95 Bath Street,
Glasgow
3rd May 1899
Sir Mark J. McT. Stewart, Bart, MP
My dear Sir,
Many thanks for your kind note. The cost of the church has greatly surprised me and has given me very great concern. I have not ceased to think of the matter - I thought it right to send the statement of cost just as it came from the tradesmen's schedules, knowing that I should receive directions from you as to the limit of cost which must be imposed.
I find it will save only £145 to finish the walls outside with arder(?) lime Rough cast. When I think so, I am sure that you would wish me to say that I would greatly regret the use of Rough cast on this church. I have gone over the schedules most carefully in anticipation of your note and have found it to be a most difficult thing to find any way of reducing the cost which would not seriously interfere with the design. I tried reducing the size of the building but this made little difference as the features in which is most of the cost, (doors, windows, arches etc) were still retained.
I also saw that to take something like £1000 off the cost required the cutting out of all the features (transepts, baptistry etc) which were added to the first sketch which included only a nave and small chancel. It then occurred to me that it would be infinitely better to leave the church as it is and to omit the belfry stage of the tower and the spire. I am confident that it is the wisest course to do the church in the nicest way possible at present, making everything complete and of the best material. That is how they did the work in the old days - and I do not think anyone could say that the church was imperfect because it wanted the spire. This might be added at some other time when work was not so expensive. I am not to build the spire at Carnoustie just now - and most of our spires here in Glasgow have been built at a later time than the church. I enclose a tracing of the gable elevation. If you cover the spire with paper you will see what the effect of leaving out the spire is like.
I have extracted the cost of this belfry stage of tower and the spire from the lowest schedules, and I find it will save £846 to omit this work. By following this course you will have the church just as it was approved. As I mentioned in my previous note it will save £24 to use Prudham stone instead of whin for the outside face of the walls. I like whinstone for the outside but I think I would like a church finished outside and inside with freestone better.
I have sent all the lowest offers to the measurer to be checked in their calculations, in order to save any trouble hereafter. Purdie the mason sent a supplementary note adding 3/- per yard to his price (5/-) for the whinstone walling. I sent the note of this to Lady Stewart at Ardwell but probably it has been forwarded to London.
I remain
Yours faithfully
P MacGregor Chalmers