Vallay House, Vallay

Baronial style mansion with a cement rendered exterior on a terrace, built for the naturalist/ archaeologist Erskine Beveridge. (Miers) Erskine Beveridge inherited and expanded a successful linen works in Dunfermline and was a keen amateur photographer, a number of which were taken in the Hebrides and the Highlands of Scotland. Vallay is a tidal islean with no fresh water supply, Beveridge had water piped across the strand. Following the construction of the house, Beveridge spent may summers on the island before his death in 1920, leaving the property to his son, who moved to nearby North Uist until his death in 1944. (West Highland Free Press)

May 1990: SCT understands that the house has lain empty since World War II. It sits on an uninhabited island and is falling into decay. Most windows are broken, although the roof remains. January 2001: Local planners are unaware of any change.

July 2009: The West Highland Free Press notes an exhibition at Taigh Chearsabhagh in Lochmaddy of Erksine Beveridge‘s photographs, coinciding with the publication of "Wanderings with a camera in Scotland: The Photographs of Erskine Beveridge" . The article goes on to note that Vallay House remains vacant and derelict.

March 2010: External inspection finds the building vacant and in advanced stage of decay. The walls however, remain surprisingly intact.

10 June 2015: View from a distance and close inspection not possible due to tides. From what could be viewed, the building remains in much the same condition as seen previously.

11 November 2023: The building has been designated a listed building. Record updated to reflect the change from unlisted to category C-listed.