From Brutalist behemoth to Bollywood blockbuster
Ex-taxman breathes new life into forgotten modernist masterpiece with architectural tours and movie role
IT IS a modernist masterpiece considered by many to be Scotland’s greatest post-war building.
Yet St Peter’s Seminary, hidden away in woods and visited by few apart from the most intrepid of ramblers, has lain abandoned and derelict for nearly 40 years, a use or purpose for it seemingly impossible to find.
Now the building has been taken on by a former undercover tax inspector who, with his wife, hopes to breathe new life into the Brutalist edifice which could see it listed among the world’s top heritage sites within a decade.
Stuart Cotton has announced that the seminary is now ‘back in use’ for the first time in 40 years, with architectural tours having begun this year and the building also being used as a backdrop for a major Bollywood film, Tehran.
Mr Cotton, 55, a former covert human intelligence source handler in HMRC’s national intelligence unit, said: ‘It’s such a unique creation and in such an unusual location. It could be the most complex building in Britain to renovate, but that’s our aim.
‘We have started doing tours for architectural students and have had them in from places including Scandinavia. They have described the seminary as “immense” and say it’s a highlight of their visit.
‘The plan is to develop the whole estate as Scotland’s most unique arts and educational venue.’
Completed in 1966, St Peter’s, near Cardross, Dunbartonshire, was abandoned in the 1980s as its Catholic Church owners moved away from a seminary-based model for teaching priests.
For decades it stood in limbo, with the church unable to find a use for it, no one willing to take it on, and demolition not an option due to its A-listed status.
The seminary, noted for its concrete curves and unique detailing, remains in remarkable condition.
Mr Cotton, from Bath, and his wife Ally, a teacher, hope to run it as an arts and education venue and believe that the site will attain Unesco VISION: Stuart
Cotton plans venue World Heritage status within ten years. Mr Cotton said: ‘I first noticed the seminary in an article online in 2019. Ally and I looked into the estate and could see the potential. We managed to put together a proposal and secure the site from the Catholic Church. ‘Our initial plan is to focus on other parts of the estate here at Kilmahew, which is 140 acres in area, including walled gardens and other buildings, before moving onto the seminary.
‘The concrete is in good order and all it really needs is glazing, a roof and removal of decades of graffiti. Our two most recent projects have seen shooting for the film Tehran with John Abraham and Manushi Chhillar, which resulted in a big boost to our website traffic, and hosting a group of singers who recorded in the chapel space.
‘We are looking at the main chapel space as a venue for perhaps over 250 people, the vestry as a viewing space with large screen, and the crypt as a meeting room.’
Mr Cotton added: ‘We are really just a taxman and a teacher but we aim to make it a success. It’s in the middle of woods yet it’s around half an hour to Glasgow Airport and the city centre.
‘The people who come here often say it surpasses their expectations. We are excited by the future – the potential is huge.’