Seaforth Road
Attribution: unknown or not recorded
Residential Homes on Seaforth Road
Muir of Ord became a much busier place following the advent of the Railway. With that, more people moved to the area, many in the employ of the railway and from all over Scotland. New houses and buildings were required.
Below we record some of the older buildings and their earlier owner/tenants:
Seaforth Cottage
This tenement building was located on the far side of where the Church on Seaforth Road is today, and it has been mentioned in the newspaper archive, as far back as 1885 with the birth of James Paterson Dunn. The family have been identified as Peter Gunn and his wife Charlotte Gordon who were married at Glass in 1875 and may suggest that Peter was working for the railway?
It was a building with around six separate accommodation rooms and in those days it was most likely only one room.
In 1895, it was owned by Duncan MacKenzie of Muir of Ord who was a clerk. It is not known where he was living at the time, however the Valuation rolls of 1885 and 1895 have a Duncan MacKenzie living at Achtabannoch on the Fairburn Estate. What we do know is that Duncan Mackenzie was living at Shantullich farm by 1905.
By 1895 the only people remaining from the 1891 census was Ann MacLennan, Elizabeth Ross and William MacKenzie, although we have no record of who was living with them. Three new tenants had moved in: Duncan Munro, Railway Porter; James MacRae, Foreman Platelayer; George Cameron, Smith.
It appears that by the 1905 valuation roll, the building may have belonged to Duncan Mackenzie of Shantullich Farm, Munlochy. The buildings on this valuation roll do not have house names, however widows Ann MacLellan and Elizabeth Ross are still tenants at this property.
The 1911 census did not tend to use house names but I did find an Elizabeth Ross, aged 74 living within the village. It is however hard to establish just how many other families and people were living in this building of multiple occupancy.
The owner, Duncan MacKenzie was living at Seaforth Cottage by the 1915 valuation roll but had moved on by the 1920 roll.
By 1925, Seaforth Cottage had been sold to Mr John MacKay, Governer of the Black Isle Combination Poorhouse, Ness House, Fortrose. John MacKay had been in charge of the County Prison at Dingwall prior to being appointed governer of the Poorhouse around 1907. He was described as a man of genail prsonality which made him an ideal governer. He died in 1928 and is buried at Kiltearn cemetery. His wife remained the owner of Seaforth Cottages.
One of the longest tenants was an Alexander Urquhart who was evidenced on the 1920 Valuation roll and still lving there by 1940. On the 1921 census he was recorded as being 71 years of age. He actually died in 1932 but I presume as his grandchildren were documented as living with him in 1921. With Annie getting married in 1931, perhaps her brother remained in the property until sometime after 1940 ?
Fir Cottage
The house appears to have been built around 1930 and was occupied by a Donald Maclennan who had come to the village from Fiddlefield, Muir of Tarradale.
He took over as carpenter and undertaker from Roderick Mackenzie of Newtonville.
He was known as ‘Dan the Feeler’. He is a different Maclennan from the undertaker that later lived at Gowanfield.
Whinstone Cottage
The first mention of Whinstone Cottage is on the 1920 valuation roll, however there is a possibility it was being built in 1915 as there was an un-named property in the same spot that was owned by a Finlay MacDonald, a mason from Wester Balblair, Beauly. By 1920, the building named ‘Whinstone’ was owned by the Parish Council of Urray and housed a Mr William Burns, The Officer for the Poor. His job was to be responsible for administering poor relief in the village, working alongside the local Poorhouse at Fortrose , collection of rates and burial clerk. A precursor to the Department of Health and Social Security when it was the responsibility of local parish councils.
William Burns was born on the Fairburn Estate in 1886 where his father was gamekeeper. He was appointed as Inspector of the Poor for the parish of Urray in 1915. The 1921 census states he was married, however there are no records in Scotland, which would indicate that he was possibly away during the war when he met and married Jean Kitley around 1916/17. His wife Jean, was born in 1884 at Rothiemurchus. William and Jean lived at Whinstone until at least 1946, they had three children; William Patrick, John Kitley and Elinor Margaret.
During their time in the village, Jean was heavily involved with the Muir of Ord District Nursing Association as secretary and dealt with applications for nursing positions in the village.
In 1946, a Mr W. Burns resigned his post as Public Assistance Officer for Avoch and became the Officer for the parishes of Urray and Urquhart, with headquarters at Muir of Ord. There is ever possibility this was their son, William Patrick Burns who was taking over at Muir of Ord following his father’s retirement. William senior would have been 60 at that time.
Jean died in 1965 and William in 1971, they had been working and living in the village for around 50 years. It is out of respect for this couple that Burns Crescent got its name.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
Newtonville
Newtonville was the owned and occupied by Roderick Mackenzie in 1925 although he may have lived there from as early as 1920. He had however been living in the village since at least 1905, building up his Carpentry business. He originally leased a room in the Macintosh building and a workshop from the Forbes family and ten years later in 1915, he owned the workshop. He may also have built the cottages beside the workshop that went on to become the Post office building and dwelling house until 1927, at the same time as Newtonville was also for sale.
