Statement of Special Interest
Vallay House (Taigh Bhàlaigh) including section of castellated boundary wall to west, Vallay Island, North Uist meets the criteria of special architectural or historic interest for the following reasons:
- As an unusually large and well-detailed example of a Baronial-style mansion house dating from the beginning of the 20th century, which is rare in the context of the Western Isles.
- For its prominent and little-altered setting on Vallay Island. The house is clearly visible in views from mainland North Uist, across the Vallay Strand. It relates to other (unlisted) buildings which together form a related estate group, the plan form of which has altered little since Vallay House was constructed.
- For its close historical association with Erskine Beveridge, an important archaeologist, geographer, writer and photographer in early 20th century Scotland.
Historical Development:
In the early 18th century Eilean Bhàlaigh (Vallay) was in the possession of Lord MacDonald of Sleat. Lord MacDonald offered to lease the island in 1829, noting the Vallay soil was well known for its fertility, and that the house (Chamberlain's House) was fit for the accommodation of a genteel family (Inverness Courier, 1829). The Earl of Dunmore acquired the island in 1834 (Ordnance Survey Name Book, 1876). The 1841 census recorded around 12 families (59 people) living on the island at that time, most of them crofters/tenant farmers.
In 1901, the Dunfermline textile manufacturer and antiquary, Erskine Beveridge (1851–1920) bought the island and built Vallay House, also known as Taigh Mor (The Big House). Completed in 1904, its purpose was as a large and comfortable summer retreat for Beveridge and his family to pursue their varied archaeological, historical and naturalist interests.
The Island of Vallay remained the property of the Beveridge family for at least 25 years after Erskine's death in 1920. A stone cairn memorial (not listed) to Beveridge's son, George was erected around 750 metres to the west of the house in 1945. Nobody has lived on the island on a permanent basis since around that date, but Vallay remains in use for grazing highland cattle as part of a larger farm estate.
A photographic record of the buildings on Vallay was carried out in 2009 (National Record of the Historic Environment, www.canmore.org.uk). In 2015 the Scottish Civic Trust noted that the building remained in much the same condition as seen in 2010, with the walls intact (Buildings at Risk Register 2015). Photographs from 2020 (Canmore) show the exterior walls remain complete to wallhead.
Architectural interest:
Design
Vallay House is one of the largest domestic properties of its period in the Western Isles, having at least 25 rooms. Design interest is found in the use of a pared-back Scots Baronial style which displays an irregular composition at each elevation, and includes multiple crowstep gables, rounded towers and roundel windows.
The irregular and multi-gabled plan form of the building reflects the enduring fashion for a historical and traditional architectural style during the early 20th century in Scotland, as well as the outlook and architectural tastes of its builder and owner, Erskine Beveridge (see Historic Interest below) who himself was an antiquarian. The Baronial style, while not uncommon for country houses on the Scottish mainland, is unusual on this scale at a relatively inaccessible small island location in the Western Isles. While it stands in contrast with the other earlier structures on Vallay, the use of Lewisian gneiss rubble evokes Hebridean building traditions, while the concrete render reflects local vernacular methods of weather-proofing. Contemporary architects such as Robert Lorimer and Charles Rennie Mackintosh were also experimenting with concrete around 1900, giving a modern interpretation of vernacular architecture, but its use was still relatively uncommon for domestic properties at the time.
The construction of such a substantial house at this location required significant effort and expertise. Many tons of local Lewisian gneiss stone, as well as timber, brick and glass had to be transported to Vallay.
Although the architect of Vallay House is currently unknown (2020), the overall design and build project was an ambitious one. Great volumes of Lewisian gneiss stone rubble and other building materials had to be transported to the island, and fresh water was piped two kilometres across the Vallay Strand from North Uist at great expense, although little physical evidence of the lead pipe is known to survive.
The castellation of the west boundary wall is in keeping with the style of the house, reinforcing the contrast between the old and new buildings.
Remnants of the fixed interior decorative scheme are known to survive throughout the building including some remaining fireplaces and examples of wall and ceiling plasterwork. These are in the early 20th century or Edwardian fashion of brightly coloured tiled fireplaces. The remnants of the interior (as shown in 2009 and 2015 photography) provide a good indication of the original scheme. The interior scheme is broadly representative of a building of this size and period, but again is unusual in the Western Isles.
While Vallay House is incomplete, the loss of most of its interior scheme, roof structure and glazing has not adversely affected the design interest of the building to the extent that it can no longer be understood. In its reduced form, the design and plan form of the building continues to read as a grand summer residence, in this case tailored for a notable Scottish antiquary, naturalist and businessman.
