St Peter's College (Cardross)

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St Peter's College living area, 2005
Indoor
View of the prayer areas

The St Peter's College , and St Peter's Seminary , is a former Roman Catholic seminary near the Scottish city of Cardross . It is located a few hundred meters northeast of the city in a small wood. In 1992, St Peter's College was included in the Scottish Monument Lists in the highest category A.

The architecture firm Gillespie, Kidd & Coia was responsible for planning the building . In particular, the architects Isi Metzstein and Andy MacMillan were involved in the project. Architecturally, the seminar shows features of modernity and brutalism and is based on the design of the Sainte-Marie de la Tourette monastery by Le Corbusier . After completion, it was considered one of the most modern buildings and in 1967 it was awarded the coveted architecture prize of the Royal Institute of British Architects .

history

The submitted design for the construction of the new seminary was accepted in 1958 and construction finally began in 1961. In 1966 the building was completed and seminars started. After only twelve years of use, St Peter's College was closed again in 1978 and was subsequently empty. Parts of the surrounding lands were sold to a golf club, which set up a golf course between Cardross and the seminary. Attempts to continue using the building as a hotel or police school failed in the following years. Due to nature conservation requirements, the construction of further buildings to expand the facility for further use was prohibited. In the meantime, a drug rehab facility was housed in the associated Kilmahew House , but it was soon closed again. In 1990, the Archdiocese of Glasgow submitted an application to demolish the building, which was not complied with. At this point St Peter's College was already in a ruinous state. Water had seeped into the building and wooden fixtures were covered with mold.

From 1992 onwards there were reports of vandalism in the facility, which should be stopped by installing safety fences. According to an investigation commissioned by the Archdiocese of Glasgow, the cost of renovating the buildings at that time was £ 5 million. Numerous negotiations initiated in the following years to save the building were fruitless. In May 1994, Kilmahew House was destroyed in a fire, from which the seminar buildings emerged largely unscathed. As a result, Kilmahew House was demolished in 1995. In 2005, St Peter's College was voted the most influential modern building in Scotland, and in 2007 it was included in the list of the world's 100 most endangered buildings by the World Monuments Fund . In the following years, the ruinous condition and the ever-advancing deterioration of the complex were pointed out several times. All wooden and glass fixtures were reportedly destroyed in 2008. After the negotiations to save the building gradually became more concrete at the end of the 2000s, the condition deteriorated again in 2009 as a result of arson. This also affected the roof in the prayer area, which eventually partially collapsed. In 2011, a nonprofit announced that it would provide £ 100,000 and raise another £ 2 million by 2013. In 2012, Historic Scotland committed £ 500,000.

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Listed Building - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
  2. a b Entry on St Peter's College  in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
  3. a b entry on buildingsatrisk.org.uk

Web links

Commons : St Peter's College  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 55 ° 58 ′ 13.1 ″  N , 4 ° 38 ′ 26 ″  W.