Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart, Edinburgh
A.M.D.G.
RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION OF THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Overview of the Project by the Parish Secretary - April 2000
During the recent repair works to the exterior of the Church, the deteriorating condition of the Stations of the Cross was brought to light and it was proposed that a Heritage Lottery Grant might be available.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained and on 5th August 1998, an application was compiled and submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
To be honest, at that time, it was felt that possibly there would not be enough interest on their part and we would hear no more about it. After experts from the National Galleries of Scotland and the Heritage Lottery Fund, however, had come to view our Stations of the Cross, to our surprise and delight, a phone call was received from the HL T on 3 March 1999 to announce their assistance of a 74.99% grant for the five worst affected Stations and in principle 50% for the other nine.
The anticipated cost of the whole Project was originally £213,850 (£15,275 for each Station) which necessitated working on only one painting in 1999, to have it ready for the Millennium, and to prove that the anticipated costs were justified. (Restoration of this fIrst painting was referred to as ' the Pilot Project'). On these costs, and to prove to the HLT that we were worthy to receive funding, matched funds had to be met by ourselves in the region of £90,000 (£6,500 per Station), the HLT pledging £125,900.
At this point, this exciting Project was seriously taken on board and plans were laid for immediate fund raising which were ready for launching at the end of July 1999.
These initial fund raising ideas consisted of :
This was deemed sufficient initially, in order to see what kind of response would be forthcoming, as there was full realisation of the constant call for people's generosity for other priorities.
In some respects this has been encouraging though there is one curious aspect. Having placed over 800 envelopes near our Presentation in the foyer, and having had returned only 75, one might wonder where the other 725 have disappeared to!!!
The 'Pilot Project' revealed for Clare Meredith and her Restoration team many unsuspected difficulties, the technical details of which I will not go into here, though there is full documentation of every stage of the operation in the Office, and is available for inspection at any time. The 'Pilot Project' was also given a fair amount of publicity which will continue into the next stages of the full Restoration.
It is worth mentioning at this point in the Report that when the paintings were executed in 1870-1873 the funds were met by individuals and by families in their love and their dedication to this Church.
The following is an extract from archival material "Fifty Years 1858-1910."
STATIONS OF THE CROSS DONORS
- A distant friend of the Fathers SJ in Lancashire and reads James Lomax Esq and Catherine his wife.
- The peoples' memorial of gratitude to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the Mission of 1873. This Mission was given by the local Fathers viz FF Williams, R Cardwell, A Pearson and A Law SJ.
- Aeneas R Macdonell and Catherine his wife in thanksgiving,
- In memory of Robert Campbell of Skerrington.
- Family of Mary Macteman in her memory.
- In remembrance of FF T Williams and R Caldwell SJ
- Heart of Jesus, bless the men of Edinburgh who gave this Station unto thee.
- Gift from the women of Edinburgh to thy most loving Heart, Jesus.
- James McIver and his wife Catherine.
- In memory of departed ones and as a tribute of gratitude. A O Keefe and P M Cambridge.
- Edward Tansley, his wife and family.
- Angus Fletcher in memory of one much loved and mourned.
- The Men's Guild as a token of love.
14. 'To the Heart of Jesus; from the Fathers who have served this Church'
"The cheque to the Father Provincial SJ of £55 for the last Station and an entry of £50 sent by Mr Angus Fletcher suggests that the £40 apiece was hardly the total cost.".
"It needed courage to project and execute fourteen Stations in the scale of over £40 apiece?". (in 130 years costs have risen! ! !)
Having reached almost half of our target in less than one year, the signs are good, but indeed it does need courage, commitment and determination to tackle any Project of this size. If you have not already donated you might feel encouraged to do so now. If you prefer you might like to consider a Standing Order which helps to spread the burden of the cost of any giving if indeed it is considered a burden.
Due to the generosity of a deceased parishioner in the form of a legacy, a percentage ofwhich being assigned to the Stations, our total has increased considerably.
One sometimes defers ever thinking of wills and legacies etc for obvious reasons, but you can see just how beneficial they can be. Have you ever considered this? You can obtain details from the Parish Office where all enquiries are treated with the utmost confidentiality .
The Heritage Lottery Fund have again been approached for additional funding both for the slightly increased costs of the 'Pilot Project' and for the continuation of the next stage, that of the Restoration of Stations 1,4,5 and 7. We are in the happy position however that we are financed sufficiently to continue with the next 4 Stations, two of which you can see have now been removed from the Church , and are in the process of restoration. It is important to note therefore that we must have sufficient funds in place to be able to continue the process of our programme, ie the Restoration of the next 4 in the year 2001 and finally in 2002 hopefully the remaining five.
Finally the Conservatioo and Restoration of the Stations of the Cross will secure their long term future, preserving the integrity of this fine Church interior and bring pleasure, light and prayerful inspiration to all who worship here.
I trust that the foregoing has been of some assistance, but if you require details on any point whatsoever, please ask at the Office.
Parish Office
April 2000