The Mackintosh Vault at Petty has long been a project in waiting for the Mackintosh family.
This is an important site for the heritage of the Mackintosh family, not only locally in the clan lands of the Highlands, but more extensively throughout the global diaspora of Mackintoshes and descendants of Mackintosh and Clan Chattan Chiefs and their families. We hope that by bringing back life to this historic place, we may preserve its significance, while also giving those who belong to the clan, and those who are interested in it, the opportunity to visit and learn more about their rich heritage for many generations to come.
Celia and John Mackintosh of Mackintosh
The Mackintosh of Mackintosh family are keen to progress work on the conservation of this important clan site, where a number of Chiefs of Mackintosh and Clan Chattan are buried, the most recent being my grandfather, Lachlan Donald, the 29th Chief of Clan Mackintosh, and I have been, working closely with Rex and Ruth Davidson and Glyn Young Associates in Inverness.
Examples of Glyn’s work can be seen in his www site https://www.glynyoung.com/ … Glyn has been working with us since 2018 and met with Rex and Ruth Davidson on site in July 2019 and since then we have been in regular discussion with him. Glyn has been progressing the condition survey report on the current state of the building and the requirements for its conservation with carefully chosen structural engineers, masonry and conservation professionals, who all have extensive experience of similar projects. Early in lockdown, Glyn attended the site and worked initially with the architectural historical conservation report prepared by Highland Council in 2013. Glyn has now made a thorough and comprehensive review of the work which requires to be done in order to conserve the building and its memorials for many years to come and allow clan members and other interested parties to visit this important site.
Glyn and the other professionals engaged by him on our behalf have prepared detailed reports of the current state of the building and specs of what could be done to restore and conserve this building sympathetically. An application for Listed Building Consent is being submitted and applications for relevant funding bodies are also currently being prepared. There is some initial work to be done in clearing rubble from the floor which will allow us to explore and understand the site further and progress with the necessary work. This work will take place in early 2021.
If external funding applications are successful and the required level of funding is secured, then it is hoped that restoration work could begin in 2021.
Any queries can be addressed to me info@mackintosh-petty.org.uk in the first instance.
Louisa Mackintosh Cross
