The ruin of St Peter's College has sat on a wooded hilltop above the village of Cardross for more than three decades. Over that time, with altars crumbling, graffiti snaking across its walls and nature reclaiming its concrete, it has gained a mythical, cult-like status among architects, preservationists and artists.

St Peter's only fulfilled its original role as a seminary for 14 years, from 1966 to 1979. As its uncompromising design gave way to prolonged construction and problematic upkeep, the Catholic Church reassessed the role of seminaries, resolving to embed trainee priests not in seclusion, but in communities. Although briefly repurposed as a drug rehabilitation centre, the building was soon abandoned to decay and vandalism.

Ever since, people have argued and puzzled over the future and importance of St Peter's. It has been called both Scotland's best and worst twentieth century building. In 1992, it was listed category A. One of its architects suggested the idea of 'everything being stripped away except the concrete itself - a purely romantic conception of the building as beautiful ruin'. And now in 2016, St Peter's is renewed as a cultural space through the work of the arts organisation NVA.

In this landmark book, Diane Watters looks at the history of a structure that emerged out of an innovative phase of post-war Catholic church building. She traces the story of an architectural failure which morphed into a tragic modernist myth: unappreciated architects betrayed by an unloving client, and abandoned by an uncaring society. This is a historian's account of the real story of St Peter's College: an exploration of how one of Scotland's most singular buildings became one its most troubled - and most celebrated.

About the Author

Diane M Watters is an architectural historian at Historic Environment Scotland and teaches at the University of Edinburgh. A specialist in nineteenth and twentieth century architecture and conservation in Scotland, she has undertaken a succession of research based publications and is currently researching the history of Edinburgh's school architecture.

Angus Farquhar has been Creative Director of Glasgow based NVA - one of the UK's most noted independent public arts organisations - since its inception in 1992.

Reviews

'Vast and visually stunning ... the brilliance of this work is in treating the building almost as a sentient being'

* The Skinny *

'The book itself is beautiful, well written and researched and packed with gorgeous photographs and drawings ... a fascinating and detailed history'

* RIAS Quarterly *

'... little short of a masterpiece'

* Undiscovered Scotland *



Book Information
ISBN 9781849172233
Author Diane M Watters
Format Hardback
Page Count 320
Imprint Historic Environment Scotland
Publisher Historic Environment Scotland
Weight(grams) 2145g
Dimensions(mm) 300mm * 270mm * 25mm