This page has been created to help raise funds for the new Saint Barr statue.

Saint Barr is the patron Saint of Barra and his statue is situated on a small islet in the middle of Bàgh Thiarabhagh, Northbay. The statue was created by local artist Margaret Somerville and erected in 1975. Almost 50 years later, exposed to elements, the statue is sadly now in extremely poor condition.

Saint Barr Statue FAQs

Why was the statue created by Margaret Somerville?

We are unsure of this at the moment and we would be keen to hear from anyone who has any information on the background to the reason for the statue’s creation.

How long has the current statue been on the island?

According to the Canmore archives, the statue was erected in 1975 and local information confirms it was erected in the mid-1970s. You can read the Canmore entry here.

What is the current statue made of?

It is made of concrete which is moulded on a steel frame. It sits on a stone plinth.

What is wrong with the current statue?

The Hebridean weather and salt air conditions have not been kind to the statue. The concrete has cracked which allowed water to get in to the steel frame and is now corroding quite badly. As the temperatures fluctuate through the year it causes the metal to swell and contract which cracks the concrete further.

The main issues are around the statue’s arms and legs with the statue’s hands and forearms having completely crumbled away.

Can the current statue not be repaired/saved?

Unfortunately, the statue is beyond repair and its condition will only worsen over time with it eventually disintegrating completely.

Has Margaret Somerville’s family been involved?

We have been liaising with Margaret’s niece Diana Mercer who has been incredibly helpful in our efforts and very supportive of our plans. Diana has provided us with some archive material and images that will help with the recreation of the statue.

What will the replacement look like?

The new statue will be created in more durable bronze and will be as close a replica to the current one as we can make it. This will be done by taking a mould of the statue which will then be used to create the form for the new bronze one.

The only significant difference will be that the statue is 50% larger that the current one. This will help it to make it more visible from the shore.

Do you have access to Margaret’s original plans for the statue?

Unfortunately, we do not have access to these. Her family have confirmed that there are no plans in her paperwork. However, we have some excellent images of the statue when it was first completed which will help when the new one is being created.

Who will be doing the work to recreate it?

We have been working with Stephen Tinney, a sculptor and artist based on the Isle of Skye. Many will know Stephen by his family connection to Barra through his wife, Catriona.

Stephen has extensive experience in this field. Among his most recent work is the Collie and Mackenzie bronze sculpture on Skye which was unveiled in 2020.

Stephen has given a detailed outline of the process to recreate Saint Barr on our Crowdfunding page.

How will you make it more accessible to the public?

In addition to making the sculpture larger, there are plans to illuminate the statue so it can be seen at night. We also intend to place some interpretation boards around St Barr’s Church which will offer more information on the statue, the saint’s link to Barra and some information on Margaret Somerville.

The New Statue

The new statue will be made by Stephen Tinney, a sculptor with close Barra connections. Work on the statue has already started at his workshop in Skye. Here, he outlines the process:

"The sculpture will be constructed from bronze and will be made using what’s known as the lost-wax process. The height from Saint Barr’s feet to the top of the staff will be around 14ft.

The first stage is to make the frame (skeleton) to hold the clay for sculpting Saint Barr. Once completed, silicone moulds are taken in sections of the whole sculpture. The moulds are sent to the Foundry, who will take wax positives of each section. Each of these is dipped in a ceramic slurry to make a hardened ceramic shell.

The shell is then heated to allow the wax to drip out and leave a positive impression inside the shell. Poured bronze at 2000 degrees is poured in to each shell. When the bronze has cooled, the shell is cracked to reveal a bronze positive. The bronze pieces are then welded back together to complete the full figure. The seams are then grinded and smoothed out.

The last part of the process is patination. Using a blowtorch, the bronze is heated and chemicals painted on to turn the sculpture to the required colour. The sculpture is then transported to Barra from Nairn and then onwards to the island and dropped in place onto a pre prepared plinth by a Hiab crane

The sculpture comes with rods added at the bottom for sinking in to predrilled holes on the plinth. The plinth can be built up with concrete shuttering and predrilled cavities embedded in it to fit the rods. For the Collie and MacKenzie mountaineers statue at Sligeachan in Skye, we actually used 6 inch diameter pipe set in the concrete to match the positions of the rods, then dropped the rods in with extra strong cement."

So, in summary, the process is:

• Make frame

• Sculpt clay

• Take moulds

• Deliver to foundry

• Make wax impressions

• Make ceramic shells

• Bronze pour

• Welding

• Finishing

• Patination

• Delivery to site