Scottish Catholic Archives damaged by damp

THE Scottish Catholic Archives will close tomorrow after mould was discovered on parts of the collection.

Some items now need urgent conservation work after suffering from dampness in Columba House, Edinburgh, for 30 years.

The oldest records, including letters from Mary Queen of Scots, will be loaned to Aberdeen University’s Special Collections Centre.

Archbishop Mario Conti, chairman of the trustees of the Scottish Catholic Heritage Collections Museum, said: “We have emphasised for some time that Columba House was not fit for purpose. The latest reports confirm this.

“The question of the arrangements to be made for the papers covering the period from 1878 until the present will now have to be considered more urgently than had been expected.”