Description

The monument is the remains of a whaling station dating from approximately AD 1900 and abandoned around 1939, and represents much the best preserved such establishment in Scotland. The monument consists of a massive slipway, landing platform and handling areas, together with the substantial remains of a number of processing buildings which were built variously of stone, brick, concrete and metal. One of two original brick chimney stacks survives almost intact, but otherwise the main buildings are reduced to near foundation level. The anchor blocks for vats, boilers, winches and other heavy equipment survive. Some minor buildings have been subsequently adapted for residential and agricultural use. An offshore pier and jetty has vanished, but foundations survive on the floor of the sea-loch.

The area to be scheduled is irregular in plan, bounded to the E by the public road, but excluding a house in use, and its immediate grounds. The area is extended W into the sea-loch to include the foundations of the vanished pier and jetty. The area is indicated in red on the accompanying map.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Statement of Scheduling

The monument is of national importance as the best preserved example in Scotland of a whaling shore station, a type of monument much more characteristic of the southern oceans. It represents a small group of such establishments founded around the outer Scottish coastline by Norwegian and joint British/Norwegian companies at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Several of these stations operated before and after the First World War and contributed significantly to local economies. There may be a connection between the products of this particular station and Viscount Leverhulme's interest in the area, but this is not documented.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland

Sources

Bibliography

RCAHMS records the site as NB10SW 5.

Source: Historic Environment Scotland