Newsletter March 2024
We are delighted that the next phase of the conservation of the Abbot’s House has been successfully completed. The north vaults at the Abbot’s House which were propped up with wood some years ago have now been fully consolidated and are giving support to the stack above them.
This shows the finished work. The tops of the vaults were stripped under supervision from Highland Archaeology Services. Using appropriate stones found on site some masonry reconstruction was then carried out. Each vault top was then carefully profiled using salvaged stonework and screeded in lime to permit gentle water run off.
The tops were then covered in a membrane and topped with grass as shown. To allow the lime mortar to dry sufficiently the wooden supports were left in place until the spring. We hope to be able to use the wood to support the next project which will be the
southern arches. We are very lucky to have the services of Nick Brown, of NBPlanning who has masterminded the whole project and kept a careful eye on expenses. Masonry and Lime have done a splendid job in finishing on time and within budget and their work is superb.
We are deeply thankful to the generous grant givers who have made this possible. The Woolfson Foundation is the major funder and have shown much interest in what the Trust is trying to achieve. EB Scotland through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund has again supported the Trust with enthusiasm and The Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation is a new and very generous donor. Historic Environment Scotland is also a huge support to the project.
Work in progress
We now have a smart new notice board at the gate to the Abbey, thanks to our generous donors, which will give general information. 39 Engineers have kindly volunteered to make another information board which will go beside the wall which separates the Abbot’s House from the main Abbey and give information about our sponsors and about the work in progress at the Abbot’s House.
The next project at the Abbot’s House will be the southern vaults. They are not in quite such a precarious state as the north vaults which are supporting a large stack. But they will not last for ever and action must be taken as soon as possible. Raising money for this project is the next task for the Trust.
The Abbot’s House is still fenced off from the public but the state of the concrete fence posts is disintegrating and will have to be shored up by Moray Council to make it safe. The Trust has taken on the duty of trying to keep the ivy and other weeds at bay which is an ongoing expense
There will be guided tours over the summer as usual – details will be on the information board and on our website.
Judy Stewart has resigned as a trustee after 15 years of extremely useful service. She has promoted the horticultural side of the Abbey, always interested in the plants that the monks would have used for culinary and medical reasons. She has promoted Foraging weekends and talks which have been well attended and her knowledge is second to none. Rebecca Russell has become a trustee – she also has an interest and speciality in plants and is very welcome to join us.
Here is a poster about a talk that Nick Brown, our conservation architect, is giving in Cullen on April 1st. This should be a very interesting afternoon and I hope that some of you will find your way there.
Newsletter August 2023
The last year at Kinloss Abbey has been spent trying to get funding for the next phase at the Abbot’s House and I am glad to say this has now been successful.
The Kinloss Abbey Trust has been extremely fortunate in acquiring grants towards the next phase of the conservation of the Abbot’s House at Kinloss Abbey. This will enable the consolidation of the vaults which were temporarily supported by wooden beams some four years ago. The new works will make them permanently safe and waterproofing will be a further protection. The aim of the Trust has always been to enable the Abbot’s House, which is currently fenced off from the rest of the Abbey precincts, to be accessible to everyone. There is still some work to do.
The main funder is The Wolfson Foundation who have awarded Kinloss Abbey Trust the sum of £38,300. The Foundation is an independent charity with a focus on research and education. Its aim is to support civil society by investing in excellent projects in science, health, heritage and the arts. It was established in 1955 and have made awards to more than 12,000 projects throughout the UK supporting them with about £1 billion. The Kinloss Abbey Trust is extremely grateful for the Foundation’s interest in the work it has already achieved and the means to go forward to preserve this important historical building.
A grant of £10,000 funded by Moray Council through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund is most welcome. They have supported us before and it is good to see that they have faith in what we are trying to achieve to grant us more aid. The Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation have promised £5,000 and Historic Environment Scotland are also supporting this next phase of conservation. The Kinloss Abbey Trust is putting in some of its own funds which are mainly from fund raising and donations from local people. A legacy from Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith, a valued trustee who died earlier this year, will help towards this. The work has started and, if the weather is clement, should take up to three months to complete. This photograph is of one of our trustees, Steve Worth, strimming the area before the work started.
