MEMORIALS 101


This image and below Bobby Niven’s design frames the views of the abbey and beyond


CASE STUDY THE NEW SCRIPTORIUM, ARBROATH


Artist Bobby Niven’s New Scriptorium celebrates 700 years of knowledge sharing – of writing down and illustrating our histories, for now and posterity. His quirky, carefully crafted retreat and workshop space


for writers and poets is set in the ruins of Arbroath Abbey, the historic site where the Declaration of Arbroath was written – a letter sent in 1320 from all the landowners and community leaders of Scotland to the pope, asking him to recognise Scotland’s independence; it is widely seen as Scotland’s most iconic document. Niven’s commission, from the Arbroath 2020 Group, was part of the Declaration’s 700th anniversary, though its construction was delayed by the pandemic until 2022. Taking inspiration from the site’s history and locality, it was


built with a green oak frame by local carpenters, and clad in concrete panels, with a crafted timber interior that reveals colours, forms and textures inspired by those illustrations typically found on medieval manuscripts. Carved, serpentine timbers weave around the space, representing a scribe’s “arms”, bent at the elbow and wrist. In Niven’s design, these arms extend towards the window, which frames the views of the abbey and beyond. Daylight from a large roof light floods the space during the day, with a small wood-burning stove to keep it cosy at night and through the winter. The New Scriptorium is designed as a meditative studio space, and will also host local literary groups, such as Angus Writers Circle, as well as writers in residence. Says Niven: ‘We know that Arbroath Abbey had a very large and active community, including monks who could transcribe and illuminate documents and bound early manuscripts into books. The ability to read and write and convey information and document history was as powerful then as it is today.’


PROJECT INFO


Client Arbroath 2020 Group with Historic Environment Scotland, Angus Place Partnership, Angus Council and Hospittalfield


Designer Bobby Niven


Opened June 2022


Funding Town Centre Fund and Creative Scotland


KEITH HUNTER


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