Building record MHG17019 - Old House To Rear 11 Shore Street, Helmsdale Harbour, Helmsdale

1st edition OS map depicts these two buildings as part of a larger courtyard dwelling which would have functioned as a fish curing yard (the layout is similar to MHG53432 further along the harbour to the east). The two-storey building with the pitched roof may have functioned as the office, with the two-storey flat roofed building to the west possibly functioning as a cooperage or warehouse (see parallels at MHG53432). Harbour house to the west (MHG29774) originally formed part of this grouping, the west and north-west sections of the courtyard would have removed with the re-alignment of the A9 and construction of the bridge in the 1970s <1> <2>.

The Listed Building entry gives a date of early to mid 18th century. I suspect this is an error and it should read early to mid 19th century - the adjacent buildings of similar design and function have been dated to 1817 <2>. Beaton writes that "… from 1814 the curing yards were built, harbour developed and streets laid out in neat grid patterns…" <3>