# Crawford Priory, Fife April 2008. INSIDE STORY



## Bryag

Thanks to Foz for the heads up on this place. It was lucky enough to be included in Zimbob and Bryag's Fife Odyssey. What an amazing building it must have been in it's day.

Also, although it is called "Crawford Priory", it never actually was a priory, so perhaps this is not the correct section. I am sure admin will move if necessary.

I believe Spacepunk has already done a report on it, but did not venture too far in . We bit the bullet and had a few scares, and I even fell in that comedic "save the camera" way

Here is a pic in the early 20th century. Image property of Dundee City Council






For copyright reasons, I cannot copy the information here, but please followe this link for the history of the house http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst9808.html

Some pics from our visit





I cannot stress enough how dangerous this site is





There are large chunks of masonry, plaster and the remaining wood beams waiting to fall on someones head




















The rest of the externals










The different periods of architecture are very obvious





There is a TV aerial at the top of that ivy clad tower


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## Bryag

*Insides*

Now for the insides, or what are left of them






The arched window frame has fallen out and is resting on this less than sound looking beam










Inside one of the towers





There must have been panelling over the original plasterwork





The front vestibule (which was moved from the side)





Main doors





There is some obvious fire damage

























Sometimes it was unclear if you were inside or out





Old fuse board










We found this magnificent hallway and stair























































Apologies for the number of pics, but I found it a fascinating place. I hope you do too


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## Neosea

That's a great building, thanks


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## foz101

Jesus, you actually went up those stairs? 

Nice stuff - the picture below shows the lift it used to have. You can still see the wheels and pulleys on the top, its just that the building surrounding it has disappeared.





It's a travesty that this building is so far gone


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## Bryag

Yes Foz, despite the stairs supporting several tons of plaster and rubble, I calculated the cast iron hand-rail would support my weight if the stairs decided to give way. Actually, they were very well made and will probably still be there after the rest of the building is gone I did not attempt the landing though, mainly because the fruit of my endeavour would have been a 20 foot drop into the rubble that would have been the main hall, and also that a section of the cast iron railing had been replaced with a rather dodgy looking piece of timber. So the odds were stacked against me.

Thanks for directing us to this place, Foz. It is desperately sad it has gone this far, but I doubt it would be economically viable to preserve. I expect they will knock it down before someone gets hurt


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## fire*fly

what a sad end for a very grand building thank you for showing us


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## spacepunk

Well done for getting in guys.


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## foz101

Also, I request more 'Fife Odyssey' pics!


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## Bax__

More excellent photo's I especially like the stair case!


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## Foxylady

Wow, that is one gorgeous building. Superb set of photos, Bryag...thoroughly enjoyed seeing those.


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## jacquelinej61

*Top of the staircase*

Congratulations on the top of the staircase. These pics mean a lot to me as it is family heritage.


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