‘Hospitality’ may feel like a reasonably modern term in the sense of going out to enjoy a drink, a meal or entertainment, but it has its roots firmly in ancient history. During the age of early travel and the development of trade routes across the north of Scotland, local inns offered primitive rooms with stable facilities for weary travellers and their trusty steeds.
Medieval life in Elgin was centred round today’s High Street. The back closes housed hard working families who struggled with poor living conditions. I’m sure these grim surroundings became more bearable when small ‘tippling houses’ began to open up along these many closes, with interesting names such as the Hole in the Wa’.
It wasn’t until the early 19th Century that a building boom brought a whole new era of more upmarket hospitality facilities. The long-awaited arrival of the railway to Elgin provided more opportunity for a wider public to explore long distance travel in comfort. Many of the traditional inns with their stables were replaced with much grander buildings. In the early 1800s, it’s reputed there were at least eight inns and hotels down one side of the High Street! The Plough Inn, the Fife Arms Hotel, Harrow Inn, Gordon Arms, Newmarket and Commercial Hotels – all long since gone – repurposed for businesses, storage, shops and private residences.
I’ve researched quite a few of Elgin’s prominent buildings from the Georgian and Victorian eras with some fascinating stories behind their rich history. However, one building I’ve been investigating at the west end of the High Street wasn’t built as a major bank, hotel or grand residence for the local gentry … it was simply a prime location for shopkeepers to sell their wares. The address, 178-182 High Street, suggests that this building served a number of families and their businesses. It wasn’t until the late 20th Century that the two shop fronts amalgamated into one large shop premises – many of you will remember the family business, Asher’s of Elgin, the furniture store. After nearly two hundred years of family shopkeepers serving the community, the building together with extensive rear premises have followed the town centre’s long tradition of being ‘repurposed’ … this time for provision of hospitality. Although it was transformed into an attractive, contemporary social venue in recent years, there is still a strong sense of the past when you walk through the doors. The inner walls have been painstakingly restored to reveal striking stonework dating back to those early medieval days when the word ‘hospitality’ conjures up a completely different image. If you know any interesting history about this part of the High Street, particularly the building more recently known as Badenoch’s, I’d love to hear from you. Delving into the past has revealed quite a few intriguing anecdotes of old Elgin … it’s a fascinating journey!
I look forward to sharing more soon …