Conservation Corner Update: September 2024

These past few months have seen some wonderful discoveries and great strides in saving Bannockburn House, but the hard path we have ahead has also come into sharp focus.

The major issue that has caused many of the house’s problems is the various roofs. It is the most time-consuming, resource-intensive, and financially problematic issue the Trust faces in saving the house and surrounding buildings.

The Roof’s Historical Significance

The roof is thought to be between 350-400 years old. Every slate is attached with a hand-hewn wooden peg, and there are carvings and layers of history on every beam and in every corner. The roof’s main issues are at the joins such as dormers, gable ends, chimneys, and valleys.

Current Restoration Efforts

In the past month, the board approved the start of works to begin addressing these issues, starting with areas affecting our ornate plasterwork first. The south and east elevations are worst affected and nearest the plasterwork, so we are starting with the southern dormers, SE gable end, west central chimney, gutters, and NW corner.

The Dormers and Unique Carvings

The dormers of the house have carved stone pediments. The carvings on the pediments are like those on other 17th-century Scottish country houses, but they have special symbols at their peaks. These are thought to be stylized representations of flower stigma and stamens.

 The Team Behind the Restoration and Scientific Studies and Documentation

Responsible for over 500 conservation projects, leading conservation project manager and heritage consultant, John Sanders, will be working with us to conserve and restore this important part of Scotland’s history. For phase 1 of the roof project, we have engaged a team of professionals from local contractor Old Plean Roofing.

According to our conservation management plan, starting with the dormers, each layer must be documented and studied as we remove old materials that are no longer functional and restore them with matching replacements. We’ll be doing dendrochronology and petrography to learn more about the phases of building construction.

Saving the Plasterwork

Aside from the roof, the other priority project is saving our plasterwork. Thought to be the work of Houlbert and Dunsterfield, the “Blue Room” ceiling likely dates from 1675-1685. To prevent the ceiling from falling, we have installed an emergency propping structure designed by 17th-century plasterwork expert Dr. William Napier and Steve Wood, a structural and conservation engineer.

This has led to the discovery of “Scotland’s oldest lemon,” a lemon rind likely 200 or more years old. Stay tuned for more fascinating news and updates as we unravel the story of Bannockburn House.

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Text and image by Catherine Bradley.