Conservation work completed on one of Glasgow’s most historic buildings

27 February 2013

Glasgow Cathedral has recently received £30,000 worth of conservation work by Historic Scotland to repair the damage inflicted by last year’s gales.

Despite being the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to have survived the 1560 Reformation virtually complete, the weathercock and spike on top of the landmark did not escape last year’s merciless strong winds unscathed.

The spike of the church was no longer vertical due to corrosion and a closer examination of the weathercock showed damage to some of the rivets with the tail being completely blown off. A further structural inspection also found an area of the steeple was in need of re-pointing.

Overseeing the conservation work was Historic Scotland's District Architect, Ian Lambie. While the conservation itself was a fairly simple task, it was made more complex by the height of the building and the narrow conditions.

Ian Lambie said: “The only way of accessing the spire head was by climbing up inside the steeple using steep narrow ladders and squeezing and crawling through small windows at the apex.  Making repairs at this sort of height has its challenges but it's always worth it for the view!”

Now that the necessary repairs are complete, the weathercock should be able to withstand the worst of the wind and the re-pointing should hold for at least another ten years.

Notes for editors:

• Historic Scotland is an executive agency of the Scottish Government charged with safeguarding the nation’s historic environment. The agency is fully accountable to Scottish Ministers and through them to the Scottish Parliament.

• Register for media release email alerts from www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/news. If you wish to unsubscribe at any time, please email hs.website@scotland.gsi.gov.uk   

Historic Scotland around the web:
www.twitter.com/welovehistory
www.facebook.com/visithistoricscotland
www.youtube.com/historicscotlandtv
www.flickr.com/groups/makeyourownhistory
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/yearofnatural