And some scenes from the first few days of the project.
Meanwhile the Trust’s programme of activities and engagement continues and it includes tours of the Abbey over the summer months, led by trustees. These have been very popular this year – they are free although donations are always welcome. There is still time to go on one of these tours – the last Sunday of August – 27th – and the last Saturday of September – the 30th, which coincides with Moray’s Doors Open Day.
In February there was a request from St Sylvester’s church in Elgin who were taking on a project to visit all the former Catholic churches in Moray. They came to Kinloss Abbey in large numbers and held a Mass in the little chapel which had been tidied up and prepared for their use by trustees. They also processed, singing, round the precincts which added to the wonderful atmosphere they created.
We also had singers from the Findhorn Foundation who came to experience singing in the chapel.
The Trust is very grateful to its friends and supporters and to the design team led by Nick Brown and to Mia Scott Associates. We are enormously grateful to Historic Environment Scotland for their interest in Kinloss Abbey and for their continuing support both in terms of funding and in providing practical help.
Hopefully the next email will bring news of the completed project and we will already be planning the next.
Kirsteen Mitcalfe
Kinloss Abbey gets new funding
The Abbot’s House at Kinloss Abbey in Moray
The Kinloss Abbey Trust has been extremely fortunate in acquiring grants towards the next phase of the conservation of the Abbot’s House at Kinloss Abbey. This will enable the consolidation of the vaults which were temporarily supported by wooden beams some five years ago. The new works will make them permanently safe and waterproofing will be a further protection. The aim of the Trust has always been to enable the Abbot’s House, which is currently fenced off from the rest of the Abbey precincts, to be open to everyone. There is still some work to do.
The main funder is The Wolfson Foundation who have awarded Kinloss Abbey Trust the sum of £38,300. The Foundation is an independent charity with a focus on research and education. Its aim is to support civil society by investing in excellent projects in science, health, heritage and the arts. It was established in 1955 and have made awards to more than 12,000 projects throughout the UK supporting them with about £1 billion. The Kinloss Abbey Trust is extremely grateful for the Foundation’s interest in the work it has already achieved and the means to go forward to preserve this important historical building.
A grant funded by Moray Council through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund is most welcome. They have supported us before and it is good to see that they have faith in what we are trying to achieve to grant us more aid. The Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation and Historic Environment Scotland are also supporting this next phase of conservation and the Kinloss Abbey Trust is putting in some of its own funds which are mainly from fund raising and donations from local people. A legacy from Sir James Dunbar-Nasmith, a valued trustee who died earlier this year, will help towards this. It is hoped that the work will start before the end of July. If the weather is clement it should be finished by the end of September.
Masonry and Lime have again been awarded the contract and Nick Brown of Nbplanning is the supervisory conservation architect. Moray Council, who own the site, have always been extremely supportive of the Trust’s efforts to conserve this group of buildings, the largest complex of its type in the north. Mia Scott Associates are acting as project co-ordinators.
The Vaults at the Abbot’s House
Part of the ruins of Kinloss Abbey
Newsletter September 2022
In the spring the Trust, with help from Historic Environment Scotland, employed Oliver Macfarlane of Scottish Arboricultural Services to take down self seeded saplings along the length of the water course and to tackle some of the ivy growth. This has proved very successful although the ivy will need to be dealt with again at the beginning of next year.
We were extremely grateful to a troop from 39 Engineers who volunteered to work an entire week moving the pile of stones and rubble from inside the Abbot’s House under archaeological supervision to an area outside where they can be accessed for possible future use in some of the conservation work. Although nothing of any particular value was found the men seemed to enjoy the whole process and made light work of even the heaviest boulders.
