The mortar and pestle
Attribution: unknown (Greenhill street in Dingwall looking North)
Another piece of Dingwall's history
The traditional symbol of chemists – a mortar and pestle – stood above Dewar & Hay’s chemist shop for decades, possibly renewed from time to time. Lloyds Pharmacy occupied the chemist’s shop for a number of years until, in 2016, it relocated to nearby premises and the wooden sign, now somewhat decayed, was consigned to a skip.
When Kelvin Ambrose, of nearby Macdonald’s Hardware, realised that a part of Dingwall’s heritage had disappeared, he persuaded Lloyds to retrieve the sign and have it fully refurbished along with the original bracket that held it in place.
It was agreed that the mortar and pestle sign should find a home in Dingwall Museum, part of which, by coincidence, is housed in a former chemist’s shop.