Glenbarr Doocot

Gallery of Images

The doocot as it was for years; lost behind overgrown foliage and barely even visible

Volunteers clearing a pathway to the doocot site so materials could begin to be transported

Contractors and volunteers transporting equipment to the now cleared and marked off doocot site

Volunteers during the Community Day

Progress of clearing and capping wallheads

Cleared doocot site and secured walls

Project Description

Forgotten for decades – even a century – a rural community has come together to save an historic doocot, creating a new community asset at the heart of a community woodland project.

Glenbarr Doocot is an 18thC structure located within the woodland on the grounds of the Glenbarr Abbey estate in Kintyre, ancestral home of the Clan Macalister. Much like the only other surviving doocot in Argyll, it would once have been at part of a thriving estate but over the years the doocot was forgotten about, barely visible behind overgrown woodland and at risk of being lost forever.

In previous years, some effort was made to bring it back into focus – appearing for the first time on the Buildings at Risk Register in 2009, where it is found to be roofless with gable wall heads missing. Follow up inspections in 2012 & 2018 find no improvement in its condition, and there is real concern for the building’s survival should there be no intervention.

The Glenbarr Community Development Association was established in 2018, created to manage newly acquired wind turbine revenues and other assets on behalf of the Glenbarr community. Their mission statement is to ‘support and drive forward the opportunity, regeneration and development of Glenbarr’. The GCDA currently own 2.35 hectares of land and are in the early stages of implementing a 5-year rolling programme of capital and revenue community legacy projects. There are several projects underway, including plans for a Glenbarr Community Hub and an ongoing Woodland Management Scheme. On top this, the GCDA worked closely with the Clan Macalister Charitable Trust and have a licence agreement in place allowing limited works on their land, including where the Glenbarr Doocot is located.

In November 2024, GCDA reached out to the Scottish Historic Buildings Trust, a national building preservation trust with a mission to conserve at risk, historically significant buildings. SHBT’s social media campaign The Doocot Diaries sought to re-engage the public with the topic of doocots and caught the attention of a local journalist, resulting in an article in The Herald, which was read by member of the GCDA. Could SHBT help save our local doocot?

Yes! Following this agreement for SHBT to support us, the project now started to take shape. An initial site visit took place in January 2025 with SHBT and LimeRich Ltd, one of Scotland’s leading traditional building maintenance, conservation and restoration specialists. The aim of the site visit was to give a report on the current condition of the doocot and make recommendations for next possible steps; the findings from which would be presented to the community at an event the following month.

In February 2025, the community were invited along to the village hall to attend an event organised by SHBT, The Doocot Diaries: The Glenbarr Chapter. The aim of the evening was to uncover the fascinating past of doocots, explore restoration successes and consider how the local conservation effort could preserve Glenbarr doocot’s legacy for generations to come. Limerich Ltd shared their findings from the site visit, emphasising that the doocot was currently at a crossroads. Where the building had retained strength and cohesion at its core, if left as it currently was unprotected from the elements, it would continue to crumble, until it was likely lost completely and reclaimed by nature. The event was well attended and clearly generated further community interest in securing the doocot’s future, with many already eager to be involved in any way they could. The event was also recorded and reports uploaded for the wider community to access remotely.

Following on from the site visit and community talk, SHBT were commissioned to compile a Feasibility Study on the Glenbarr Doocot, assessing fully its current condition and investigating options for stabilising and repurposing the structure to save it from ruin. The study made recommendations on urgent preparatory and repair works, conservation works and restoration works. 

In July 2025, SHBT & GCDA hosted Glenbarr Doocot: Next Steps Together, a chance for a community update on the various reports compiled over the past few months and immediate stabilisation plans. With the Association’s core values being community representation, benefit & opportunity, the event also explored how the community could contribute to conserving the structure and shaping future uses – whether as a space for education (as it had previously been used for with local school children), storytelling, nature or community gatherings. 

The community project was now quickly gaining momentum and featured in the Campbeltown Courier, as well as in the autumn edition of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland magazine. 

By early November 2025, after nearly a year of planning and engagement, ten days of urgent repair works led by LimeRich finally began to halt decay and save Glenbarr Doocot. A volunteer call went out within the village and surrounding areas, to great response. Onsite works kicked off with a major community set-up and site preparation day, a crucial part of the project. It was noted early on in various reports that the remoteness and wildness of the doocot’s location was likely to be an obstacle in any future project, as it would not be possible for any major machinery to be used, which is where the community really stepped up. 