This completes the work for which Scheduled Monument Consent was granted in 2021. There is a further pile of stones on the east side of the Abbot’s House which needs to be investigated and the removal of which forms part of the current application for Scheduled Monument Consent.
The Press and Journal published an article which was of value both to the community engagement of the regiment and also raised awareness of what the Trust is striving to accomplish. The photographs are courtesy of the P and J.
The Trust is keen to maintain momentum and is aiming to have the repair and consolidation of the two vaults carried out in 2023. These are the vaults that were saved by the Trust from collapse and further deterioration in 2020 by shoring them up with wooden supports. In anticipation of receiving Scheduled Monument Consent and of securing funding from various sources we have instructed Nick Brown and his team to prepare a detailed schedule of work and specification for the work.
Meanwhile the Trust’s programme of activities and engagement continues and it includes tours of the Abbey over the summer months, led by trustees. These have been very popular this year – they are free although donations are always welcome. The opportunity occurs on these tours to access the Abbot’s House which is otherwise kept under lock and key for safety reasons. There is one more tour scheduled for this year – on Sunday, 25th September at 2 p.m.
In June we held two very well supported foraging sessions at the Abbey, led by an acknowledged expert in the field, Anna Canning from Flora Medica in Edinburgh. There are a fascinating number of plants, uniquely in Moray, in the grounds of the Abbey but there was also much interest in the medical and every day use of more ordinary finds. Anna gave a lecture with slides in Kinloss Church in the evening of the same day, attended by a good crowd of people. Follow-up notes of interest were sent to participants after the event.
The Trust is very grateful to its friends and supporters and to the design team led by Nick Brown and to Mia Scott Associates. We are enormously grateful to HES for their interest in Kinloss Abbey and for their continuing support both in terms of funding and in providing practical help. Moray Council, the owner of the Abbey, continues to be supportive of the Trust’s efforts.
Kirsteen Mitcalfe
Newsletter – January 2022
At last we have some good news to offer. More work has been completed on the Abbot’s House at Kinloss Abbey and we are indebted to Historic Environment Scotland for a generous grant of £6,000 towards renovating the fireplace in the north stack at the House. This has been done by Masonry and Lime and it has been a difficult but very successful project. The fireplace was essential to the stability of the whole stack and was also very interesting in giving an idea of the building when in its heyday.
Most of the work was done with fallen stones from the house itself but a new lintel had to be imported. Some of you will know how difficult the access to the Abbot’s House is and these pictures gives an idea of how the team of six coped with the problem – not an easy job!
And here is the finished result
We have also got Scheduled Building Consent to investigate and move a large pile of stones inside the perimeter of the Abbot’s House and we hope to get a team of volunteers in the spring with an interest in archaeology to come and help under the supervision of the team who have been helping the Trust at the Abbey – Highland Archaeology Services.
Now we are ready to move on to the next stage of consolidating the stack and the vaults which support it. This will involve the replacement of the temporary shoring installed in 2019 with permanent repairs and re-construction.
Nick Brown, the conservation architect who has been managing the project, in consultation with the architect at HES has suggested the following
To re-establish the missing parts of the vaults from the stone in situ
To close the southern ends of the vaults to form a solid wall
To add a load to the roof of the vaults with prior archaeological work done on the existing debris. This roofing would incorporate waterproofing and be finished in various ways, such as stone flags or turf.
Now we have to get Scheduled Monument Consent and make applications to various grant giving bodies for this next phase. We will have to get the project costed and this and the applications may take some time.
We are delighted that Anna Canning has agreed to come back to us in May to give two sessions of foraging at the Abbey and an evening talk on medieval ailments and remedies. More details to follow.
Guided tours went on last year as soon as Covid restrictions were lifted and each time were well supported. These are the only times that people can see inside the Abbot’s House area which is otherwise kept locked. The tours will start again in the summer.
We have been lucky that the pandemic has not hindered the work we have been able to carry out at Kinloss Abbey although it has impacted our ability to raise awareness through various functions. Let’s hope that 2022 allows more freedom to pursue this aspect.