MHG30324 - Pre-WWI fuel tanks - Seabank Tank Farm, Invergordon
Summary
The first ten tanks at the Seabank Tank Farm were constructed prior to WWI to provide fuel for naval ships who used the port at Invergordon, with the first shipments received in 1913.
Type and Period (1)
- FUEL TANK (20th Century - 1901 AD to 1913 AD)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
Royal Navy Port Fuel Depot, Invergordon. A large number of brick concrete and steel fuel tanks for the Royal Navy, constructed in several phases between pre-1913 and the 1960s. (see MHG36549 for overview)
The first ten tanks were constructed prior to WWI to provide fuel for naval ships who used the port at Invergordon, with the first shipments received in 1913. <1>
Site visited in 1999 by J A Guy during work for the Defence of Britain Project. Brick, concrete and steel RN fuel tanks for Naval port. Piers and oil tanks and many other buildings. <2>
Martin Briscoe has uploaded photographs of the overall fuel tank site to the Highland HER Flickr group. The images are not linked directly to this record, as it is not clear if any of the photos relate to the pre-WWI tanks, but follow the link to the Flickr group (at the bottom of this record) to see further comments and see MHG36549 for the photos. <3>
The pre-WWI tanks were visited and photographed in 2015 as part of the ARCH project 'Invergordon in World War I'. During documentary research it was found that photographs show that they were painted with camouflage paint in WWI. The tanks were covered in bricks during WWII, but most of the bricks were taken away subsequently, although Seabank Tanks 6 and 7 are two that preserve their brick covering. A plan from 1962 labels the tank at NGR 270927 868868 (project database: Seabank Tank 5, site No. 5) as holding sullage. The 1962 plan also labels Tank 6 at NGR 270955 868831, Tank 7 at 270980 868792 and Tank 8 at 270941 868784 as AVCAT (fuel used by naval aircraft on board ships). <4>
The whole of the tank farm was considered for listing at Category A by Historic Environment Scotland in 2016. <5>
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SHG1923 Text/Publication/Monograph: Ash, M.. 1991. This noble harbour: a history of the Cromarty Firth. p.187.
- <2> SHG20874 Text/Report/Fieldwork Report: Guy, J. A.. 2000. Highland Region: A Survey of the 20th Century Defences. Historic Scotland. 30/01/2001. Digital (scanned as PDF). Vol. 2 pp.184-5 & Vol. 3 P42.
- <3> SHG23810 Image/Photograph(s): Briscoe, J M. 2008-11. Information and photographs of various sites submitted by Martin Briscoe. Colour. Yes. Digital. via Flickr.
- <4> SHG27123 Dataset: ARCH. 2015. Invergordon in World War I. Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands (ARCH). Digital. Sites 1-10.
- <5> SHG27503 Text/Designation Notification/List of Buildings: Historic Environment Scotland. 2016. Assessment against the listing criteria: Seabank Tank Farm, Invergordon. Historic Environment Scotland. 06/10/2016. Digital.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred NH 7090 6882 (187m by 119m) (2 map features) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | NH76NW |
| Geographical Area | ROSS AND CROMARTY |
| Civil Parish | ROSSKEEN |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (1)
Related Investigations/Events (1)
External Links (2)
- http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/decision/500001242 (View the HES Designations Portal entry)
- https://canmore.org.uk/site/174883 (View Canmore record)
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