Abbey works get started as landmark gets makeover

Work on restoring one of North Ayrshire’s most beautiful and iconic landmarks started this month.

Glasgow-based CBC Stone are carrying out the £435,000 fabric improvements on Kilwinning Abbey, with work – which is weather-dependent – expected to take a number of months.

The works will preserve its heritage - and enhance the experience for locals and tourists who visit and are essential to ensure its long-term conservation. These include building fabric repairs and improvements that will ensure water ingress is prevented. Lost features will also be reinstated, and a range of other improvements will be carried out to preserve the asset and enhance the visitor experience throughout the building.

The restoration works at Kilwinning Abbey Tower are being supported through a blend of investment from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme, Crown Estate Scotland and North Ayrshire Council, maximising external funding to safeguard and preserve this important heritage asset for future generations.

Kilwinning Abbey Tower was built in 1816 on the site of one of the original medieval towers that were part of Kilwinning Abbey. It still contains the original clock mechanism from 1816.

Conservation Architects Wylie Shanks Architects prepared the tender information with input from North Ayrshire Council and Kilwinning Heritage – and CBC Stone were appointed to undertake the fabric improvements.

The works follow a charette, undertaken in 2019, which identified Kilwinning Abbey, the Tower and surrounding grounds as of key local importance.

Following the global pandemic, the Kilwinning Place Framework was prepared, drawing upon extensive community and stakeholder engagement involving local residents, businesses, community organisations and relevant Services from across North Ayrshire Council.

This informed a set of priorities and actions – through which enhancing the Kilwinning Abbey Tower was identified as a priority.

Within Kilwinning Abbey Tower there is a Heritage Centre run by the volunteers from Kilwinning Heritage, telling the history of Kilwinning and the surrounding area. Volunteers will accompany visitors up the 143 spiral steps, visiting the original clock mechanism and the clock’s bells, before arriving at the roof, which gives stunning views across to the Ayrshire coastline.

Please keep an eye on social media posts by Kilwinning Heritage and North Ayrshire Heritage and Cultural Services, where we will keep you up to date with the progress.