Portsoy Old Harbour Buildings

Location: Portsoy

Project Development
Transfer of ownership pending
Project Costs: Too early to determine

Portsoy Old Harbour Buildings, Portsoy

A range of historic, listed buildings at Portsoy Harbour that recently formed the backdrop to an episode of Peaky Blinders and featured in the remake of the film Whisky Galore, are to be conserved and revitalised by the North East Scotland Preservation Trust (NESPT).

The four buildings, right beside the sea at Portsoy’s historic harbour, belonged to local business man Tom Burnett-Stuart who sadly passed away in January 2020. In a remarkable act of generosity and care for the people of Portsoy, Tom left the buildings to the NESPT in his will.

The buildings are the category A listed Portsoy Marble Warehouse designed by John Adam; the category B listed Portsoy Marble Workshop; the category B listed Granary Building; and the category C listed “Rag” Warehouse. The buildings are largely unused, although the Marble Warehouse has a popular shop on the ground floor.

In addition, the bequest includes two category B listed self-catering holiday cottages at the Harbour, a self-catering holiday cottage in Whitehills, three unused cottages in Whitehills and a “sizeable” sum of money to be used to protect the architectural integrity of the Harbour.

As well as protecting and conserving the buildings the bequest secures the viability of the NESPT for the foreseeable future.

The Old Harbour was built in 1692 and is category A listed by Historic Environment Scotland. It is owned by Aberdeenshire Council.