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Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands
Date 2007
Event ID 930916
Category Descriptive Accounts
Type Publication Account
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/930916
Inverness Harbour
(Institute Civil Engineers Historic Engineering Works no. HEW 2534)
The harbour is located at the sheltered entrance to the Ness chiefly on the east bank of the river. The Old Quay, dating from ca.1675 which accommodated vessels of 70 to 80 tons, was an improvement on earlier arrangements dating back to 1249. The harbour was enlarged from 1725–32 when the ‘New’ or ‘Citadel’ Quay was built, following which little seems to have been done to maintain the works although the harbour dues were significant and a factor in the town’s prosperity.
In order to accommodate increased trade and traffic during the Industrial Revolution [post-mid 18th century on], Thornbush Quay on the west bank was begun in 1813 and completed in 1817. The work was done under Telford’s direction by Thomas Hughes using the unusual and economical expedient of building the masonry under water [see 'The Theory, Practice, and Architecture of Bridges of Stone, Iron, Timber, and Wire, edited by John Weale,' London, 1843, 2 vols]. The bed of the river was deepened, widened and cleansed.
Under an act of 1847, further improvements were carried out under the direction of Joseph Mitchell. The river was deepened, Thornbush Quay was extended and the Upper Quay was improved. Construction of the five-span Ness Viaduct for the Ross-shire Railway in 1862, for which Mitchell was the engineer, cut off the old harbour and resulted in Shore Street Quay being built downstream at the railway company’s expense.
In 1883 a new masonry quay was built at Shore Street in front of the old one. Further improvements were carried out in 1899 and in 1908 a new boat slipway was built at Thornbush Quay. This offered ship repair facilities for drifters and trawlers and encouraged small-scale shipbuilding,
services much used during the first and second world wars and still in use.
Further expansion of the harbour took place in 1985 with the construction opposite Thornbush Quay of the 600 ft long Longman Quay, the land reclamation for which can be seen in the foreground of the view.
R Paxton and J Shipway, 2007.
Reproduced from 'Civil Engineering heritage: Scotland - Highlands and Islands' with kind permission from Thomas Telford Publishers.
