Listed Building

The only legal part of the listing under the Planning (Listing Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 is the address/name of site. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing – see 'About Listed Buildings' below for more information. The further details below the 'Address/Name of Site' are provided for information purposes only.

Address/Name of Site

Delaware Hall, Station Road, Kyle of LochalshLB52473

Status: Designated

Documents

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Summary

Category
C
Date Added
13/03/2018
Local Authority
Highland
Parish
Lochalsh
NGR
NG 76434 27259
Coordinates
176434, 827259

Description

The building is a former United States Navy hut, dating probably to around 1917. It is a long, single storey, three-bay, and rectangular plan gabled building, constructed of timber on a concrete base, with corrugated iron cladding on the external walls and roof. There is timber barge-boarding on the eaves of the building. There is a small, gabled porch attached to the east with a two leaf timber entrance door on the north, and another two leaf entrance in the west gable elevation.

The north and south elevations have six-pane glazed timber windows arranged in pairs, however the lower half of the windows are boarded up on the north side of the building. There is a four-pane sash and case window on the east elevation of the porch, as well as to the left of the timber door in the west gable.

The interior was seen in 2017 and consists of one large timber-panelled room, with the timber painted up to the wall head. There are plain timber floor boards throughout. Simple metal trusses support the timber roof structure and there are timber louvered vents in the gabled ends.

Statement of Special Interest

The hut known as Delaware Hall is the last surviving building of a group of buildings that were put in place to support the United States Navy servicemen stationed in Kyle of Lochalsh during and after the First World War in connection with the creation of the Northern Barrage. Whilst the design is to a standardised form and the building has undergone some alteration, Delaware Hall is a rare survivor of a standard military building type that is associated with nationally important historical events.

Age and Rarity

The hut, known as the Delaware Hall, formed part of a small United States (U.S.) Naval base established at Kyle of Lochalsh in 1917 to support the creation of the Northern Barrage in the North Sea, also known as the North Sea Mine Barrage. Servicemen at the base processed mine components arriving by ship from the U.S.A, with up to 2,000 mines transported weekly by rail for final assembly at the U.S Naval base at Invergordon. A second U.S Naval base at Corpach also processed mine components for onward transport to the U.S Naval base at Inverness.

By 1917 huts were commonly found across most military sites to support the national war effort. Huts were required for large training camps, prisoner of war camps, hospitals, workhouses, factories, and agricultural or forestry work. By the end of the war, huts were so numerous, many were sold or abandoned, and subsequently became reused and relocated.

Four huts were erected for the servicemen working at the Kyle of Lochalsh base (Barclay, 2013). Delaware Hall is probably the north east of four huts depicted on a hand-drawn map by local Lochalsh photographer Duncan Macpherson, dating from the 1920s (Am Baile HCD01178_MAP). The northwestern of these four huts is shown in a photograph of the Kyle U.S Naval detachment dated 1918 (Am Baile HCD00753). A map from the 1950s (Glasgow Herald 2 June 1950) also shows the same plan form and location of buildings in connection with a proposal for a fishing industrial site at the naval camp. The hut is last understood to have been in use as a community hall or scout hut around the early 2000s or thereabouts.

Delaware Hall is unusual because it appears to be the last survivor of the First World War U.S. Navy base at Kyle of Lochalsh. Surviving evidence of the other U.S naval bases in Scotland is also limited. For example, the site of the base at Corpach is unlocated (Canmore ID 332062) and the Albyn distillery buildings associated with the Inverness base were cleared after the war (Canmore ID 332060). Furthermore, few First World War timber-built huts from this period survive in situ: another in-situ example is at Stobs camp in the Scottish Borders although it is of a longer form.

Architectural or Historic Interest

Interior

The interior appears original and is a large open space with exposed metal roof trusses and with no decoration.

Plan form

This is a standardised pre-fabricated hut (60ft by 20ft) of rectangular plan form. However, the porch is thought to be unusual and is likely to be a later addition.

Technological excellence or innovation, material or design quality

The prefabricated timber huts of First World War date were developed in 1914 by a team of Royal Engineers led by Major Armstrong. They designed a series of standard huts for new army camps that remained in use for the duration of the war.

The huts were usually made at low cost, were easy to erect, and were flexible so they could be adapted for use for a variety of purposes. Their simple design made them easy to dismantle and re-erect elsewhere if required.

The use of six-pane windows, half-boarded up appears to be a relatively common feature of First World War huts. The pairing of the windows is consistent with contemporary photographs of the camp in use. However, the addition of a porch with sash and case window and cladding in corrugated iron are likely to be later features to enhance the use-ability and durability of the building.