Setting
Vallay is an intertidal island, accessible for six hours every low tide, across a two-kilometre expanse of sand known as the Vallay Strand. The Vallay Strand and island are conspicuous landscape elements within this area of North Uist. The island is known for its colourful machair, sandy beaches and variety of seabirds.
Vallay House is located in one of the most fertile and accessible areas on the southwest side of the island, facing the North Uist mainland. It is the most prominent building on the island, clearly visible in views from the mainland, across the Vallay Strand.
The immediate and wider landscape setting of the house contributes to our understanding of its function and its historical context. The building's relationship with the neighbouring farm buildings is of some interest (also see Social Historical Interest). It is set apart from the remains of Old Vallay House, Chamberlain's House and farm buildings, but is still inter-visible and forms a group of historic buildings.
The setting and the relationship with the other buildings on the island has not changed since the new house was completed in 1904. The retention of the agricultural setting adds to the special interest under this heading.
Historic interest:
Age and rarity
Vallay House is a large, irregular-plan, multi-gabled mansion house in the late Scots Baronial style, built 1901–04. It is not an early or rare example of its building type, but it is of interest under this heading as an unusually large mansion house in a particularly remote, small island setting.
While large domestic private houses of this period and style are not uncommon generally throughout Scotland, they are rare in the Western Isles. Other examples that make use of the Baronial style are few, but include the outstanding Amhuinnsuidhe Castle (LB12767), built in 1867 for Charles Murray, 7th Earl of Dunmore, on the nearby Island of Harris. Charles Murray owned the Island of Vallay prior to its purchase by Erskine Beveridge in 1901.
Social historical interest
Vallay House (or Taigh Mor - The Big House) stands apart from the remains of earlier buildings to the east, both stylistically and in terms of its principal purpose, being a summer retreat for the island owner, Erskine Beveridge and a base for archaeological projects and other academic pursuits.
Association with people or events of national importance
The house was constructed for Erskine Beveridge (1815–1920), a figure of national significance to the history and material culture of the Uists in the early 20th century. As a keen antiquarian, geographer, naturalist, author and photographer, he made significant contributions to our understanding of the archaeology, history, folklore and place-names in North Uist. He has been referred to as one of the earliest and most significant archaeological excavators in the Western Isles (Armit, 1996) whose extensive work on hundreds of sites in North Uist was exemplary for its time and remains unparalleled (Raven, 2005).
Erskine Beveridge was a renowned businessman who owned one of the most successful industrial linen works in Scotland at the end of the 19th century. He first came to the Western Isles in 1897 after exploring Coll and Tiree, purchasing the Vallay estate on the north coast of North Uist in 1901 and taking on the role of landlord. He repaired the older farm buildings and continued to employ an estate manager and the remaining tenant farms on the island.
Beveridge and his family spent many summers from 1904 to 1920 excavating sites across the Vallay estate including prehistoric earth houses and burial cists at Cnoc a'Comhdhalach, Dun Thomaidh, Eilean Maleit, Foshigarry, and Garry Lochdrach (Sharples, 2015). Several of these, such as the Bac Mhic Connain wheelhouse, are within sight of Vallay House. Various rooms within the house were used for the organising, recording and display of the various excavated artefacts.
The results of Beveridge's observations, recordings and excavations brought the archaeology of North and South Uist to the attention of the research community both nationally and in Europe. The work of the first decade was published in the influential volume North Uist: Its Archaeology and Topography (1911, reprinted 2001), and was not surpassed for many years (Sharples, 2015).
Beveridge was an experienced photographer, both for research purposes and to document a disappearing way of life. One of his sons published a two-volume work of his photographs in 1922. More than 750 photographs are the subject of the book Wanderings with a Camera in Scotland, The Photography of Erskine Beveridge (RCAHMS, 2009).
Beveridge's association with Vallay Island is documented and authenticated in a series of published works, photographs and later academic research. Many of Beveridge's finds are now held by the National Museum of Scotland.
The construction of Vallay House from 1901–1904 relates directly to Erskine Beveridge's interest in North Uist's history, and the archaeological potential of Vallay Island more specifically. The presence of the house in its current state of survival, including its scale, style and form, contributes to an understanding of Erskine Beveridge as a person, his aspirations as a landowner and his commitment to the exploration and documentation of the archaeology of Vallay Island and North Uist.