Raising the flag at the House of the Binns

A newly completed project to replace the broken flagpole on top of the famous Binns folly, purportedly built as the result of a wager on the most frivolous way to spend £100, has made the raising of the flag possible.

To maintain a historical connection with the old mast, said to have been a ship’s mast from a nearby scrapyard, the Trust commissioned the new flagpole from Fairlie Boat Builders on Scotland’s west coast, fabricated using traditional techniques.

We also carried out vital conservation on the tower, ensuring it can continue to be enjoyed for generations. The Trust worked with conservation surveyors Adams Napier Partnership to develop a package of work, including high-level harling repairs, maintenance to the roof structure, lime washing and other repairs. G Brown Stonemasons carried them out over a period of 10 weeks. The Historic Environment Scotland Partnership Fund Grant made the conservation works possible. This ongoing partnership enables the Trust to carry out vital work and support the continuation of traditional crafts and skills.

The Trust’s Maintenance Surveyor, Megan Gardner, led the building conservation project and said: ’It sounds a simple thing to replace a flagpole, but in this case it really wasn’t. The whole process has been an interesting one, throwing up some unusual challenges along the way, particularly the location of the tower at the highest point of Binns Hill.

’Being in such an exposed location, it gets a lot of wear from the weather, so it was important to find the right solution for the construction of the new flagpole that was appropriate to the structure and its location and heritage.

’Due to the Binns Tower’s prominent position and background, we felt that the traditional techniques used in the flagpole and its construction from a ship’s mast were a significant part of the building and its story. We looked at how masts were traditionally constructed and are delighted that we have been able to include these traditional shipbuilding elements in the new flagpole. It’s a great example of how we’re delivering our strategic objective to be a learning organisation by championing skills to support traditional conservation and innovation.’

There were also practical challenges in carrying out the work. The height of the tower required significant access equipment, and scaffolding had to be carried up the hill manually because the amount of rainfall during the spring and early summer made it impossible for vehicles to get over the fields. For internal work, space inside the tower is extremely limited, and the top is only accessible via two ladders and a narrow hatch onto the roof.

The Binns Tower – also known as Dalyell’s Folly – was rumoured to have come about as the result of an after-dinner wager in 1825 as to who could spend £100 in the most pointless but amusing way. The story goes that Sir James won the bet with his suggestion of a folly overlooking his neighbour’s estate, and the tower was completed in 1829. From 1919 to 1935, the tower was topped by a windmill, a unique addition that served a practical purpose: to generate electricity.

The Historic Environment Scotland Partnership Fund Grant of £1,062,000 over 2023–26 enables the Trust to conduct vital conservation work across our built heritage properties, use technology to better understand our built structures, and invest in further training and skills development.