Setting

The building is situated towards the east part of Kyle of Lochalsh, around 250m northeast of the 19th-century railway pier where mine components came ashore for onward transport. Its north elevation faces onto Station Road, one of the principal routes in and out of town.

The mine landing station at Kyle of Lochalsh was protected from attack by sea by a coastal battery built in 1917 on the Skye coast, around 2km to the southwest.

Although these relationships still exist, the immediate surroundings of the building have substantially changed as other buildings associated with the First World War U.S. Naval site appear to have been demolished or replaced with later buildings. However, around 100m to the east on the opposite side of Station Road from the Delaware Hall are two wooden buildings believed to be survivors of a Second World War U.S. Naval camp in the town. One building now houses the "Old Sick Bay" Dental Practice.

Regional variations

There are no known regional variations as the huts are understood to have been built in timber to standard designs.

Close Historical Associations

The building was constructed and used during the First World War and is associated with the U.S Naval camp at Kyle of Lochalsh which played a significant role in the creation of the Northern Barrage. There is therefore historic interest.

References

Bibliography

Canmore: http://canmore.org.uk/ CANMORE ID 332063

Printed Sources

Barclay, G (2013) World War One audit of surviving remains. Unpublished report for Historic Scotland and RCAHMS.

Royle T. (2011) The Flowers of the Forest: Scotland and the First World War. Edinburgh: Birlinn.

Online Sources [ALL Accessed 28/11/2017]

http://www.greatwarhuts.org/

https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/first-world-war-home-front/what-we-already-know/land/

https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/first-world-war-home-front/what-we-already-know/land/wartime-architecture/

https://www.scotlandsfirstworldwar.org/media/8285/built_heritage_ww1_29nov2013compressed.pdf 4.5.8; 4.6

http://www.ambaile.org.uk/detail/en/12759/1/EN12759-hand-drawn-map-of-kyle-of-lochalsh.htm

http://www.ambaile.org.uk/detail/en/12450/1/EN12450-american-sailors.htm

http://exceptthekylesandwesternisles.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/kyle-of-lochalsh.html

About Listed Buildings

Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating sites and places at the national level. These designations are Scheduled monuments, Listed buildings, Inventory of gardens and designed landscapes and Inventory of historic battlefields.

We make recommendations to the Scottish Government about historic marine protected areas, and the Scottish Ministers decide whether to designate.

Listing is the process that identifies, designates and provides statutory protection for buildings of special architectural or historic interest as set out in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997.

We list buildings which are found to be of special architectural or historic interest using the selection guidance published in Designation Policy and Selection Guidance (2019)

Listed building records provide an indication of the special architectural or historic interest of the listed building which has been identified by its statutory address. The description and additional information provided are supplementary and have no legal weight.

These records are not definitive historical accounts or a complete description of the building(s). If part of a building is not described it does not mean it is not listed. The format of the listed building record has changed over time. Earlier records may be brief and some information will not have been recorded.

The legal part of the listing is the address/name of site which is known as the statutory address. Other than the name or address of a listed building, further details are provided for information purposes only. Historic Environment Scotland does not accept any liability for any loss or damage suffered as a consequence of inaccuracies in the information provided. Addresses and building names may have changed since the date of listing. Even if a number or name is missing from a listing address it will still be listed. Listing covers both the exterior and the interior and any object or structure fixed to the building. Listing also applies to buildings or structures not physically attached but which are part of the curtilage (or land) of the listed building as long as they were erected before 1 July 1948.

While Historic Environment Scotland is responsible for designating listed buildings, the planning authority is responsible for determining what is covered by the listing, including what is listed through curtilage. However, for listed buildings designated or for listings amended from 1 October 2015, legal exclusions to the listing may apply.

If part of a building is not listed, it will say that it is excluded in the statutory address and in the statement of special interest in the listed building record. The statement will use the word 'excluding' and quote the relevant section of the 1997 Act. Some earlier listed building records may use the word 'excluding', but if the Act is not quoted, the record has not been revised to reflect subsequent legislation.

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Find out more about listing and our other designations at www.historicenvironment.scot/advice-and-support. You can contact us on 0131 668 8914 or at designations@hes.scot.

Images

Delaware Hall, Station Road, Kyle of Lochalsh, principal elevation, looking southwest, during daytime, on clear day with blue sky.
Delaware Hall, Station Road, Kyle of Lochalsh, principal elevation, looking southwest, during daytime, on clear day with blue sky.

Map

Map

Printed: 29/03/2024 08:21