St Peters Seminary : Architecture Information

Location: just north of Cardross, nr Helensburgh Architects: Gillespie Kidd & Coia Date built: 1958-66/8; closed 1980 St Peter's College was founded in 1874 as a seminary for the Western District at Partickhill, Glasgow. Scotland's Shame photos © Neale Smith Latest photos of the destruction of what is widely believed to be Scotland's best building of the 20th century. Images by photographer Neale Smith. 26 Aug photos © Neale Smith "the current estates department in the Church have brought this once beautiful building to its knees." St. Peter¹s Building Preservation Trust "The months and years go by yet nothing concrete is done to help this building. It is time the Scottish Government step in to arrest the decay". Adrian Welch Space and Light 1972 & Space and Light Revisited 2009 - World Premiere Films by Murray Grigor A two-screen presentation with a live performance of the film score. Cardross Seminary Film Panoramic view of the hall : Cardross Seminary Panorama once loaded, just click + drag the mouse to be able to view all around News Update – Nov 2007: What Next? Various develoments re St Peter’s Seminary in Cardross, regarding the conservation study and potential developers. Avanti Architects have produced a conservation study for the Archdiocese. In recent months Urban Splash have been joined by the Marquess of Bute and now the Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art (ACAVA) in publicly showing interest in developing the crumbling shell of Cardross Seminary. ACAVA are proposing a Scottish Arts Centre whereas Urban Splash have suggested a hotel. Perhaps The Lighthouse's GK&C exhibition has helped galvanise more developers into action? EXPLORING RUINED SAINT PETER'S : YouTube film 5mins News Update – Oct 2007: St Peter’s Hotel? Developer Urban Splash reported to be considering buying St Peter’s Seminary site for conversion into hotel, plus homes, with possibility of architecture competition. Quoted in BD the Archdiocese’s Monsignor Peter Smith said he was sceptical that Urban Splash would deliver: “We have been down so many roads like this before, yet no one has ever been able to make it stack up....We have been in contact with Urban Splash for some time, and no solid proposals have been put to us.” News Update – Jun 2007: World Monument Fund list of the 100 most endangered sites for 2008 includes St Peter’s Seminary, Cardross Cardross - News The aj of 140906 carries an article (pp.28-31) by Andrew Mead with excellent photographs by Christine Sullivan: we hope to carry some response to this in the next few days Cardross Trust - Added Members Early 2006 Letter to Archbishop Conti further down page 2005 Letter to Archbishop Conti at base of this page SCOTLAND'S CREEPIEST BUILDINGS - ST. PETER'S, CARDROSS : YouTube film 3.10mins The Seminary moved to Cardross in 1966 but is currently back in Glasgow. Cardross Seminary is listed - Grade A - and was commissioned by the Archbishop of Glasgow in 1958. image from St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust Cardross Ruin Maintain the status quo, stabilise, reuse or destroy? The Cardross Seminary has featured prominently in recent press and we would suggest dialogue re this issue. Previously I have argued in Prospect for a realistic approach to threatened buildings noting (for example) my love for the romance of Castle Tioram but fully accepting, indeed encouraging its reuse - and thus 'revision' - as a clan base. Cardross Seminary unleashes similar issues [though here the owner seems not to love their building as much] yet I have perceived little debate in the public arena. image from St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust In some ways the Seminary seems to be a forgotten building. Certainly it never featured in my education in Manchester and London though GK&C's Robinson College was frequently evoked and discussed. Glibly, GK&C could become the Mackintosh or Thomson of decades hence, but more seriously many see this building as the 'best' Scottish building of the last century and it is a strong argument. Whatever one's view of this powerful work that evoked Le Corbusier's later (Ronchamp) period [in some ways a similar progression to Corb from the 'soft street' of Robinson to the brutal concrete forms of Cardross] this is an important work for Scottish architecture, and for Scottish architects. The St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust have clearly taken a stance against the developers and rather than dissect this approach it would be constructive to open it up to readers of this site for dialogue ie e-mails, letters: info@glasgowarchitecture.co.uk. My view is simply that the 'big deal' has already occurred ie Cardross is so ruined, of such a specific type and style, and in what could be called a peripheral location, that the time for really saving it is well past. The key issues for me are the 'building's path to ruination' and 'how to enshrine into law a formula that forces owners to try to work with parties that may take on a property', ie to oblige an offer to the market when an owner finds their building no longer affordable / fit for purpose / of use. That way no-one has an excuse and groups can work to raise money when sentiment is strong enough, as it is in this case. image from St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust I feel there is a general consensus that the UK listing system (not specifically Scottish) doesn't work so well, with anything from suspicious fires to flagrant demolitions meaning a listing can ultimately become worthless. Owners feel threatened by the huge costs of upkeep or restoration, but forced to the market we could save some key buildings instead of having to launch incessant save this and save that campaigns. Owners too would be more open about talking to specialist architecture groups and interests without the threat that they may seek to control their property in some way. As it is, Cardross is a fading memory and I suggest we should look forwards to creating bold architecture for today, whilst occasionally enjoying the dank remains of this seminal work. What do you feel? e-mails to info@glasgowarchitecture.co.uk image from St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust