Repairs proposed to tackle leaks in landmark Brechin building

The 187-year-old Mechanics’ Institute at the junction of of St Mary Street and Church Street has been leaking badly during bad weather.

And the situation necessitated buckets being placed in the B-listed building’s main hall to catch rainwater.

It has prompted Angus Council, which administers the building as a common good asset, to seek listed building consent for work to make the rooflights and tower watertight.

Conservation experts have said that the water ingress is damaging the floor, and humidity levels have been recorded at almost 80% rather than the expected 40% to 60%.

The figures are a concern, Mechanics is home to a number of important artworks held in the Angus collection.

The council plans to replace six rooflights with powder coated and double-glazed lantern items which are approved for listed buildings, at an estimated cost of £80,000.

Once this is complete and humidity levels are reduced, the hall floor will be professionally sanded and varnished.

The large leaded tower window is also leaking water, damaging internal stonework, while hall ceiling is showing the signs of a previous repair where gypsum plaster rather than lime plaster was used to patch a leak.

The work schedule also includes a “delicate” clean of a grubby marble bust in the main hall, a likeness of the first Baron Panmure, William Maule, who gifted the building to the town. It was intended to accommodate schools for local children and be an events venue.

The Mechanics has had significant sums spent on it in the past 20 years, including £260,000 in 2011 which for lighting improvements and refurbishment of the clock and tower, as well as upgrading of the car park.

Brechin Common Good will fund the latest repairs, with future plans for secondary glazing or replacing all the timber windows with double glazed units at an estimated cost of £100,000.

The application for the current works has yet to be determined by the council’s planning officers.