Muir of Ord Police Station
Attribution: unknown or not recorded
Village Police Station
There has long been a police presence in Muir of Ord and in researching the newspaper archives there have been many police constables and sergeants serving and living in the village. As far back as 1868 we find Police-Constable Alexander Fraser who served the village for upwards of five years. At that time, the police accommodation was at the Tarradale Hotel. Ross-shire County Council recommended the erection of a police station at Muir of Ord in 1891, at a cost of £350.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
Police Constable Hugh Fraser
Police Constable Hugh Fraser, stationed at Dornie was subsequently promoted to Sergeant and placed in charge of the new station. Although the building was not completed for a few years, Sergeant Fraser moved to the village in July 1891. Hugh was born in Beauly around 1840 and whilst stationed in the Kintail area, he married Helen MacRae. They had one child, Annie, whilst living at Dornie and between 1891 and 1898 they had another five children; Hugh, Farquhar, Donald, Christina and John, at Muir of Ord. Christina and John being the only two to be born at the new police station & house.
In 1899, Constable A. MacKay, Sanitary Inspector at Fortrose was appointed to Tarradale Police Station and the following year, Sergeant Fraser retired on a pension of £49 6s 5d. The family moved to live at Spittalwood. Constable MacKay was promoted to Sergeant.
Valuation Rolls do not often provide names of the tenant at the Police station and more often than not, only record the proprietor as being the County Council at Dingwall. It therefore makes it difficult to trace the names of some serving police constables or sergeants stationed there. Most names have been found in Newspaper archives or through articles written by previous Muir of Ord locals. Below are just a few of the names I came across;
Constable MacLean 1903
Sergeant Duncan MacKay was from the west coast and during the 1930’s he was known by the children as ‘Braxy’ after an infectious disease which affects sheep. He moved to Invergordon in 1937.
Sergeant David Macrae
Sergeant David Macrae had been a constable at Ullapool and was promoted to Sergeant in 1937 when he was transferred to Muir of Ord. He was described by John Urquhart (the Boggan) as being “over 6 feet tall, with his bicycle being his only form of transport. If any policeman had a tough beat at that time, it was ‘Big Davie’, he had soldiers to contend with, Poles, Canadians, Travelling People, with such a mixture of people from different backgrounds there was bound to be trouble, he got more than his fair share of it.”
New Police Station
The new station was built in the late 1960’s/ early 1970’s, in an age when the road network and transport options were not as advanced as they are now.
The building provided sufficient office space for officers to carry our their work , whilst also providing rural officers with a place to live for them and their family.
With advances and investment in digital technology and the quality of fleet vehicles, officers are no longer tied to working from police buildings in a particular area.
Completing their reports and paperwork directly on their mobile devices without the need to return to the office.
For several years, this building had a parked police vehicle outside it’s doors, however it was very rarely manned .
Now surplus to requirements, it is to be sold in 2024.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
