Wick herring trade showcase re-opens after £162k revamp
Wick Society has opened its new fishing hall to give the public an insight into the industry that supported so many people during its heyday.
The building has just undergone a £162,000 refurbishment, with grants coming from several agencies.
Over the years, extensive parts of the roof on the listed building showed signs of wear and tear and repairs and restoration were urgently needed.
Caithness and Sutherland Regeneration Scheme (CARS) pledged £94,298, the Heritage Lottery Fund £50,000 and Highland Council’s Wick ward fund £9,100.
This left a shortfall of £8000 and, in his opening remarks after thanking all of the funders, society chairman Harry Gray paid tribute to its “amazing” group of volunteers who got to work and in less than a year raised the entire shortfall.

The hall was officially opened by Caithness Deputy Lord Lieutenant Willie Watt on Friday.
Mr Watt, the general manager of SubSea 7’s base at Wester, remarked that most of the work carried out would be unseen. The new roof, slates, exterior masonry work and replacement of rainwater goods had all been completed to the exacting standards laid down by Historic Scotland.
Although most were out of sight, Mr Watt said they would preserve the building for future generations.
Mr Watt congratulated the society on the new internal displays, which he said are very attractive. He said it has allowed the society to illustrate the story of Wick’s remarkable 200-year development of the herring industry in artefacts, film and photographs from the stunning Johnston Collection.
After complimenting the society on the finished result, he declared the hall open by unveiling a special plaque.
Mrs Doris Lyall then presented Mr Watt with a harbour image from the Johnston Collection.
Mr Gray said Wick owes a lot to the fishing industry and said that with the new hall, they can tell the story in greater detail.
“What this roof does is help preserve the whole building,” he said.
It was part of an early 19th century building that was always connected with the fishing industry.
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“Carrying out the refurbishment work has helped ensure that we can tell the story of the fishing industry for future generations,” said Mr Gray.
“It will be of great benefit to the heritage centre as it enables us to tell the story better and in more detail of what was an important part of our community.”
Among the displays inside the fishing hall includes artefacts used by workers of the fishing industry along with films of workers from as early as the 1920s. There are also photographs from the Johnston collection available to view which depicted what life was like at the height of the herring boom.
The society has also created its own cooperage on the bottom floor of the fishing hall to depict the town’s association with barrel-making. At its peak, the industry made 250,000 barrels a year.
Mr Gray said that to thank the generosity of funders and the support from the local community, during October it would be running a ‘buy one, get one free’ deal on entry into the museum.
The normal entry charge is £4 for adults and 50p for children under 15 but during next month a family of two adults and two children will only pay £4.50 in total.
The society hopes there will be a good uptake on this offer from all parts of the county, so people can enjoy “the biggest little museum in Scotland,” as a visitor recently wrote in the visitor’s book.