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Picture No 141. Courtesy of Tain & District Museum.
Year: 1900
Catalogue No. 38.1

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High Street Tain looking east

This William Smith photo may be from the early 1900's. It shows what is now Gow Bakery and Tearoom, formerly Strachans, when the premises were divided into 3 shops - here an unnamed one, Dawson. Clothiers, and Glasgow House. See also Picture #82 Picture #109 Picture #111
Another interesting point is that the street name on the side of the building to the left says "Station Road" and not "Castle Brae" as it is today.

Picture added on 11 May 2004.

Comments

I visited Tain to seek out any information regarding my grandfather James Michael. He was born in Tain around 1884 and would have walked this very street. Is there anywhere I may find information about him in the historical birth records or marriage registry? I plan on starting a family tree.
Added by on 28 July 2005.

Try the Scotlands People web site at:
www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk
For a small fee you can search and download copies of birth marriage and death entries from 1855.
Added by L.Bathgate on 10 September 2005.

To my knowledge the name of the street was changed from station road to castle brae to coincide with the building of "tain castle" - what is now the railway hotel, a grand house built by one of the provosts. I could be wrong of course, any other opinions would be met with great interest.
Added by Kirstin Mackintosh on 14 April 2009.

"Tain Castle" would have dated to long before the railway came to Tain. It may indeed have been just a grand dwelling rather than a castle in the normal sense and it may have been the residence of a provost but one connected to the Collegiate church rather than in the secular ones of later centuries.
Added by Margaret Urquhart, Tain & District Museum on 23 April 2009.

I seem to remember that the road name was changed in the 1890s (not that I was there myself of course). The photographer William Smith, whose house was next to where Brown's Gallery is now, suggested Castle Terrace or something similar as a reference to the historic location of the castle.

There apparently used to be some massive stone pillars further down past the Railway Hotel, which were demolished years ago and dumped on the shore. Does anyone remember anything about this?
Added by Estelle Quick on 24 April 2009.

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