Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Woodworm infestation woe to be tackled at historic church

Brechin Cathedral will be closed after 800 years.
Brechin Cathedral will be closed after 800 years.

Troubled Brechin Cathedral has suffered a woodworm infestation in the bell tower.

An application has now been lodged with Angus Council to repair the timber following a fundraising drive.

The bearing ends of the timber beams in the upper bell tower chamber are decayed due to a wet rot and it is proposed to replace them using steel rods and resin.

The timbers have also been affected with a heavy woodworm infestation and there are sections of decay along the lengths of the beams.

Session clerk Douglas Taylor beside some of the vandalism on Brechin Cathedral following an attack in February.

There are also signs of deflections in these beams and it is proposed to strengthen the beams by creating a groove along the top surface and filling it with steel reinforcement and resin.

After the resin has set, all surfaces are to be treated with a fungicidal paste.

Some of the joist ends in the lower tower level would also be replaced where necessary following decay.

All joist ends will also be drilled to check on their condition and treated with a fungicidal paste where they are found to be in sound condition.

A Church of Scotland spokeswoman said: “An inspection of Brechin Cathedral in 2017 brought to light a woodworm problem and some timber decay in the bell tower.

“The Friends of Brechin Cathedral have agreed to fund the repairs which will cost in the region of £10,000.

“The congregation and the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland are very appreciative of their generous support for the Cathedral building.”

At bell tower level the top boom members where they are in contact with the stonework bear signs of a wet rot attack.

Some softness was discovered in a small section of the bottom boom bearing ends and it is proposed to drill additional holes and inject a fungicidal paste.

A new oak section will also be fitted across the window above the bearing ends of the top booms which are showing signs of decay.

The financial position, along with a continuing decline in attendance and the departure of the minister, has prompted talks to seek a union with Gardner Memorial Church.

Brechin owes its origins to the medieval cathedral, which is the oldest building in the burgh, and the Celtic monastery which preceded it.

The building itself is to celebrate its 800th anniversary in 2020 and the oldest part of the cathedral is the Pictish round tower which is about 1,000 years old.

Last September, CCTV footage emerged showing youngsters using the building as a playground, ripping down church notices and setting fire to them, as well as running over pews and using a hymn book as a frisbee.

In February this year, vandals scratched a hate-filled, anti-religious message on the walls.