Kilmorie Chapel, Strathlachlan | Restoration Case Study

Our role: Contractor
Client: Clan MacLachlan Society
Architect: Martin Hadlington
Engineer: Ted Ruddock, Structural Engineer
Award: Bronze, Green Apple Award

Kilmorie Chapel is a Scheduled Ancient Monument of late medieval date and the traditional burial ground of the chiefs of Clan MacLachlan. For the Clan MacLachlan Society we stabilised and consolidated the roofless chapel as found, saving it from collapse.

Before & after

Drag across the image to compare the building before our work and after completion.

Kilmorie Chapel after restoration by LTM Group

BeforeAfter

The challenge

Having lost its roof, the chapel was suffering major structural failure. The gable wall had rotated and detached from the flank walls, openings had collapsed and the walls were buckling. Trees up to 300mm in trunk diameter were growing from the wall heads, their roots prising the masonry apart. The surrounding gravestones also had to be protected throughout.

Our solution

Emergency shoring prevented collapse while vegetation was removed and roots treated. We recorded the fabric, carefully took down and rebuilt affected masonry in lime mortar following the line of root removal, reconstructed door and window rybats, and tied the structure with stainless steel anchors. Wall heads were soft-topped with puddled clay and native turf to protect them for the future.

Outcomes

Saved from collapse

Shoring, tying and rebuilding stabilised a monument at risk of total loss.

Conserved as found

The ruin was consolidated without reconstruction, keeping its character and historic fabric.

Recognised

Bronze Green Apple Award for the built environment.

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