Kinloss Abbey Trust contractors Masonry and Lime renovate fireplace in historic Abbot's House
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THE LATEST phase of a historical project of national importance has been completed in a local village.
Contractors Masonry and Lime have renovated the fireplace in the north stack at the Abbot’s House at Kinloss Abbey on behalf of Kinloss Abbey Trust (KAT).
KAT trustee Kirsteen Mitcalfe confirmed the total cost was around £10,500 - £6000 of which was paid for with a grant from Historic Environment Scotland.
She said: “The fireplace is essential to the stability of the whole stack and provides an idea of the building in its heyday.
“It would have been a key element in the Abbot’s private chambers but has been re-instated primarily for structural reasons, by helping the whole stack resist a tendency to twist and/or tip due to the wind.”
Most of the work was done with fallen stones from the house itself but a new lintel had to be imported.
Kirsteen explained: “The intention was to use local Clashach sandstone for the fireplace lintel and rybats but the seam they are working in the quarry meant the stone was unsuitable for the fireplace.
“The Witton Fell sandstone used instead is quarried in North Yorkshire and is a very close match to the Clashach stone.”
The Abbey was developed over several centuries, culminating in a final refurbishment and extension by Abbot Robert Reid - one of Scotland’s foremost religious and political leaders - in the mid-16th century, prior to the site’s post-Reformation demise.
Kinloss Abbey Trust was founded in 2003 to raise public awareness of and preserve the remains.
KAT now has scheduled building consent to investigate and move stones inside the precincts of the Abbot’s House.
The group hopes to recruit volunteers with an interest in archaeology to help alongside a team from Highland Archaeology Services.
“The Scheduled Monument Consent in place to move the stones offers a unique opportunity for volunteers to gain practical experience under supervision,” said Kirsteen.
“Who knows what interesting archaeology lies hidden and waiting to be discovered!”
The next step is consolidating the stack and the vaults which support part of the Abbot’s House, including replacing temporary shoring installed in 2019 with permanent repairs and re-construction.
Conservation architect Nick Brown suggests: re-establishing missing parts of the vaults from the stone in situ; closing the southern ends of the vaults to form a solid wall; and adding a load to the roof of the vaults, incorporating waterproofing finished with stone flags or turf.
KAT will require consent and funding for this to go ahead.
Kirsteen said: “With the stability of the masonry stack improved, the next phase of repair will involve replacing the temporary shoring of the vaults below, which was installed in 2019, with permanent repairs and re-construction.
“Plans for the project will be developed over this year, with a view to the work being carried out in 2023.”
Meanwhile, ethnobotanical researcher Anna Canning has agreed to return to the abbey in May to provide two sessions of foraging and an evening talk on medieval ailments and remedies.
Guided tours of the Abbot’s House - usually restricted to the public - proved popular last year. It is hoped they will be on again this summer.
