Historic house in Inverness to open doors

PEOPLE will have the chance to take a peek inside Inverness’s oldest secular building this summer following the success of a trial opening last year.

Abertarff House, which is more than 400 years old, will open between Easter and October and will also host small events, weddings and private bookings.

Based in Church Street, it is owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) which has recently carried out conservation work on the outside of the building.

Project manager Katey Boal hopes to recruit volunteers to help out at the two-and-a-half storey town house which was visited by hundreds of locals and tourists last year.

‘We are also hoping that we’ll discover some amazing new information about this building and its story with the help of volunteers and visitors,” she said.

“Some fascinating stories came to light through interaction with the public over last season, including a Beauly resident who was born at Abertarff over 80 years ago.”

Built for the Frasers of Lovat in 1593, the house was in the family for more than 200 years and then bought by the Commercial Bank of Scotland in the 19th century. It was gifted to the NTS in 1963.

Would-be volunteers should email mferguson@nts.org.uk or call 01463 732621.

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