Building record MHG9120 - Fishing Station, Tanera More

The site has been described by the North of Scotland Archaeological Society:

The site is “B” listed (HB No 7766 -19, 1989) and comprises a substantial 2 storey building and quay which lies in a sheltered position on the east side of the island at the head of the large NE facing bay known as the Anchorage.

The building is situated just 14.5m to the SW of the pier and is in alignment with it. It is entered through a wide arch and appears, at one time, to have been two buildings lying parallel to each other, just 4.9m apart. The walls are of weathered and dressed red sandstone. They are mortared and there is evidence of external rendering not necessarily contemporary with the original construction. The walls are in a reasonable state of preservation although there are two lintels in the upper windows of the managers house that are in a precarious state. To the rear, northwest, of the managers house there are the remains of a further building which is contiguous with it but which has no connecting access. A modern single storey bungalow has been built next to this, using part of its wall. An enclosed garden lies to the west of the site. Inside all the buildings there is an assortment of wooden sheds and general detritus.

The building has 2 parts to it:
1. The main part is a long building to the NW. It is roofless, 2 storeys in height and measures 34m x 6.5m overall. The managers house occupies the N end and the curing house the S end.
2. The courtyard, which is surrounded by a wall of 1 storey in height and measures 34m x 10.9m overall, comprises the remains of a building lying parallel and to the SE of the main building. The internal/NW wall of this building appears either to have been demolished or never to have been completed, possibly the former since there are small sections of the wall at each end remaining. Two walls, each with an entrance, have been constructed in the intervening gap connecting it with the main building.

The Managers House
Occupies the northern third of the main range of the building and has overall measurements of 11.5m x 6.5m. The external north wall is 0.95m thick, but otherwise the walls are 0.65m thick. There is a central entrance in the SE wall with a small window above it and 4 windows, 2 up, 2 down, on either side of the entrance. One of the windows is completely blocked with stonework. The NE wall has a partially blocked entrance at its W end with a window above, a small window at its E side and 2 fireplaces, 1 up and 1 down, in the centre. Of all the walls in the building this NE one is in the poorest state of preservation. The only feature in the other 2 walls is a fireplace in the upper level of the SW wall. All the windows and the entrances have external stone lintels and internal timber lintels.

The Curing House
The curing house occupies the southern two-thirds of the main range of buildings. It is divided into 4 ?curing rooms with ?later partitions between them, 1 of the partitions is abutting a blocked window. The rooms are roughly similar in size, the smallest being 4.8m x 5m internally and the largest 5.3m x 5m. Each room has one window and an entrance in the lower storey facing SE into the courtyard, there are no windows in the upper storey and no windows in any of the other walls. Three of the rooms have entrances in the rear/NW wall, 2 of which have been completely blocked up and the third has been increased in height with a makeshift timber lintel. There is a blocked up fireplace in the SW external wall and also a blocked entrance here which does not have a lintel. All the entrances and windows in the curing house have external stone lintels and internal timber lintels. The joist sockets for the timbers of the upper floor are a particular feature on both the internal front/SE wall and the rear/NW wall.

The Courtyard
The courtyard is to the SE of the main range of the building and is completely enclosed by a wall of roughly 2.5m height, probably constructed to provide a sheltered work area. The wall is 0.65m thick and has the same construction as the main building, although there are two sections of rougher stonework each adjacent to the main building and each having an opening to the outside. The north opening or entrance is arched and 2.45m wide, the south entrance is 1.2m wide. The internal dimensions of the whole courtyard is 32.3m x 10.3m. As mentioned above it may be that the courtyard has originally started out as a separate building as there is a return at both the north and the south end. The north return is just ?0.5m in length (height?). The south return is 4.65m in length and forms the wall of a roofed shed, it has a blocked window halfway along. A more roughly constructed dividing wall in the southern half of the courtyard may be a later addition. There are two other features in the courtyard wall - halfway along the SE wall there is a tapered slit window, just 0.2m wide on the outside (0.5m inside) and in the NE wall there are 2 blocked ?fireplaces back to back, indicating that the external wall of 6.2m length and 1m height here may have been part of an abutting building. <1>