IT is one of Scotland’s great ecclesiastical sites – said by legend to occupy a spot chosen for its view over the River Don bending in the form of a bishop’s crosier.
Boasting fortified towers and exquisite stained glass windows, St Machar’s Cathedral – the oldest building in active use in Aberdeen – is also one of the last resting places of William Wallace, whose left quarter was buried in its walls after he was executed and his body cut up in 1305.
However, until recently, it was clear the internationally significant landmark had seen better days.
Leaks had become a persistent problem, while a white film of stearic acid covered its 500-year-old oak ceiling and heraldic shields.
Now the church is set for a new lease of life as work continues apace on a £1.85 million project which is funding a comprehensive re-slating of its roof for the first time since 1867.
The ceiling is undergoing a full clean and renovation, with the leaded windows – a magnet for visitors – also being restored.
A fundraising drive to raise the money necessary to cover the total cost is rapidly closing in on its target.
“People are finally realising that this is one of the major buildings in Scotland,” said project leader Professor David Hewitt, “and not just in historical terms – it’s a really spectacular building to look at.”
He said St Machar’s, which despite its name is technically not a cathedral but a high kirk, had been suffering and that improvements were urgently needed.
“This is the most significant work in a century and a half,” he explained.
“We’re renovating the roof, which was last done in 1867, and it was done well but now, in a big wind, the cathedral’s slates come off. They certainly won’t after this.
“We’re also restoring and cleaning all of the stained glass windows, among them windows by Daniel Cottier and Douglas Strachan, two of the most significant figures to work in stained glass in the 19th and 20th centuries.”
Mr Hewitt said he was particularly excited about work to clean and renovate the church’s ceiling.
“You can’t maintain a building unless you properly maintain the roof – that’s essential,” he said.
“However, in historical and artistic terms, it’s the ceiling which is the most important part.
“The ceiling at St Machar’s was erected in 1520 and it’s a flat ceiling. There’s no other flat ceiling we know of erected in the British Isles which dates from this period. And it also has its 48 heraldic shields.
“It’s incredible. Here in Aberdeen, on the extremities of Christendom, is this church with its flat ceiling and heraldic shields arranged in three lines – one for James V and the nobles of Scotland, one for the kings and queens of Europe, and a church line headed by the Pope.
St Machar’s has been a Protestant church since 1560 but you still have the heraldic arms of the Pope up there.”
He added: “Before we started the renovation work, the ceiling was covered with a thin white film which wasn’t fungus but was in fact stearic acid which comes from the breakdown of the linseed oil that was applied to keep the ceiling oiled.
“It made the whole thing look a bit grey. Now it’s being cleaned – and in its 500th anniversary year.”
The building’s history stretches back 14 centuries, with different versions of legend telling how God or St Columba instructed St Machar to establish a place of worship where a river bends into the shape of a bishop’s crosier before flowing out to sea – just as the Don does below where the church is located to the north of Aberdeen city centre.
The site is said to have been established in around 580, with construction of a cathedral begun in the 1130s before being destroyed by the army of Edward III of England in 1336.
Most of the existing building was built between 1380 and 1520.
The new project is partly financed by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic Environment Scotland, as well as private donations.
“We have wood restorers and paint restorers – they are really magnificent craftsmen,” added Mr Hewitt.
“In terms of funding, there’s only about £90,000 left to raise until we reach the £1.85m which is the total cost of the restoration work. It’s all very exciting.”
To donate to the restoration, visit www. justgiving.com/campaign/ StMacharRaiseTheRoof.
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