Building record MHG55605 - Ardival House, Strathpeffer

Reputedly the oldest house in Strathpeffer, it is said to have originally been an inn, but was also a farm and mill (Finlayson 1979, 31-2). It is called Ardvall on the OS 1st edition map (1876), but the farm - and the name - seems to have been transferred to its present location, up the hill, by the time of the map was revised in 1906 (Finlayson 1979, 31; see MHG22697). The building was originally single storey and has been altered significantly during its lifetime. Ardival was run as a boarding house by Kate Finlayson prior to WWI. The house is described in the 1949 Sales Prospectus as 'built of stone with a slate roof and has rough cast walls.'

Information from Duncan Finlayson, ARCH Remembering Strathpeffer Project, 2011.

Messrs John D. Wood & Co., 1949. Strathpeffer, Ross-shire. The Holiday Resort of the Northern Highlands. Part of the Strathpeffer Estate. For Sale by Auction as a Whole or in Lots
Finlayson, C., 1979. The Strath: the biography of Strathpeffer: Scotland's famous spa, and district. Edinburgh: St Andrew Press
Highland Museum of Childhood exhibition ‘Hands across the Sea exhibition’ (2009) <1>