Building record MHG57055 - WWI Y.W.C.A., - Saltburn Road - Invergordon

The former WWI Y.W.C.A. on Saltburn Road, Invergordon, now in use as a hotel.

The site was investigated in 2015 as part of the ARCH project 'Invergordon in World War I'. A number of women worked at the Invergordon dockyard during WWI, as builders, machinists, generating station power workers, as well as more traditional rolls as cooks, cleaners and office help. Accommodation was needed, and a Y.W.C.A. constructed, first appearing in the Valuation Rolls for 1918-1919. A picture from a WWI photo album in the collection of Historic Environment Scoltand, available on Canmore (canmore.org.uk, DP196258) shows a visit to the Y.W.C.A. Later it became the Viewfirth Hotel, and currently (2015) it is known as Tucker's Inn. Few original features survive in the interior, but the exterior apart from a modern conservatory added to the front is little altered. <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>