Fans of the Alien film franchise will be quite surprised if they ever pay a visit to one of Scotland's most famous abbeys – because they might just come across a distinctly familiar-looking gargoyle.
For many visitors to Paisley Abbey, it can be quite a confusing sight, one that might make you think that a time travelling stone mason is involved, but no, their eyes aren't deceiving them, that is, in fact, a stone gargoyle in the shape of a xenomorph popping out from the side of this iconic building.
But how did this curiously modern relic end up on such a famous historic building? Why is there one of these HR Geiger-inspired aliens nestled among its gothic spires?
Though the abbey itself dates back to the 12th century, this modern drain spout was only added in the early 90s.
The Xenomorph Gargoyle
Part of the original design of the building, the gargoyles on the abbey walls were originally created in medieval designs to help represent the denizens of hell and other damned creatures. They also ingeniously served to move water from the roof of the building via gutters away from the sides of the building, helping to maintain them and prevent long-standing water damage to the bricks, masonry or mortar.
However, in 1991, the set of 12 spouts was to be repaired as the originals had been destroyed by wear over their centuries-long lives.
When a Scottish stonemasons firm was drafted in to help create a new set to replace them and pay homage to the original medieval style of using stylised creatures, David Lindsay, one of the designers, decided to pay homage to one of his favourite films, Ridley Scott's cult 70s sci-fi horror hit Alien.
Certain that his design would be rejected, David told one architectural website in 2020 that he was delighted when he realised it had in fact been chosen. Scottish sandstone from the Clashach quarry, near Elgin in Moray, was used to create the replacements and David got to work on his now iconic design.
Speaking about the installation, the stonemason stated that barely anyone commented on the design until around 2013, when it finally went viral on the internet, he said: "Someone posted a photograph of my carving online, suggesting it looked a bit like the creature from Alien, and within a short time the story was viral on the world wide web; it appeared at the top of search engine results pages, it featured on Yahoo News, BBC News broadcast an interview with the minister of the Abbey to discuss it.
"Unsurprisingly the flurry of interest in my carving did not last long and after a couple of days, the news reporters went after other stories. I went to work on the following Monday like any other day, and the gargoyles of Paisley Abbey returned to their day job of protecting the building from rainwater and evil spirits."
However, since then, it's reflected the film from which it takes inspiration and has gathered quite a cult following with Scottish film fans and followers of the franchise suitably delighted to discover it exists.
Those looking to tour this incredible building to spot the incredible xenomorph can enjoy guided tours every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 pm. Tickets are £5 and are available at the Abbey shop.
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