St. Peter’s Seminary is one of the most significant modernist buildings in Scotland and indeed the whole of the UK. It was built in 1966 as a place to train young priests, but was abandoned in 1980 before it was finished after struggling to attract suitable numbers and a change in approach that would see priests learn in the communities they would serve. The building spent time serving as a rehabilitation centre after the church left it. It would then go on to be a power station and gradually fall further into disrepair.
Today the building is a ruin with the majority of its roof destroyed, walls covered in graffiti and vegetation growing in and around it. Pictures from the outside show how far nature has come to reclaiming it but there is still a great deal of charm and grace to be found. People continue to visit St. Peter’s Seminary from all over the world to look at the architecture and sneak a peek inside if they can.
The profile of the property is so that over the years there have been numerous plans to restore or regenerate it including numerous ideas to turn it into a hotel or resort. The latest, and what many people consider to be the last idea, is to make it into an international venue for art and knowledge. If the work goes ahead it will become a venue for art events, educational courses and musical performances.
Many of the previous plans for the property failed because of the sheer scale of the work that would be involved. The latest plan is not to restore the whole property but instead to stabilise it and provide various degrees of restitution. Part of the ruins would remain because they have become an essential part of the spirit and history of the site.
The new plan is advancing and the Catholic Archdiocese in Glasgow has said they would hand over the property. The Heritage Lottery and both private and public donors have pledged £5 million for the project, leaving another £2 million to find before work can commence. If successful St. Peter’s Seminary could get a new life and get the use so many feel it deserves. For a property that has made such a lasting impression on commercial architecture and one that remains amongst the best examples of its type in the UK it is about time.