AROUND 80 pupils from Larbert and St Mungo’s High Schools are learning how new technology is preserving local heritage.
The pupils are working in a series of workshops with experts from WSP, Lost Art Limited, and Historical Environment Scotland as part of the Bruce Obelisk restoration project.
The workshops feature four areas – making patterns for ironwork; ironwork restoration and decoration; using 3D imaging and printing, and augmented and virtual reality; and using thermal imagery to identify heat loss – that allow the pupils to get hands-on with various tools.
At the end of the workshops, pupils will also have a chance to hear about exploring a career in construction.
Councillor Iain Sinclair, Falkirk Council’s spokesperson for education, said, “Pupils will get first-hand experience how special skills and new technology can have a big impact on preserving and restoring our built heritage. They will be working with some of the actual team who are carrying out the Bruce Obelisk work currently and when it is restored later this year, we are confident that many of the young people will have a greater understanding of what has been involved.”
Ali Davey, traditional materials project manager at Historic Environment Scotland, added, “Through these workshops, not only are we restoring the Bruce Obelisk, we’re utilising this project as an opportunity to engage with local communities and showcase the importance of skills in conservation. We’re thrilled to be able to introduce pupils to the variety of ways in which we work, involving a range of new technologies to help conserve a key aspect of our national heritage.”
The Bruce Obelisk is an important piece of local history commemorating James Bruce of Kinnaird, a descendant of the most famous King of Scots, Robert the Bruce. Made by Carron Iron Works, the Obelisk is a cast-iron monument commissioned in 1785 by James Bruce himself in memory of his wife Mary and stands as a testament to Falkirk’s craftsmanship and heritage during the Industrial Revolution.
After being temporarily moved in 1993, the Obelisk has endured the test of time and the elements but was deteriorating and was sent for repair in 2023. Thanks to local community efforts and funding from Historical Environment Scotland, Avondale Environmental, part of the NPL Group, through the Scottish Landfill Communities Fund and Lottery-funded Inner Forth Landscape Initiative Management and Maintenance Fund, the Obelisk is currently being carefully restored and is expected to be back on site in Larbert Old Church in late spring of 2024.
