions.

"She also participated in a wider Edinburgh-based art scene and studied with, befriended, collected works by the feisty young women artists associated with the 369 Gallery in the 1980s, June Redfern, Caroline McNairn, Rose Frayn.

"Margaret came to my own art class in Peebles for 10 years or so, in the early 2000s.

"She was an asset to the class in her interest and encouragement of other students, she would jolly along the diffident quite effectively."

Margaret is remembered fondly by her family, with nephew Walter saying he and Margaret's other nieces and nephews always enjoyed visiting her.

He said: “She was a very easy person to be around.

“Sometimes you feel a bit of familial duty going to visit elderly aunts and uncles but it was never like that with Margaret.

"My kids have very fond memories of trips down to her house.

"She was an astonishing woman.”

A service for Margaret will be held at the Borders Crematorium in Melrose on Tuesday, May 24 at 12pm.