Tag: Historic Scotland

#Instagram #Live for #AIP #Jammers: Repairing #DunansBridge and #DunansCastle

This week I was asked to update the Adventures in Preservation Volunteers (or jammers) on our projects for 2021, so on Friday at 5pm I livestreamed from the bridge and then took my viewers on a short walk to the castle to give them a flavour of what the project would consist next year.

The details are that we will be welcoming jammers for a fortnight in May and September – the details are available here.

Refurbishing Dunans Bridge …

The repairs to the bridge are wonderful progress toward the full refurbishment of this Telford-designed A-listed structure. It seems amazing to me that these are the first thorough-going repairs to the bridge since the 19th Century when the stanchions were reinforced with concrete. It just shows how durable Mr Telford’s design is.

Of course, the plan had been to refurbish the bridge in one season through funds acquired from Historic Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Our efforts were stymied by our inability to engage with our neighbours on the management plan our team had designed. With a deed of servitude over the bridge, our neighbours agreement to the plan was critical to the granting of funds of £750,000. As it is we have managed a programme, funded privately by the ScottishLaird project, which has achieved a great deal, but in a piece-meal fashion.

Volunteers in 2019

Our Jammers have been a Revelation!

Having said all that, working on the structure in this episodic manner has been a blast – not only because I have developed skills I never thought I’d need (rope-work, lime mortar mixing and scaffolding), but we have been introduced to some of the loveliest heritage fanatics – sorry, jammers – one could ever hope to meet (Brian, Lindy, Richard and Holly, I am looking at you!!).

With help from volunteers from SPAB and Historic Scotland during weekends either side of each sessions, we think we may even get a shot at repointing the ‘softer’ north face of the bridge (sounds like North Face of the Eiger doesn’t it?). This will then leave the main arch and the bottoms of the stanchions for 2022 – although whether we will have to engage a professional team for this as well, we are not sure. However we progress though, we wouldn’t have managed to get so far with the bridge without our volunteers!

… and the Castle!

But of course for 2021, the bridge isn’t the only story, and in the livestream I showed our jammers (and some Lairds and Ladies) into the main turret of the castle. This 4m circular tower was designed to be capped by a huge candle-snuffer conical slate roof, and the project for next year will be to repair the apertures, consolidate the doorways and, perhaps, work on the circular parapet at the top of the tower. I am hopeful that by the time the jammers get to it, we will have floors and temporary stairs all the way up the inside of the turret! Should make for a really memorable project!

Both Eland and Nigel are lined up to come back – and looking forward to meeting lots of new faces (and some familiar ones too!) And we are also back at the very popular HomeFarm Cottages with all of our preferred apartments.

I’ll be running the excursions again (because I really enjoyed them last time) and Anne and Sadie will be on hand to make sure you are all fed and I don’t eat more than my fair share.

For more details on the ScottishLaird project please click here.

For more details on Adventures in Preservation, please click here.

Dunans Steading: A deteriorating, neglected, historic building

We’re working very hard at Dunans, restoring and protecting Castle and Bridge – the castle is a B-listed structure, and the bridge is A-listed. If you have been following my posts you’ll know about our Conservation Plan for Dunans, and how we are moving from feasibility work, through design and investigatory works towards consent.

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Published in April 2014, our Conservation Plan

Associated with the site there are several other historic structures. One is the C-listed Fletcher Mausoleum: this building is the only one remaining in Fletcher ownership – which is entirely appropriate. Another is the old steading to the North-east of the castle, known as Dunans Steading – a building sold apart from the Castle in 1999.

19th Century Map showing Dunans Sawmill / Steadings, North-east of Dunans Castle and linked by a drive. This building is now in a parcel of land called Ashton Woods and Plantings
A 19th Century map showing spatial relation between bridge (top left), castle (bottom middle) and steading (top right)

Built at around the same time as the bridge was built it is believed the Steading was used as accommodation for the workforce who worked on the A-listed structure. Over the subsequent years this courtyard of buildings was utilised variously by the Fletchers as: mill for the timber needed to construct the castle; estate office, running the 40,000 acre estate; stables; hay barn; vehicle storage and general workshop space.

In the mid-2000s an application was submitted which the local authority insisted was accompanied by an application for Listed Building Consent. This Listed Building application was acknowledgement of the very particular place the building plays at Dunans. Not only does it stand in the historic policies of Dunans Castle, and has a direct functional purpose for the castle, but also the only access to it, is Dunans Bridge. This fact of access means that any use the owners of the Steadings make of the bridge has to be cognisant of the listed status of the bridge, the involvement of Historic Scotland and the Dunans Charitable Trust.

The other factor in this story, is the electricity supply to the castle. Originally of course, when both buildings were in the same ownership , the power supply could be routed to the steading and then onto the castle without problem. In fact, when it was installed Colonel Fletcher insisted the meters be sited at the Steading for ease of access by the electricity company, as well as ensuring the privacy of the family and the proximity of the working element of the estate for any queries. A sensible arrangement then.

However, when the Steading was split apart from the castle the meters weren’t similarly split – neither the electricity company or the then owners insisted on this, despite it being a condition of sale. This means then to read our bill – more of which in a subsequent post – I have to venture onto the neighbouring land, and in close proximity to fallen trees, smashed walls and very precarious gable ends pick my way to the meters, prise open the meter door and take the reading. A tri-monthly gauntlet.

The approach to the Sawmill c. 2015. Dunans Sawmill / Steadings, North-east of Dunans Castle and linked by a drive was the main service building to the castle. This building is now in a parcel of land called Ashton Woods and Plantings
The approach to the Steading!

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The meters and the obstructions!

To record the state of things, and the danger to yours truly, this time I took some photos, and was inspired to write this post when I saw the results – a building in desperate need. The owners have refused us contact details (we believe they are based down in Kent), are not contactable through their agents, have not been onsite to our knowledge for over 2 years, will not talk to us, the owners of their sole access to their building. This is difficult when, as you’ll know, we are presently putting together an application to funders for of the restoration of the A-listed bridge – ie. £750K.

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Work on the bridge, Summer 2014

What is particularly galling is that both the steading and the bridge need work now, and therefore we need to have a reasonable dialogue with the owners about their usage of the bridge to enable work on the Steading and what their contribution will be to the restoration of the bridge.

That conversation is needed because until we have it, forward movement on either project will prove very difficult.

Here’re some more images of the problems …

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Progress on the Bridge! We’re devising applications to Historic Scotland and Heritage Lottery Fund this week to effect its repair and restoration.

bigbridgeThe next stage in our progress to restoring Dunans, notwithstanding the ongoing consultation on our Conservation Plan, is putting in place the funds for the repair of the bridge. Today I have been working on the application to Historic Scotland on behalf of the Dunans Charitable Trust. I’ve now worked through the entire online form (excerpt attached to this post) and I am beginning the process of making the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund while I await feedback. Necessarily this is a detailed process, but the work that Robin Kent and David Narro associates have put in on the Conservation Plan and Indicative Costings make the whole process much less onerous than I thought it would be.

Once we have finalised the application we’ll be publishing the submitted form (less confidential material) on the Dunans Charitable Trust website here.

First Stage of Consultation Complete: the draft Conservation Plan for Dunans is now with A&B and Historic Scotland

Really very exciting. We even have a reference number from the council now for this pre-planning stage. Of course now the hard work starts – consulting with the community council and the development trust, who are sure to be our fiercest critics!

 

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