Jennifer Morag Henderson

The site of Josephine Tey’s family shop on Castle Street in Inverness is currently under scaffolding.

Josephine Tey’s family ran a fruit shop for many years, and its success was a huge influence on her life – as the shop prospered, Tey’s father Colin was able to move his family into a bigger house and support his daughters through school and further education.

By the time of his death, Colin Mackintosh owned several buildings, including not only the fruit shop itself but also an empty unit which he used as a store, and the flats above these shops, which he let out.

The site of Josephine Tey’s family shop has been occupied for many years by a kiltmaker, but unfortunately the roof over one unit is decaying and impacting on the external walls, leading to a risk of falling masonry, so the scaffolding has been put up to make it safe. The owners estimate around £2million is needed to fully reinstate the 18^th century building.