Erskine Beveridge coastal exploration

The Baronial style, cement rendered mansion called Vallay House is situated on the tidal island of Vallay in North Uist and has lain in a state of cabalistic decay since World War II.

Owner inheritor, Erskine Beveridge expanded an already successful linen works based in Dunfermline. He was a keen amateur photographer, the subject of many of his photos being the Hebrides and the Highlands of Scotland. His father had died when the younger Erskine was but a tender age of twelve and by the late 1880s, he was in full control of the linen business following the withdraw of one brother and the passing of his other brother.

The company continued to grow rapidly with increasing world demand for high-quality linens. Beveridge took advantage of the expanding North American market and eventually opened a New York warehouse. At the beginning of the 1900s, Erskine Beveridge and Co. Ltd. was a world leader in fine linen and had three branch factories in addition to its primary works in Dunfermline. In addition to his dedication and success in business, Beveridge was devoted in his studies of Scottish antiquities.

Debatably his greatest contribution was to the archaeological study of the Hebrides. He is still today regarded as a giant in the archaeological excavations of the Outer Hebrides. Some of the objects he acquired can be found in the Erskine Beveridge Collection at the National Museums Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland.

More information on visiting the area can be found here.