CORSTORPHINE TOWER RESTORATION
Earlier last year the Old Parish Church Corstorphine received Grants of up to £63000 in total to support the repair and restoration of the 15th century Church Tower. The Grants came from Viridor and WREN and supported two elements of restoration work, the Stone Spire, and the body of the Tower. The third element, the Porch, was funded by the Church itself.
The work was completed just before Xmas. Some
what behind the original schedule as the Church has admitted but the time taken was a reflection of the significant increase in the amount of work required to repair and restore the tower. It was one thing to examine the Tower from a Cherry Picker but was only when the scaffolding was erected both internally and externally that the true extent of the work required became apparent. This made the Grants from WREN and Viridor all the more important.
In the main the work has centred on the replacement of the Lime Mortar between the Tower’s stones and replacement of individual stones. In addition to the core work, there was the replacement of one of the Tower’s Pinnacles which was in very poor condition, the renewal of the stone work supporting the weather cockerel, the restoration of the Gallery, and new wooden window louvres which were coated in a new form of weather protection.
Replacing the Pinnacle was particularly interesting as it was so worn that it was not possible to determine what the original design had been. Drawings from the archives of the Corstorphine Trust were consulted to help the architect from Tods Taylor , the Church’s conservation architects, to draw up a design for the Mason to follow.
Some of the work was a bit mundane but as the work
The new pinnacle
The new louvres
New spire stones
the completed tower
on the Tower progressed the methods of the builders from centuries ago were revealed. For instance the mortar from the original 15th century construction was found to be a mixture of lime mortar and oyster shells, Oysters giving a bit ‘body’ to the mortar. Something that has also been found during work on Edinburgh Castle.
The completed restoration is a testimonial to the craftmanship and labour of the
builders from
Davidson Restoration,using the same skills as those who built the Church so many years ago.
Both WREN and Viridor have expressed their pleasure in the way the work has progressed and the end result.
Sophie Cade, WREN’s Scottish Grant Manager said: ‘WREN is always pleased to support community heritage projects, we are delighted to have been part of the restoration of such a unique and significant church in Edinburgh.’
Michael Cunningham who assessed the Project for Viridor prior to their award and subsequently on completion said: ‘Viridor Credits is delighted to have contributed from the Scottish Landfill Communities Funds towards the restoration of the magnificent building which has so much history.
ROOMS FROM £1100 PER WEEK Our Scottish
steering group took the decision to award funding under stiff competition from other applications and it is very pleasing to see the results.’
New roofing stones on the porch
Rev Moira McDonald helping mount the re gilded weather cock
The restored gallery
The Church being in the middle of the Kirkyard and the path ways through it a regular route for the people of Corstorphine, the work on the Tower has excited their interest. Corstorphine Old Parish hope that the restoration will attract further visitors from near and far to the Church, to enjoy its unique architecture and history. Whatever their own beliefs, it is part of all our historical heritage.
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