Ruskin Lane Consulting Autumn 2013 | Page 6

NEWSROUND

The Whithorn Trust

accompanied and informed the
tercentenary exhibition of that
year; he taught part of Edinburgh
University’s building conservation
course; and, most recently and even
further to his diagnosis, he was
working on a book on Scotland’s
national monuments which Yale
University Press had encouraged
him to develop.
John knew a vast amount about
Scottish architectural history, not
just concerning ‘architecture’ in the
narrow sense but also embracing
the wider historical and sociopolitical-economic context. He well
knew the meaning of academic
rigour including, above all, how to
weigh up source materials as
potentially usable evidence. His
knowledge of mainstream
documentary history was
impressive and provided the widest
contextual framework for the local
and regional studies in which he
excelled.
John was one of the most
generous, modest, brightest,
funniest and helpful of people,
shrewd and with very good
judgment. His prime physical legacy
is what can now be called the
Buildings of Scotland Gifford
volumes, and he has bequeathed
the rest of us the challenge of
picking up that near-complete task,
and of trying to live up to his own
achievement.
Away from his writing, the
Episcopal Church of Scotland was a
central part of John’s life. He
appreciated his appointment as
MBE in 2005, and was honoured
with an award of honorary
membership of the RIAS earlier
this year.
John retained a strong affection
for Angus, the county that is home
to his mother’s family. Whilst visiting
family in Angus his condition
suddenly deteriorated, and John
was admitted into Ninewells
Hospital in Dundee. As various
options were considered, John
made it clear he would be happy to
die there, as he did, in the company
of his partner, David Bassett, and his
youngest brother, Andrew Gifford,
having received the last rites of the
Church from a local Episcopal
priest.

Whithorn Pilgrims Way, St. Ninians Chapel, Isle of Whithorn. Image © Scott Wham

hithorn Trust was
established in 1986, and
carried out two phases of
major archaeological
excavations on the site of the ecclesiastical
settlement associated with St Ninian. The
collection of artefacts, dating from
c.450AD to the present day, is used with
interpretative displays in the Whithorn
Story exhibition, to tell the chronological
development of the settlement. The
relationship with other early Christian
sites in the area is also explained. The
reinstated excavation site, maintained by
the Whithorn Trust as part of the visitor
experience, now comprises part of the
Scheduled Ancient Monument of
Whithorn Priory.
'Whithorn and St. Ninian: The
Excavation of a Monastic Town', published
in 1997, represented 11 years of research
by the Whithorn Trust, and established
Whithorn as a site of international
significance with unique archaeological
potential. The centre in Whithorn now
holds an accredited museum, temporary
exhibition space, tearoom and shop.
Skilled staff provide a warm welcome and
additional visitor services, including guided
tours of the exhibition space, priory ruins
and dig site as well as information about
the area more generally.
Recently, due to reorganisation of the

W

Miles Glendinning, Aonghus
MacKechnie & Diane Watters.

6I

THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND

I

AUTUMN 2013

Council, core funding has been reduced to
the extent that Trustees had to consider
closure. The potential loss of the Trust, and
its wide range of activities, has been
described as a disaster for the area.
Throughout its existence, the Centre has
provided a cultural and community hub at
the heart of the town. In its activities, it
has worked with local people, community
groups, businesses, schools and other
heritage organisations to explore and
strengthen people's links with their
heritage. It nurtures a sense of local
identity, improves visitors’ experiences and
supports the local economy. Benefits also
accrue in the wider region and at nation
level, since the heritage of Whithorn is
demonstrably of significance given its role
in shaping the history of Scotland.
The Trustees are now applying for
funding to enable them, through a period
of transition, to review operations,
investigate new funding streams, widen
and increase the audience base with
innovative use of new technologies,
develop a new service offering to better
promote the area thus bringing and
retaining more visitors, and finally to
restructure the organisation to become
more sustainable in the future.

Janet Butterworth, Project Manager
for The Whithorn Trust