Colour photograph, 1997
Surveyed by RCAHMS
One of the distinctive features of the coastal village of Brora was its possession of the northernmost coal mine in Britain. This provided a foundation upon which a number of other industries developed, producing a concentration of small scale industrial activity unique in the north of Scotland, and an important source of employment.
T M Hunter took over the complex which had formerly been the engineering workshops for the Duke of Sutherland’s Railway in 1875 and converted them into the Sutherland Woollen Mill. In 1913 a steam-powered generator provided the mill with electricity, and the village with street lighting. From this innovation, Brora became known as 'The Electric City'.
The mill continued in use until 1998, when a modern building was constructed on another site. This photograph of the yarn store was taken shortly before the closure and demolition of the old buildings.