St Conan’s Kirk from Gardens

A large historic building like St Conan’s Kirk takes a lot of looking after! In this section you can find out more about our efforts to restore and conserve the Kirk, its contents and grounds. When visiting the building you may be able to spot some of the conservation needs. For example, when it is raining you may notice water on the floor where the roof is leaking above.

The Kirk has always had committed and passionate custodians, however over time the scale of repair and maintenance required came to exceed the available resources. A renewed focus came in 2014 and now a complete repair and conservation plan is in place: but not yet all the considerable funds needed to carry it out! In 2018 as part of our successful £100,000 Heritage Lottery grant submission we developed our overall “Management, Maintenance and Conservation Plan” which details how we will tackle all the repair and conservation works needed for the building and our conservation priorities. (The HLF grant covers Phase 2 only).

Our Management, Maintenance and Conservation Plan divides the restoration into 6 phases:

Phase 1: Library Roof, St Brides and St Conval Chapel Roofs (Completed 2017)
Phase 2: Urgent Repairs to Major Roof Leaks and Water Ingress. This addresses the worst leaks. (expected completion late 2019)
Phase 3: Watertight and Sound Building A number of smaller roof leaks and repairs to windows.
Phase 4: Interior Building Repairs Once the exterior is watertight, attention will move inside to a number of areas of stonework including the floors, chapel walls and crypt. Better heating and lighting will also be needed.
Phase 5: Garden and Grounds (Repairs and Upgrades) Repairs are needed to several areas of stonework and also to paths.
Phase 6: Kirk, Venue, Community and Visitor Development- “A Sustainable Responsive Building” Although not part of the “Repair and Restoration” The kirk building needs developed to meet its role not only as an important resource for the local community in itself, but also as a premier Argyll & Bute tourist attraction.

“Unphased” Works – Internal Conservation Works Repairs required in the Bruce chapel, on the Hadden gates.

You can read more about these using the links below. We also have an update on our Priorities and Progress up to 2021.

Conservation Works
Kirk Roof Repairs
Window Conservation and Repairs
Metalwork Conservation
Gardens and Grounds 
Stonework and Walls
Chapel Conservation
Objects, Furniture, Statues and more

View of the Chancel and Apse