Jennifer Morag Henderson

There are new plans for the site of Josephine Tey’s family shop on Castle Street.

In my biography of Josephine Tey, I describe how her father Colin owned a fruit shop on Castle Street in Inverness, and also rented out flats above the shop. Here on this blog, I’ve talked before about what has happened to the site (more than once), and how it has fallen into disrepair.

Now, the local paper reports that the site is going to be renovated and turned into flats and a retail unit once again. https://www.inverness-courier.co.uk/news/work-to-transform-derelict-building-in-shadow-of-castle-to-begin-next-month-206455/

The original stonework will be preserved, the façade of the building rebuilt, and eight flats created – one less than when it was owned by Colin Mackintosh.

When Josephine Tey’s family owned the site in the 1920s, their tenants included a warehouseman, a lamplighter, and a ‘spinster lady’. The new owners in 2020 hope to create opportunities for people to live in the centre of Inverness, and contribute to the regeneration of the city.

As a sidebar, I enjoy how so many of the pictures accompanying articles in the local paper now look a bit like album covers – who knew that the secret to looking a little bit rock ‘n’ roll was for groups of people to stand at a coronavirus-safe 2-metre social distance from everyone while getting your photograph taken…