Publication Account
Date 1985
Event ID 1018733
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/1018733
Although Oban can proclaim few early buildings, its origins, like those of Campbeltown, go back to the very earliest inhabitants of Scotland, traces of whose remains were found in the course of building programmes in the last century; caves with the occupation debris of some of the earliest hunting communities in Scotland were discovered, together with several cist-burials of bronze-age date, particularly as the northern part of the town was being developed. The medieval stronghold of Dunollie (no. 23), perhaps with its origins in the Dark Ages, underlines the importance of the anchorage, at a time when so much of west coast communications were seaborne. There was by the early 18th century a prosperous trading station and by about 1760 a customs house had been established. As illustrated about the middle of the 19th century Oban is shown to have been a neat thriving town with the Free Church and much of George Street already built, with Stafford Street running down to what is now the North Pier.
On 30 June 1880 the Callander and Oban railway was at last complete and Oban was set to become that 'Charing Cross of the Highlands' that it remains today: the railway, together with MacBrayne's steamers, offers holiday-makers access to some of the most spectacular scenery in Scotland. Moreover, from a commercial point of view for the fishermen, the railway opened up markets in the south. Even allowing for what is clearly a festive occasion, the Oban of around 1890 as shown in George Washington Wilson's photograph is very different from the illustration of only thirty years before.
Although it may seem unkind to say that Oban has little to offer the architecturally-minded visitor, look up above the modem shop fronts and there are often fine examples of domestic building of later Victorian and early twentieth century styles. The great tower that overlooks the town begun by James Stuart McCaig between 1897 and his death in 1902 is a monument both to himself and to his belief that the masons of Oban should be employed during the lean winter months. Churches of note are the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Columba on Corran Esplanade; the architect was Sir Giles Gilbert Scott and the building was completed in 1952. Nearby is the attractive church of Christ's Church, Dunollie, built in 1957, designed by the distinguished architect Leslie Grahame MacDougall.
Information from ‘Exploring Scotland’s Heritage: Argyll and the Western Isles’, (1985).