Related Issue: Castle Tioram Historic Scotland has closed the ruinous Castle Tioram, Ardnamurchan, for safety reasons. The owner of Castle Tioram in Moidart, Lex Brown, wishes to restore it and live there, but Historic Scotland favour the building being conserved as a ruin. The castle is reportedly requiring around £25m of work to save it. image from St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust Cardross Seminary - Letter: An Open Letter To The Most Reverend Mario Joseph Conti, Archbishop of Glasgow Your Grace, The St Peters Seminary Building Preservation Trust has taken the unprecedented step of securing your property, St. Peter's Seminary in Cardross. We have repaired the fence around the Seminary in order to protect one of Scotland¹s great cultural assets and because you seem unable to care for the building. The Seminary was built by the Church in the Sixties as part of its post-war expansion. You may be aware that it is considered to be the best modern building built in Scotland since the war and a monument to both the skill of its architects Gillespie, Kidd and Coia, as well as the vision of the Church that commissioned it. What you are perhaps less aware of is that it is now falling to pieces. This winter a large section of the roof collapsed. Vandals have seriously damaged a major portion of the convent building and the church altar. Repeated vandalism, in addition to rain damage, means that the Seminary is on its last legs. If nothing is done to the building this year, it will be lost to the nation. Since the Trust was formed at the beginning of 2004, the expertise it has offered has been ignored and it has been forced to watch as the current estates department in the Church have brought this once beautiful building to its knees. Your latest planning application and your previous application to build house beside the seminary and to turn the building into a consolidated ruin have been rejected by Historic Scotland and now languishes in the planning department. It seems that you are now faced with two options; to wait until the building collapses or to give the site to an organisation such as our trust that wants to save the Seminary. We have consistently tried to find alternative uses for the building. In 2004 the Trust approached the producers of the TV programme Restoration. The BBC expressed a clear interesting in the seminary, identifying it as one of the strongest contenders for last years¹ £3million prize, but the Archdiocese rejected the Restoration team¹s approach to feature the building. We are not sure why. Those within the Archdiocese that we have spoken to so far do not understand how pressed we are for time. Your grace, we believe that the Seminary is a great should be saved for Scotland and it is has become clear to us that the Church is not able to protect it. We have asked Historic Scotland, who listed the building initially, to persuade you that you won¹t realise the value of the land through the normal commercial process and we ask you to give the Seminary to people who can care for it before it is too late. Yours sincerely, The St. Peter¹s Building Preservation Trust. This letter was sent to the Archbishop of Glasgow on January 30 on behalf of the St. Peter¹s Building Preservation Trust. If you would like more information on the campaign please contact Penny Lewis on 07817 825849 or Tim Abrahams on 07796 266022. St. Peter¹s Seminary was listed Grade A by Historic Scotland in 1992, signifying that it was deemed to be of international importance. It was voted Scotland¹s greatest building since the war in 2005 as part of an exhibition at the Scottish Design Show. The St. Peter¹s Building Preservation Trust was established in 2002, with the intention of preserving the building for the benefit of the entire nation. St Peters Seminary : Letters Cardross Seminary article in full History of Cardross Seminary The College was designed by Isi Metzstein and Andy McMillan, who ran Gillespie Kidd & Coia Architects, and who have held key teaching roles in the last few decades and remain absolutely key members of the Scottish architecture scene / establishment. Gillespie Kidd & Coia Architects were famous for designing the radical, brick Robinson College, Cambridge complete with 'internal street'. GK+C's St Peter's College Seminary, Cardross may feature in the 2nd series of restoration, 2004. image from St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust After years of attempts to 'save' Cardross Seminary in 2003-2004 a developer (Classical House) came up with proposals for housing in the grounds and some form of stabilisation of the ruined St. Peter's College. The AJ (mid-Oct 2004) reported that Classical House was threatening legal action, after the St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust and the Twentieth Century Society publicly expressed concerns about the application. This Archdiocese planning application was to build 28 houses. St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust is made up of John Deffenbaugh with photographer Dan Dubowitz and Prospect editor Penny Lewis. image from St. Peter's Building Preservation Trust Glasgow Herald Article re Cardross Seminary: www.theherald.co.uk/features/28164-print.shtml Links for St Peter's College: www.hiddenglasgow.com/StPeters www.daviesscoll.u-net.com/joc/peter/peter.htm Selected Buildings by gillespie kidd & coia:- buchanan st, 85 - 1970 cardross seminary - 1958-66 our lady & st francis school, 58-60 Charlotte St - 1964 our lady of good counsel, craigpark st - 1966 st anne's roman catholic church, whitevale st - 1931 st charles rc church - 1960 st columba, hopehill rd - 1937 king's park secondary school Cardross won the RIBA Architecture Award, 1967 Scottish Architecture: best scottish buildings of the last three decades Cardross Trust - Added Members The board has been expanded to include Gordon Murray, Gordon Gibb, and Tim Abrahams, bringing a range of expertise and experience. Very good news is that Historic Scotland have responded to the archdiocese planning application, stating that they cannot support it and basically endorsing what the Trust has been saying all along, that their work is not in the long term interests of the buildings.