Mingary Castle: The Biggest Scaffolding Job in Scotland?

Tuesday, 3 September 2013

The Biggest Scaffolding Job in Scotland?

I was down at the site this morning mostly to admire the scaffolding. It's an incredible job, rising like some sort of science fiction creeping vine, encircling and engulfing the castle walls. This picture shows the west wall which now has four 'lifts' - that is, wooden walkways - out of the five that are planned. The northwest and north walls are still almost bare of metalwork, though Stephen Holmes is working on the northwest wall, over the main gate, now. These walls will need at least six lifts.

This view of the south wall also shows the other two walls where the scaffolding is almost complete....

....and these are the east and southeast walls. The job's not being help by the weather, which was terrible yesterday, wet and windy - and this is a very exposed site - but the men worked through it.

Having admired the scaffolding a question came to mind. When it's complete, will this be the biggest scaffolding job in Scotland?

2 comments:

Anonymous5 September 2013 at 07:18
How much will it cost to restore the castle to its former glory?
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Unknown15 September 2013 at 19:21
Thanks for the update. Hope all goes well. I'd like to hear a little of the History of this place-local legend etc. not the dry stuff.
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The Mingary Castle Preservation and Restoration Trust

"The most intact thirteenth century castle in Scotland" is how archaeologist Tom Addyman describes Mingary Castle. Seat of Clan MacIain, commanding the sea route through the Sound of Mull, Mingary dates back to the thirteenth century and may be much older - there is some evidence, not least from the name, that the Vikings fortified the site. However, since it was last inhabited in the mid-nineteenth century, the castle has been deteriorating. A recent survey showed that, unless urgent restoration work was carried out, the castle was in danger of collapse.

The Mingary Castle Preservation and Restoration Trust, which is Scottish registered charity SC043705, was set up in 2013 to address this problem. Work started on the site in April 2013, and it is hoped to have the building fully restored to its mediaeval grandeur by the end of 2014.

Mingary Castle stands on Ardnamurchan Estate land, near the village of Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Donald Houston, who owns the Estate and is responsible for the upcoming work on the castle, is determined that the many written records that are being prepared as part of the work should be fully available to the public on-line. This will be done through the main Mingary Castle website, of which this blog will be a part.

Businesses Involved in the Project