The Queen reopens Sir Walter Scott's Abbotsford House The Queen has officially reopened Abbotsford House, the former home of author Sir Walter Scott, in the Borders. Abbotsford House, in Melrose, has undergone a £12m restoration programme over the past two years. Sir Walter Scott, who wrote Waverley, Rob Roy and Ivanhoe, has been heralded as the world's first best-selling novelist. The house will reopen to the public on Thursday.