The broken building that must not be destroyed
St Peter’s Seminary sits in woodland about an hour west of Glasgow, near a village called Cardross. If you like Brutalist architecture, then it’s a beautiful ruin: if not, then perhaps your view isn’t so kind. It’s a historic, religious building: but it’s also a money sink that can’t be demolished.
My thanks to Ronnie Convery at the Archdiocese of Glasgow!
Edited by Michelle Martin, https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux
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@TomScottGo
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
It is very strange to walk down a beautiful path through the Scottish countryside, turn a corner, and be confronted with something that looks at first glance like a 1970s car park. I'm not joking when I say I do like architecture like this – but I probably wouldn't want to live here.
@GabrielTragheim
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
It’s a work of art, even in this condition.
@squarepinapples9116
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Not being funny, but how can this not be repurposed, there are so many redevelopment techniques that can re utilise the building while protecting it. The old fire station in Birmingham had modular student accommodation added inside the exterior and structure was unchanged. Why couldn’t this building be redeveloped as a hotel or wedding venue or even a spa. There doesn’t seem to be much imagination around these days.
@angelaegan7511
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Demolish it, it's a waste of space! 😢
@Glaschu1
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Where is the value in this building? It’s not aesthetic, wasn’t functional even when built, and is super expensive to maintain even as a ruin
@JohnLBvi
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
It is an exquisite treasure. Such a huge shame it's got to the state it's in.
@ronchabale
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Looks hideous, tear it down
@stevenbratz7333
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
The Brutalist movie couldn’t even muster a model of building that was appealing.
@sjrickaby
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
There are much better things to spend money on than an ugly ruined building in the middle of nowhere. Sometime you have to accept fate.
@jocelynstclair3901
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
It is hideous and a revolting eyesore – demolish it, sell the rubble for recycling into aggregate and road surfacing materials and try and recoup at least some of the taxpayers money that should have never been wasted on it.
@yaboycolin
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
I say knock it down tbh
@baselius662
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
I think the building is disgusting. It should be demolished. Beauty has a value in itself. This building does not.
@stevebot
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Think about that colossal waste of tithe the next time you go to drop hard earned coin on the collection plate.
@johnball8758
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
That's the ugliest historic building I've ever seen.
@Johny40Se7en
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Why don't they board the outsides up, put climate controls and lighting inside to use it for hydroponics and mushroom growing. It's vast, so just imagine how much you could grow there. And put plants all over the outside of it just to make it look nice and further improve air quality.
@Bob94390
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
People who believe in invisible men are maybe not always the best decision makers.
@johnpaterson6112
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
The UK planning and preservation system is a perfect example of "all power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely". This building needs to be demolished and consigned to the dustbin of history. On this occasion, Tom is not just wrong, he is seriously deranged.
@madeline-onassis
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
tear it down
@Paradox-coffee
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
A nice example of a waist of money.
@aamackie
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
0:45 "couldn't afford". They have so much money no one is sure how much they have. Estimates of their worth in Germany alone are on a similar scale to Google. So yes, they absolutely could afford to maintain that.
@respectfulconversation944
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Maybe i can't see the uniqueness, but imho this could be demolished, i don't think history would miss it very much. Is there actually a way to downgrade it again?
About the cost – i would feel sorry for a private owner. The church has enough money. It can bleed for all i care.
@jsytac
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Incredibly ugly.
Just tear it down.
@briansmith-l1q
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
it's trash. Take it away and be responsible for it
@javimelecio
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Oh this abandoned building is an eyesore & the fact that it can't just be demolished is sad.
I would've appreciated seeing some pics of it in its days of glory!
Great video
@jmmckillo
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
3:44 a catholic priest STATING that deus ex machina is not reallistic…
@gimiter7463
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
I can try use it
@MoentjeCons
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Also, if you are training to be a priest in a remote location, the access to young children is very limited
@Ekam-Sat
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Incredibly sad.
@angusk4932
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Airsoft tournaments, spend some money making sure the place is structurally secure, don’t do any landscaping, cleaning or anything, maybe put in some cover in the more open spaces, run the tournaments year round.
@Henry_TownshendSH4
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Turn it into a paintball map
@neuralwarp
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
It's a shame the architecturaĺ content of the unspoilt environment is accorded a lower value.
@T412M
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
What a shame! A group that pays no tax on anything is whinging about 60,000 pounds per year to maintain a building they built! How about giving tax on everything the own and earn income off to the government in exchange for the government taking g it on? No, oh well, just keep whinging about that 60,000 per year.
@newtoncooper4085
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
The barrel vaults and river rock facade are awful.
@mostlyclear6071
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
The problem is, and this sadly happens often and in many places, that the gov. will declare a building historic or whatever and places huge costs on the owners without providing financial help, which leads to: this, many purposefully abandoned and neglected building waiting to decay to the point where a developer is allowed to knock them down.
@FTStratLP
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
6 years later – has there any solution been found in the meantime?
@perkristav3
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Tare it down!
@jimtalbott9535
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
A building in the USA with somewhat similar history is the Buckner Building, in Whittier Alaska. A very creepy old wreck of a building. Originally built for the US Army in the late 40s.
@jimtalbott9535
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Looks like it would have amazing acoustics.
@myobmyob3585
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
You say it was built in the 1960's Not the 1660's. Then, in 1992, only 30 years later, plus or minus, it gains the status of category A in the listings of historic Scottish buildings. That just doesn't make sense to me. 30 years is hardly enough time to make something historically significant all on its own. There would have had to of been something extraordinarily historically significant that had happened there, but all we know is it was built to train priests and it failed at that.
Why? I just don't get it!
@Hazztech
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Wait I got it, turn it into a skateboard park!
@wildweedle6012
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
Purple burglar alarm.
@seaborgium919
January 10, 2026 at 7:38 pm
did that priest just say it's unrealistic to expect an act of god? seriously? I thought that's what those people are all about
Comments are closed.