Britannia can finally rule again in Perth after an iconic part of the city’s history missing for decades, was returned.
During a night of wild storms, the trident was wrenched from the Roman goddess’s grasp at the top of the Fair City’s Old Academy building.
The three-pronged spear has been absent from the landmark sculpture overlooking the North Inch since the fateful night – possibly in the 1940s – although a temporary feature was tried out in recent years.
Now the statue, which dates back to 1886 has finally been restored to its former glory. A new cast aluminium trident was placed back in Britannia’s hand on Thursday morning.
It was returned as part of a major conservation project at the category A-listed building led by the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust.
The trident was made at the Graciela Ainsworth Sculpture Conservation studio in Edinburgh. It was returned by workers Will Collier and Jonathan Leburn who scaled scaffolding to get to the roof of the building.
Ms Ainsworth said: “She really is an amazing figure and its great to be able to have this in place to encourage people to look upwards.
“When we first looked at the statue, she was holding just a decaying wooden pole. It looked quite sad.
“When it was decided that a new trident should be made, we knew we had to make something much stronger, but lightweight at the same time.
“Alumunium casting with a double gilding seemed to be the way to go.”
The building was constructed between 1803 and 1807 to house Perth Grammar and Perth Academy. Architect Robert Reid was one of Scotland’s highest regarded designers in the first half of the 19th Century, and was behind many other important government buildings, including the original Perth Prison which opened in 1810.
The sculpture of Britannia with a lion was added in 1886. It was made by celebrated artist William Birnie Rhind.
The prominent building is now owned by the Marjory Henderson Walker Retirement Trust and managed by Cowiesburn Asset Management.
Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust offered the owners a grant from the Perth City Heritage Fund to assist with the cost of repair and conservation work.
The roof repairs were carried out in 2015 by Ardle Construction, a local contractor which specialises in repairing historic buildings using traditional materials and methods.
The reinstatement marks the end of the conservation work.