Volunteers tackled the overgrown forest and helped to clear a safe access route from the road to the doocot, through which they could then heave all equipment across difficult terrain onto the site. The next task for the volunteers was to help clear the site around the doocot, so that scaffolding could be erected and the urgent stabilisation works could safely begin. With the site safely marked and secured, specialists LimeRich turned their focus to preparing the walls for repair work, while the volunteers began the arduous task of clearing out the interior of the doocot of years -worth of growth and rubble.

By day five, the majority of the walls have now been cleared, capped and stabilised, and a substantial tree growing out of the doocot safely removed. A community focus day was held to mark the halfway point of the project, where the team at LimeRich held a short talk and a live demonstration of traditional repair methods on the doocot. This gave the community the rare opportunity to witness conservation in action and even try their hand at traditional lime and stone repairs.

After the success of the first half of the project, and the flurry of activity of the community day, site works are brought to a halt by the changeable Scottish weather. After a short pause, however, the team and volunteers were back on site the following day, ready to push forward on the last few days of works. With most of the external stabilisation complete, all attention now turned to the interior of the doocot. Any fallen masonry was removed and preserved, and the rest of the interior cleared in preparation for a visit from an archaeologist on the penultimate day of the project, recording any features or finds during the floor clearances.

The pinnacle of the project was the community finale day, a celebration of everything achieved over the course of the past couple of weeks by the community volunteers and partners. SHBT, LimeRich, GCDA, volunteers and families were all in attendance, as well as children from Glenbarr Primary School. Amidst all the activity, there was an extraordinary find – volunteers working closely with the archaeologists uncovered what looked to be the doocot’s original tiled floor, remarkably intact.

The final day of work was filmed and featured on BBC Alba; capturing the spirit of what the project was about – community working side by side to safeguard local heritage.

Supporting Statement

The title of SHBT’s short film Glenbarr Doocot: Where Community Met Conservation neatly encapsulates the essence of this project. The community played a crucial role in every stage; from discovery and consultation to the last day on site, their enthusiasm maintaining throughout.

When the works commenced on site, volunteers were involved with daily recordings of works, as well as with site preparation, photography, clearing and hands on technical repair work. Regular volunteers were given training by onsite specialists LimeRich, who also gave a live skills demonstration at the doocot, allowing the community to try their hand at rebuilding and application processes. Therefore, as well as helping to safeguard a local monument, they gained valuable new skills and knowledge in the process. This inclusive approach has fostered a strong sense of ownership and pride within the community.

Sustainability was central to the approach of this project, both in terms of materials and long-term conservation philosophy. By focusing on repair and stabilisation rather than full reconstruction, the project minimised the use of new materials and retained as much historic fabric as possible, ensuring the authenticity of the structure was preserved. Where new materials were necessary, traditional building techniques and compatible materials were used, ensuring the longevity of the repairs. The project has established a sustainable model for ongoing care, with increased local awareness and community investment helping to safeguard the doocot into the future. This phased approach ensures that further works can be undertaken responsibly as funding becomes available.

The successful delivery of the project required overcoming several significant challenges, aside from the unreliable climate of the west of Scotland in November. The remote location and dense woodland presented logistical constraints, with no established route to site and no possibility of vehicular access to the doocot. Careful planning, innovative solutions and volunteer manpower were therefore necessary to enable the safe transport of materials while minimising the impact on the surrounding natural environment. With the surrounding overgrown foliage obscuring the doocot removed, its visibility within the woodland was enhanced and it was once again connected to the surrounding landscape instead of lost in it.

The practical aim was to rescue and stabilise the structure, making it safe for the community and local school children to explore and enjoy. This outcome has been achieved as the structure is now held in a stable condition, visited frequently by the local schoolchildren as a site for their external learning, as well as by visitors on woodland walks. The project has thus transformed a previously inaccessible and unsafe ruin into a secure heritage asset for the local community, demonstrating how modest, well-considered interventions can deliver significant heritage and social value. Various news outlets and social media platforms covered the project, even featuring in the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland magazine, and on BBC Alba.

Community involvement has truly been at the heart of this project, succinctly summarised in one of the project’s daily recordings:

‘Moments like these remind us what community heritage is all about: people coming together, learning as they go, and leaving something stronger behind’