Main Block, view of interior of Refectory from West

Description Main Block, view of interior of Refectory from West

Date 18/8/1994

Catalogue Number C 50209

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 713632

Scope and Content Refectory (dining room) in main block from the west, St Peter's College, Cardross, Argyll & Bute St Peter's College was commissioned in 1959 as a seminary (training college) for Roman Catholic priests, to be created adjacent to Kilmahew House which was built in 1868 to designs by John Burnet (demolished 1995). The college was designed 1959-63 by Isi Metzstein, J Cowell and Andrew McMillan of the architectural firm of Gillespie Kidd & Coia, and completed by 1966. It ceased to function as a training college in 1979, and was used as a drug rehabilitation centre 1983-7. It is now derelict. This shows the refectory, a wide, open area once used for communal meals for priests and students with long tables positioned around the space. The arches in the roof above continue into the balcony areas, and each one forms the ceiling in an individual cell (study bedroom). The wall at the back of the refectory was once glazed between randomly placed vertical glazing bars, giving views out over the surrounding countryside. Many aspects of the student's life in the college can be compared to those of a monk in a monastery. The young priests were trained in a secluded setting away from worldly distractions, had simply-furnished cells to sleep in, and every aspect of their lives closely integrated with worship, study and prayer within specially-designed buildings. This building has been selected as one of Scotland's key 20th-century Modern architectural monuments. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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