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Volunteers began removing huge amounts of ivy from the walls and the inside of St Brides Chapel in Lamlash on Saturday.
Their work was the first stage of important conservation work on the early 17th century chapel, which is on the site of a pre-Reformation chapel there for hundreds of years..
Eighteen volunteers gathered in Lamlash cemetery to begin the long-overdue work.
David MacColl, cemeteries manager for North Ayrshire Council, said he was glad the work was finally under way: ‘We began this morning quite early and have achieved a great deal in a very short amount of time,’ he said.
‘The ivy has been removed from the walls and from inside the chapel. It is wonderful to watch the building suddenly appearing before your eyes.
‘Over the last couple of weeks the council boys have done a great deal to get the work under way and we are very grateful to them for that.’
Lamlash Improvements has been calling on Arran residents to help to save the chapel, which is in the original part of the graveyard. It has been partially covered in thick ivy for years. The inside of the building was also overgrown with weeds and large shrubs, the roots of which were affecting the safety of the building.
The present building dates from around 1603.
Sarah McKinnon, chief executive of Strathclyde Building Preservation Trust, said: ‘Once we have uncovered the building we can see more clearly what we have to work on. The next step is to decide what we do about actually conserving the building.’
Volunteer Neil Mitchell said: ‘There were 18 of us here this morning and it is great to see the work finally starting.’
