Building record MHG56950 - WWI Naval stores - Invergordon

A former slaughterhouse building taken over by the Admiralty during WWI and used as a storehouse.

The site was investigated in 2015 as part of the ARCH project 'Invergordon in World War I'. This building appears on the 1st and 2nd edition OS maps. It was part of the slaughterhouse which appears on 2nd edition, but not the 1st edition OS map, situated to the west of the sawmill. A WWI Naval plan in private collection shows this building was taken over by the Admiralty, and it is labelled 'Naval Storehouse F'. Before and during WWI there were railway sidings to the north of the building. It is currently (2015) used as a building in the Travis Perkins yard. On an Admiralty plan of 1921 (MPI 1/651/4), this building was no longer shaded to suggest military use, but was labelled 'Bonded Store'. <1>

At least three versions of a WWI Naval plan survive, two in private collection which probably date to wartime, and one in the National Archives (MPI 1/641/4) which dates to 1921. On all three the buildings taken over or built by the Navy are shaded, but there are a few discrepancies between the plans. One of the plans in private collection has enlarged details, but only shows the Admiralty buildings and not others in the town. Valuation Rolls also indicate some buildings not shaded on our plans were taken over by the military. It is clear from contemporary photographs that the army built additional buildings, particularly north of Cromlet Drive. <2>