Monument record MHG57005 - WWI N.S.O. offices - Natal Garden site, Invergordon

The site of WWI N.S.O. offices in the Natal Garden site, Invergordon.

The site was investigated in 2015 as part of the ARCH project 'Invergordon in World War I'. On a WWI Naval plan in private possession two buildings linked together are depicted as military, but the caption is illegible. Nearby buildings suggest dockyard administrative offices and these may relate to them. They are situated in the gardens of Ness Cottage, suggesting temporary timber buildings erected by the Admiralty. There is also some discrepancy with the two versions of the plan we have. The one which shows non-military buildings suggests a larger footprint for the building on the east. A WWI aerial photo show they were single-storey, with a footprint closer to the former plan. The easternmost building was gone by the 1930 aerial photo, though the western one appears to be shown in the 1930 and 1947 aerial photos. The site is currently part of the Natal Garden. On an Admiralty plan of 1921 (MPI 1/651/4) dating to 1921, the building is labelled C.C.'s Offices. <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>

On the version of the plan from the National Archives the buildings are labelled with '9', which corresponds with 'N.S.O.'s offices' in the plan key.