Swedish House at Ardgartan under construction
Early photograph taken circa 1919-1934 from a forestry album of 117 photographs compiled by an unknown Forestry Commission officer.
Unfortunately there is no date or information on the construction company carrying out the building.
The date of 1925 has been used as an estimate of the work project. The double French doors are remarkably modern and the gap in the roof one assumes is for the chimneys. Note the substantial under building. From the design and size, this building must be designed for use as a home for the Head Forester or District Officer.
The term Swedish is a bit of a mystery as it was generally believed that the first Scandinavian houses imported for the Forestry Commission were in the late 1940s. John Keenleyside who was Chief Forester at Ardgartan Forest for a time did not initially recognise the building but it turns out to be one known as Guithas House which has had a few make overs. See Record No 3613.
Information from the 1925 Annual Report is as follows:
"Some experiments have been made in substituted types of construction; at Ardgarten and Glenmore, where conditions are particularly difficult, five steel houses have been erected; these are of the Weir type and have cost £575 each, inclusive of all expenditure connected with the site, drainage and water supply. In all these structures water is conveyed into the houses. The contract price for each of the houses delivered on the ground was £480. These houses have taken from two to three months to erect, and have been found quite satisfactory. The tenants who have been in occupation during the winter, state that they are highly pleased with the dwellings. At Ardgarten one Swedish wooden house was erected for the forester, and while this may be regarded as a quite suitable type of construction, the cost (£800) prohibits the use of the type for holdings’ purposes."
Wikipedia mentions that over 5000 timber houses were imported into UK from Sweden in the period between Sep 1945 and Mar 1946.
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Groups: Buildings in Forests, Forestry Areas
‘Some experiments have been made in substituted types of construction; at Ardgarten and Glenmore, where conditions are particularly difficult, five steel houses have been erected; these are of the Weir type and have cost £575 each, inclusive of all expenditure connected with the site, drainage and water supply. In all these structures water is conveyed into the houses. The contract price for each of the houses delivered on the ground was £480. These houses have taken from two to three months to erect, and have been found quite satisfactory. The tenants who have been in occupation during the winter, state that they are highly pleased with the dwellings. At Ardgarten one Swedish wooden house was erected for the forester, and while this may be regarded as a quite suitable type of construction, the cost (£800) prohibits the use of the type for holdings’ purposes.’
Comment left on 06 February 2017 at 09:29 by Norman Davidson