Delight as Meadowside St Paul's Church spire project completed
The congregation of a prominent church in Dundee city centre are celebrating the completion of a three-year, £400,000 restoration project at the B-listed building.
Morag Stalker, Rev Maudeen MacDougall and Margaret Adamson at the top of the scaffold.
- By Andrew Argo
- Published in the Courier : 25.05.11
- Published online : 25.05.11 @ 09.22am
Work to repair the spire of Meadowside St Paul's Church in Nethergate has involved replacing more than 200 stones — all from the same area as the original building material when the church was built in 1852 — as well as five carved stone finials.
The need for restoration first became apparent when masonry fell from the 150-foot steeple. Emergency repairs were made in 2008, with further work in 2009.
The General Trustees of the Church of Scotland, who also made a financial contribution to the project, recommended appointing a conservation architect to supervise the restoration to ensure the church would be fit for purpose for the next 150 years.
The project also received £167,000 from Historic Scotland and £108,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The congregation pitched in with fund-raising ventures and money was also raised from several bodies, individuals and businesses, including the Baird Trust, the Ferguson Bequest Fund, the Scottish Churches Architectural Heritage Trust and the Dalrymple Donaldson Trust.
Work on the spire began in August 2010, guided by Arc Architects, of Cupar, with Stone Engineering, Livingston, doing the main repairs.
The project was due to be completed by Christmas but November's bad weather delayed completion until now.
"In a church with no barrier to anyone, everyone was especially happy when the scaffolding came down," a spokesman said. "The two shops that are part of the church buildings now have tenants, creating an added liveliness.
"With the final replacement stone in place and the scaffolding gone, Meadowside St Paul's is now able to continue in full its vibrant mission. To this end the kirk session and the minister, the Rev Maureen MacDougall, have begun a fresh programme of outreach and hospitality."
The church is open very Wednesday at lunchtime for prayer and meditation and at 11 am each Sunday, he added.
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