Ruskin Lane Consulting Spring 2014 | Page 7

NEWSROUND NEWSROUND Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund launched New Kilpatrick Parish Church war memorial prior to commencement of the conservation works © Friends of New Kilpatrick Parish Church I n 2014, the nation will mark the centenary of the start of the First World War and war memorials will be a focal point for communities across Scotland. The Centenary Memorials Restoration Fund (CMRF) is a scheme through which the Scottish Government is making £1million available for the repair and conservation of war memorials. Funded by Historic Scotland, and administered by War Memorials Trust, the CMRF is accepting and processing applications for funding. A Conservation Officer based in Edinburgh manages the scheme and provides conservation advice to those making applications. They will promote the fund to communities, local authorities and interested organisations to ensure war memorials across the country benefit from the funding. The fund is expected to operate until March 2018 and is open to war memorials of all types and from any conflict. Conservation and repair are at the heart of the CMRF, and the scheme promotes conservation best practice to ensure that works do not damage war memorials or destroy historic fabric. The fund aims to protect and conserve memorials for centenary commemorations and for many years ahead. 6I In the past, joints have been pointed with cement mortar, and are now cracked or missing which means that water is getting into the memorial. In addition, past repair work to the stone boundary wall is unsightly and starting to fail. The grant of £17,901 will support cleaning and repair work to the stone and bronze elements of the memorial. In addition, existing cement joints will be removed and repointed with a lime mortar, and sensitive repair work will be undertaken to the boundary wall. Another example is the New Kirkpatrick Church war memorial, which has suffered from graffiti, weather erosion (the memorial was originally located outside) and previous unsuitable conservation work. All these factors have led to the decay of the sandstone resulting in the loss of sections of caved stone and fading inscriptions. The grant of £9,107 will help fund repair and stabilisation works to the sandstone, removal of the existing joints and re-pointing using a lime mortar, removal of graffiti and the repainting of the memorial inscriptions. Over time the painted inscription on the Fair Isle war memorial have similarly worn away. This has made the inscription difficult to read. A grant of £448 will support work to repaint the existing inscription. A Second World War inscription will be added to the memorial, this will include the name of L/Corporal Stewart Wilson who died 4th March 1943, aged 29, whilst in action in Tunisia, North Africa. Allana Hughes, Conservation Officer (Scotland) War Memorials Trust Fair Isle war memorial prior to commencement of the conservation works © Shetland Islands Council There has been significant interest in the CMRF and by early 2014, 13 war memorials across Scotland have shared grant offers totalling £126,100. These include Cupar's war memorial, which faces a number of issues. Exposure to weather and pollution has resulted in a build-up of dirt and biological growth on the stone, as well as corrosion of the bronze elements. THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND I SPRING 2014 Completed applications are assessed for grant funding, which is normally up to 75% of the eligible costs to a maximum grant of £30,000. Assessment is carried out in rounds on the following dates each year: 28th February, 31st May, 31st August and 30th November. For more information, contact the War Memorials Trust's Conservation Officer in Scotland on telephone [phone] or email [email protected]. There is comprehensive advice about the CMRF in the Principles and Eligibility Criteria and Guidance Notes which can be found at www.warmemorials.org/grants-scotland. Scotland’s home front heritage revealed A n extensive audit, by RCAHMS and Historic Scotland, has uncovered many previously unknown details of Scotland's First World War heritage. The records of 830 sites and buildings were created or updated, and are now available to view online on the RCAHMS Canmore database. Even the researchers appear to have been caught off guard by the extent of the new discoveries. The project summary notes that the records were “more than double the number expec ted at the outset”. They included 64 air stations, nearly half of which had not previously been listed in Scotland's record of sites. Results of the audit can be viewed at www.rcahms.gov.uk/firstworldwar Inchinnan airship hanger, Renfrewshire Inchinnan was a centre for the manufacture of rigid airships – like the Zeppelin – rather than the non-rigid airships that dominated British military balloon operations. Construction of the vast airship shed was funded by the Admiralty and construction by the Arrol Company began in January 1916, work being completed by September. The shed measured 213m by 46m by 30m high and had large wind-screens at both ends to protect the balloon from crosswinds when emerging from its shed. View of the construction of Inchinnan airship shed in 1916. Courtesy of RCAHMS SC684437 Stobs Castle Camp, Winningtonrig, Scottish Borders This military training camp at Stobs was established in 1902. As contemporary photographs show, the core buildings of the camp were supplemented by large tented encampments as units, delivered to the site by railway to the camp's station, used the training area. The 3rd epoch OS map, surveyed in 1917, shows not only the PoW camp to the north, but also the buildings of the training camp. The map labels the men's hutments (about 14 buildings), a YMCA Institute and a separate officers' mess. The 4th epoch map, surveyed in 1938, shows exactly the same layout of buildings. Modern satellite photography shows that further huts were added to the core of the camp during the Second World War, and also that all the building footings of the core camp survive. Two of the original buildings seem to survive in situ, at NT 50241 09242 and NT 50242 09240. Aerial view centred on Stobs Military Camp and WWI PoW camp, taken from the southwest. Courtesy of RCAHMS DP026883 SPRING 2014 I THE ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND I 7