Building record MHG54924 - Wireless station - Sunfield, Kiltearn

The present buildings have been developed out of the former wartime station. Nothing now remains and the concrete bases of the masts were dumped on the shore at Kiltearn Bay (see MHG51856, NH66SW 54).

[This is not visible on the 1946-7 photos, so WWI?]

Information from Alpin Macdonald, Eddie Szymborski and Alan Kinghorn <1>

Alan Kinghorn notes that the record should be assinged to World War Two not World War One and provides a brief history:

"1938-39 the Air Ministry bought No’s 3 & 4 Village Acres in Evanton. From 1939 to1949 it was an Air Ministry Wireless Station. During 1949- 1950, James & Catherine Goodall, Temperance Café, Tulloch Street, Dingwall bought the site. They started to build a house and tearoom called Sunfield in 1950-51. During 1951-52 the house, restaurant and boarding house were completed, the Goodalls remained there until 1961. The next owner was Andrew Munro. The Roadhouse, restaurant and boarding house closed and the buildings became a house, annexe and garage. The following year Mrs Catherine Munro took over. The house is still currently lived in.

Source:- Ross and Cromarty Valuation Rolls."

This site was noted by ARCH's Evanton Wartime Remains project in 2013. The wireless listening station was situated behind Sunfield at the edge of Evanton village. It was built on two of the four village lots and acquired from Foulis. On the 1946 aerial photo, the five masts can clearly be seen, one near the building, and four around it. The masts were sold in 1949 and probably taken down then. The foundations for the towers were tipped onto the shore. There was a house at the rear of Sunfield which was a billet during the war, but had been knocked down and replaced by 2013. Hamish Mackay recalled that during the war there were people seen sketching the wireless station. The children informed their parents, who notified the police. The men were caught on the train at Perth, and were said to have been spies who were working their way south from Wick. The building to the south of the house appearred to be wartime. Contributors: Catriona Fraser, Alpin MacDonald, Alasdair Cameron, Alan Kinghorn, Eddie Szymborski, Phil Glover, Hamish MacKay. Grid Ref: Centred NH 60587 65691 <2>