Coire

NG 86232 57208 A Level 1 historic building survey was carried out, 29 October 2014, on Coire Church. The work recorded detailed information about the character of the building and its landscape position prior to redevelopment of the site. The church was built in 1887 as part of the Church of Scotland, but later became non-denominational.

The church is a simple rectangular building aligned N–S along the spur of ground with a small vestibule attached to its E side. It was constructed of dressed sandstone, pointed with mortar. The slate-roofed building is in good condition, with stained glass windows surviving in four walls.

During the survey, the ruins of a stone-built structure, a probable boat house, was also recorded near the shore of Loch Torridon.

Report: Highland HER, OASIS and RCAHMS (intended)

Funder: Rural Design Architects

Lynn Fraser and Mary Peteranna – West Coast Archaeological Services

(Source: DES)

OASIS ID: rosscrom1-193995

NG 86232 57208 A Level 1 historic building survey was carried out, 29 October 2014, on Coire Church (DES 2014, 92). The work recorded detailed information about the character of the building and its landscape position prior to redevelopment of the site. The church was built in 1887 as part of the Church of Scotland, but later became non-denominational. During the development works in February 2015 a glass time capsule was discovered in the S wall of the porch of the church. Located within the third course of stonework up from the floor, the capsule was concealed in a hollowed-out stone, while the glass container was covered by a yellow sandstone lid. The glass container also contained a distillate, possibly methylated spirits, to assist preservation of the material held in the capsule.

The contents of the time capsule consisted of a collection of four coins, newspapers, a local gazette, a pamphlet pertaining to the construction of the church in 1887, and a handwritten letter identifying the contents of the capsule. Known at the time of construction as Torridon Church, the construction of the

church and the placement of the time capsule commemorated the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The church pamphlet and the gazette, named the Gladiator, provide a poignant insight into Torridon’s community in the late 19th-century, and create a meaningful context for the church. The building was founded with huge effort and dedication by the local people and their proprietor, and would have become an absolutely integral part of the settlement and surrounding area. Discussions are currently taking place between the developer and the local community to agree on a suitable location for the display of the contents of the time capsule.

Archive: National Record of the Historic Environment (intended)

Funder: Rural Design Architects for Sandy MacRae

Steven Birch – West Coast Archaeological Services

(Source: DES, Volume 16)

A farmstead comprising two roofed and two unroofed buildings, one of which has an attached enclosure, and a field is depicted on the 1st edition of the OS 6-inch map (Ross-shire 1881, sheet lxxxi). Three roofed buildings, which include a church and a manse, two enclosures and part of the field are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10000 map (1971).

Information from RCAHMS (SAH) 24 April 1996