The Hidden Glasgow Forums

Why won't Glasgow City Council get rid of all the black 'soot' that covers the cathedral ? Is it lack of money ?

I'd guess it was decided it would damage the stonework too much.

Ruglen wrote:Why won't Glasgow City Council get rid of all the black 'soot' that covers the cathedral ? Is it lack of money ?

I'm not sure it would be the councils responsibility - surely it would be the church of scotlands responsibility or historic scotland?

yoker brian wrote:

Ruglen wrote:Why won't Glasgow City Council get rid of all the black 'soot' that covers the cathedral ? Is it lack of money ?

I'm not sure it would be the councils responsibility - surely it would be the church of scotlands responsibility or historic scotland?

Brian that's not the sort of helpful welcome I would wish to give a newcomer from a former Glasgow suburb. Well done.

For your general amusement:





I couldn't quite work out what they're doing up there - it's stonework-related, definitely, but not much seems to have been replaced yet.

Dexter St. Clair wrote:

yoker brian wrote:

Ruglen wrote:Why won't Glasgow City Council get rid of all the black 'soot' that covers the cathedral ? Is it lack of money ?

I'm not sure it would be the councils responsibility - surely it would be the church of scotlands responsibility or historic scotland?

Brian that's not the sort of helpful welcome I would wish to give a newcomer from a former Glasgow suburb. Well done.

Sorry Dexter, i forgot you were in charge of the welcoming committee

Hi Ruglen & welcome to Hidden Glasgow ,

Ruglen wrote:Why won't Glasgow City Council get rid of all the black 'soot' that covers the cathedral ? Is it lack of money ?

I am surprised the council have'nt got rid of the Cathedral !

johnnyanglia wrote:

Ruglen wrote:Why won't Glasgow City Council get rid of all the black 'soot' that covers the cathedral ? Is it lack of money ?

I am surprised the council have'nt got rid of the Cathedral !

You may care to recall that the Council rescued the nearby monstrosity that is the now the Museum of Religious Studies after all the capitalists that sat on the Church of Scotland board of responsibility fucked up their plans for a Christian touris base for the Cathedral.

I didn't know that, Dex. Do you have (or have a link to) more details?

Josef wrote:I didn't know that, Dex. Do you have (or have a link to) more details?

I was pissed off with the decision at the time and am still pissed off with it. You don't seriously think the council paid for that design and had it constructed during a period of restrictions in council spending.

If anyone can do a better google search than I did I'd appreciate it but that's how the museum of religious studies came about. If not I'll phone Mark O'Neill.

This is an old building we are talking about and it has taken many,many years of weathering to reach this condition. It would look terrible cleaned and probably out of place. Besides, many of these cleaning operations go wrong and damage can occur.

I'm sure they said the same about Wells Cathedral in Somerset until his carbuncleness stepped in and had the place refurbished. I'll dig the photos out.

As for damage, these places have full-time masons to keep them in good repair.

Some of these cathedrals were actually painted in bright colours originally rather than left in the natural stone finish that we're used to.

Pity that museum isn't used for Old Glasgow stuff, rather than the junk which which it is stocked at present. The cathedral fabric was the responsibility of the Ministry of Works, whatever that's called today.
I had a look for a monument to the two Reformation martyrs, Franciscan friars, burned alive by order of Archbishop Dunbar at the east end of the building, above the Molindinar. Couldn't find anything at all, anybody with info'.

[puts on archaeology hat]
Right folks
Ms Brigir doon is right the cathederal was possibly painted - medieval people couldnt read so bright pictures were important also common people couldn't afford bright coloured paint (as it was expensive to make) so it was a sign of status to have a painted building. - this is why purple is associated with royalty as it was the most expensive colour to make.

The fabric of the cathederal is cared for by Historic scotland and I suspect that part of the reason for the scaffolding is to check the fabric of the building. Removing soot is an option but stone types like sandstone have a strong crust with a delecate inner core, kind of like a loaf of bred, once you damage / remove the crust the inner core deteriorates quicker than otherwise.

[/takes off archaeology hat]

Mr Sam

The programme of replacing worn-out stone has been going on for years, now moved to the west front where the two towers were removed in Victorian times. Question is, where did the stone for the cathedral come from, the local stone on the Necropolis, is dolerite which is unsuitable for fine work. The Giffnock sandstone would be the obvious answer, using water transport where possible, anybody got the answer?
Huggy.