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MHG10181 - Former Inn and House - Ard Neackie

Summary

Heilam Inn built in 1831, later became a house. It now stands derelict.

Type and Period (2)

Protected Status

Full Description

Marked as "Heilam Inn" on the 1st edition 6" OS map c.1878 <1>.

Two-storey gabled ferryhouse built 1831. Designed by Alexander Coupar with a worn Stafford coat of arms above the door. From here the Heilan Ferry once plied to Portnancon on the western shore <2>.

A small associated store/coal shed is located to the south-west of the main house. It is constructed in a similar style but with two vertical slit windows flanking the central doorway. Some of the stonework is crumbling and ivy is starting to cover the southern gable wall. The house and outbuildings predate the limekilns to the south <3>.

The associated kilns, pier and quarry were scheduled in 1978.

The house and the pier and kilns to the southwest were listed at Category B in 1984.

A rapid coastal zone assessment survey was conducted by GUARD in the Autumn of 1997 commissioned by Historic Scotland from the Viking and Early Settlement Archaeological Research Project based at the University of Glasgow.

An abandoned two-storey house on the tombola in Loch Eriboll is the Heilam Inn built in the early C 19th by the Sutherland/Stafford family (Close-Brooks, 1995, 59-60). This structure measures 15 m N-S by 7 m, has chimneys at both gables and faces the east shore of the loch. The slate roof is still on the building and in relatively good order. The doors and windows are still in place and locked. There is a stone carved crest above the door which is now very weather-worn and illegible. A byre at the SW corner of the inn measures 7 m N-S by 5 m and is constructed of mortared stone blocks with a slate roof. Inside, the byre is split up by wooden stalls and has a beaten earth floor. There is a flagged platform at the entrance to the byre which protects a drain leading from the interior. A dry-stone enclosure abutts the byre at the south and measures 16 m N-S by 12 m. <4>

The site was reviewed by Historic Scotland in 2017 as part of the Dual Designation Project. The site was not visited and it was recommended that the site be descheduled but that the kilns and pier remain remain listed. <5>

The site was descheduled in 2017 but the Category B listing remains. <6>

Ordnance Survey Mastermap <7>

Sources/Archives (9)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred NC 4473 5972 (26m by 33m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	NC45NW
Geographical Area	SUTHERLAND
Civil Parish	DURNESS

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

External Links (4)