Church spire damaged in Storm Florris to be fixed a year later

Repair work on the spire of a church in Inverness which was damaged during Storm Floris last summer, is expected to begin next week.

The Free North Church has a height of 52m (170 ft) and is the tallest building in the Highland capital.

But its weathervane crashed to the ground during high winds last August. Mortar in the spire also cracked and the top 3m (10ft) of the structure had to be dismantled by steeplejacks.

Highland Council has now awarded listed building consent, meaning it can be fully restored.

Storm Floris on the 4 and 5 August 2025 brought wind speeds of up to 82mph to the Highlands.

It brought down the corroded cast iron weathervane of the Free North, heavily damaging the roof of the church and spilling debris on to Church Lane.

Architects HRI Munro said the leverage created by the movement of the weathervane cracked some of the mortar in the spire's stonework and it had to be urgently taken down to a safe level.

The original weathervane was found to be "unsalvageable" and a local blacksmith has been commissioned to make a new one.

The cost of the damage to the B listed building was estimated at around £100,000.

The repair project is being supported by partners including the National Churches Trust and the Inverness City Heritage Trust.

With listed building consent now awarded, the Free Church of Scotland said work was expected to start to restore the spire next week using the original stonework.

In the centre of the spire there will be a new steel rod to give it extra stability.

The church said the new weathervane would be virtually identical to the old one and should be ready to install in about four weeks time.