On behalf of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, Mosaic Architecture + Design, one of Scotland’s most experienced practices, has secured a grant of £233,400 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for urgent masonry work and external fabric repairs to the iconic bell tower at St Aloysius’ Church, Glasgow known as the ‘Campanile’.
The grant enables Mosaic to engage a contractor to start work on the £400,000 project, which starts in April and is scheduled for completion in six months.
Stephen Mallon, Director of Mosaic, said: “We are delighted to receive this support from the HLF to enable us to carry out urgent external repairs to the iconic St Aloysius’ Church Campaniel. There is always a degree of uncertainty and anticipation when relying on lottery funding for projects and there was a great effort made by the full design team, including PDA and Armours, not to mention the whole client team who fully engaged in the process and the commitment to delivering the interpretation plan and community benefits of the scheme. The success of the submission is testament to everyone involved and we look forward now to the implementation and delivery phase of this exciting project.”
St Aloysius’ Church is a city centre Jesuit Catholic Church serving the Catholics in Glasgow, the West of Scotland and beyond. Built in 1910 to a design by Belgian architect Charles Menart, its marble clad interior was the work of the Austrian architect Ernest Schaufelberg, and was not completed until 1927, some time after the consecration of the church.
In 2004, restoration work was carried out at St Aloysius’, which has been described as ‘probably the most beautiful Catholic church in Glasgow.’ It is built in the Renaissance style of the seventeenth century, after the Cathedral of Namur, Belgium.
Fr Dermot Preston SJ, Parish Priest at St Aloysius’ Church commented: “We’re delighted to have secured HLF funding, without which, this project would have been unable to proceed. This funding will secure this iconic bell tower for future generations. ”