Monument record MHG57052 - WWI Sweepers' - Invergordon Dockyard Accommodation area

The WWI sweepers' hut in the Invergordon Dockyard Accommodation area.

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, 22 large H-shaped hutments are depicted, labelled A to V, and one as 'Sweepers Hut'. Photographs of the time show one-storey timber buildings, and some photographs show the interiors. Blocks A to E are not shaded on the plan, where shading indicates Naval usage. However, the captions and position of the buildings suggests military usage, and the lack of shading is puzzling. This building is the 'Sweeper's Hut'. Later the area of the hutments was used for tank farm extension or creation of berms around some of the tanks (on the west), or for housing and the distillery (on the east). Seabank Road was later built on this site. On an Admiralty plan of 1921 (MPI 1/651/4) dating to 1921 , Blocks A to E are shaded to indicate military use. It labels this hut 'Cleaners'. <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>