The house was described as having ”two public rooms, four bedrooms, bathroom with hot and cold water, two pantries, napiery (table linen) press, maid’s room, kitchen-scullery, two lavatories, large garden, poultry run and the usual outhouses. It also had electric lighting.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
Newtonville - The Yews - Lalliemore
Sometime between the 1927 and 1930, the house changed its name to ‘The Yews’. It was then owned by Margaret McKidd and her daughter Marjorie Munro Brownlie McKidd. Margaret and her husband George were married at Paisley in 1896, their first child was born that same year at Kingussie as was Marjory in 1902. The family then moved to Mortlach in 1911 and 1921. The 1930 valuation roll has Margaret and Marjorie recorded as living at Orrinside with William Forbes as their tenant at ‘The Yews’.
1935 saw Margaret and Marjorie living at the property and a Women’s Institute minutes records Miss McKidd as having left the area for Dundee.
With the house being so large, Margaret and Marjorie also leased out rooms and in 1932 a John Samuel Gibson and his new wife, Janet Rose H. Pace. John was native to Eyemouth and they were married in 1932 at Dunfermline. Their son Peter was born at Newtonville in 1934.
1936 saw the house for sale once again and the 1940 valuation roll has Walter Black Mckeith as the owner and tenant. It is believed that Walter may have worked for the ministry of transport and lived and worked in Aberdeen from around 1952, but could be earlier as his father died at the property in 1946. Walter’s children by his second wife were both born in Aberdeen before this.
The next known occupier of Newtonville was a Miss Margaret Logan from Ardross who was a well-respected bee-keeper and known for her skills all over the world.
Today, the house is called Lalliemore.
Ruapuna 1 & Ruapuna 2
Built around 1907 by Donald MacLennan a former sheep manager to a Mr Gordon of Cullissee and then another Mr Gordon of Arabella, both in Easter Ross. Prior to his retirement, he worked as the sheep manager to Captain Combe of Strathconon. He was a quiet, upright and of a kindly disposition which made him a sincere friend, pleasant companion and greatly respected in the community. He built Ruapuna when he retired to Muir of Ord where he lived in Ruapuna 1 and his parents lived through the wall in Ruapuna 2. He died in 1910 after a long illness, he was 66.
I should add at this point that as a sheep manager, Donald would have had possibly spent some time working in New Zealand or even just working with them in his business, hence the strange New Zealand name of Ruapuna came to Muir of Ord.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
Tenants in 1911 of Ruapuna 1 was Andrew Dodds and his wife. Andrew had come to the village from Penicuik, as an Inspector of the Poor. Donald MacLennan sr. and his wife Margaret remained at Ruapuna 2.
In 1915, the new proprietor was a Farquhar MacLennan of Highfield Park, Conon Bridge and the tenants were still Mr Andrew Dodds and also the sub-postmaster, John T. Ross, formerly of the original Post office (Muir bank) and then Seaforth Cottage in the 1921 census.
Another prevalent family name in the village were the Fraser family of Tarradale Hotel and Carn-a-Clarsair.
By 1925, a son of the family, Alexander Fraser, better known as ‘The Major’ died at this address. He had been a whisky traveller and representative of the Ord Distillery Company. He had for a time, worked at the company’s head office at Dundee at the turn of the century and was well respected in the area.
Ruapuna 2 is now know as An Caladh.
Gowanfield
Gowanfield first appears as a named property on the 1905 valuation roll with its first owner/occupier being James MacDonald a coal merchant and storekeeper.
The name, Gowanfield may be as a mark of respect for the coal merchant William Paterson from Dingwall who also had a house of the same name on Station Road. Could James have been an employee of William? It is known that William Paterson also had a coal merchant yard in Muir of Ord. What we do know is that James McDonald and Elizabeth McMillan were married at Inverness in 1884 and their first three children were born in the Dingwall/Fodderty area.
Could it be that he was working for William in the first few years of their marriage?
Gowanfield remained in the ownership of the MacDonald family until 2019. It is believed the next owners were the MacLennan family of the undertakers, also on Seaforth Road but not the same Maclennan’s as Fir Cottage.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
Ellan Vannin
Ellan Vannin is known to be the Manx name for the Isle of Man.
Peter Fraser was a motor driver and may have had links to the Isle of Man motorsports, hence the name of the house?
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
Railway House
This was a cottage/house that stood where the pharmacy is today and a larger house around the corner where the carpark is behind the shops.
Railway Cottage was owned by the Highland Railway Company and was home to at least three families in the 20th century.
Hugh Chisholm from around 1901 until his death in 1905.
John MacDonald until at least the late 1910’s and then William Fraser from around 1920.
The 1901 census has Hugh, aged 61, living with his wife Catherine and their five children aged between 9 and 20.
The couple were married at Kingussie in 1879 and going by the birth dates of their children the family had moved several times; Blair Atholl, Kingussie, Inverness and finally to Muir of Ord around 1893, when their youngest child was born.
The eldest son, Alexander followed his father and was a Railway Clerk in 1901. Mary Ann, the eldest daughter, married John Smith, a butcher at Ardersier, in 1911.
The earliest we can date John MacDonald’s occupation of the building was 1910 and the 1911 census indicates he was living with his wife, Margaret and they rented a room to a lodger who was a Bank sub agent.
John originated from Kingussie and Margaret was local to Muir of Ord.
There being several MacDonald families in the village, it is difficult to say how long they remained in the village or whether they had any children.
The next change we see for the property was a change in name of the owner.
By 1925, this was now the London Midland & Scottish Railway Company with head offices at 87 Union Street, Glasgow.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
