WORK TO restore the Martyrs’ Monument in St Andrews will be complete in a matter of weeks.
Skilled stonemasons who have been on site at the Scores since August have started the most delicate part of the operation replacing heavily-eroded stones with newly-carved blocks.
Special lifting gear is being brought in to move the huge sandstone slabs into place.
Weather permitting, this stage of the project will be completed before Christmas.
Renewal of the pointing will then be carried out.
Within the last few days, Fife Council planners have given the go-ahead for the final stage of the project, which will see improvements to the area around the monument.
A campaign led by St Andrews Partnership raised £145,000 to pay for the works.
Ray Pead of St Andrews Partnership, who chairs the Martyrs’ Monument working group, said: “It’s exciting for everyone concerned to know that the end of the project is almost in sight.
“But we haven’t set a firm date for completion.
“For one thing, the winter weather could conspire against us, but more importantly, we want to ensure that the last stages of the project are delivered to a high standard.
“For that reason, we’re not going to rush to the finish line just to meet an arbitrary deadline.
“The monument is 170 years old and we feel it will not mind waiting for a few more weeks until it is unveiled again.”
A public ceremony will be held to mark the completion of the restoration.
This is likely to take place in March.
The monument was built in 1842-3 to commemorate four leading Protestant figures who were martyred in St Andrews between 1520 and 1560, and highlights the important role the town played in the Reformation.
Erosion caused by the weather, environmental pollution and salt-laden moisture from the sea has ravaged the locally-quarried sandstone used to construct it.
The remedial works will help prevent further damage to the monument and restore some of its most attractive and interesting features, including inscriptions and ornamental stone carvings.
arobertson@thecourier.co.uk