Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd -D1499 farmhouse

D1499 farmhouse

Built in 1859, the farmhouse at Lower Dounreay was home to Mrs Elizabeth Nicolson until 1945 and Mr Morris Pottinger until May 1956.

The UK Atomic Energy Authority acquired the house and farmland from Mr Pottinger and his late wife Nettie in November 1955 following the Government announcement that Britain’s fast reactor experiment would be sited at Dounreay.

The property served as office and archive accommodation over many years but in 2003 was demolished to make way for the first phase of decommissioning the nearby shaft.

On October 17, 2003, Mrs Nicolson and Mr Pottinger returned to Dounreay to officially open a new, three-storey office block known as D2003, completed earlier that year to replace the accommodation being demolished.

They unveiled a commemorative plaque made from a roof slate taken from the farmhouse. They were also presented with sets of coasters made from roof slates, as were members of the Oag family who lived at Lower Dounreay from 1945 until 1953 and who also attended the event.

Speaking at the opening, Mrs Nicolson said: “My father, Major Jack Davidson, died while fighting with the 5th Seaforth Highlanders in Sicily in 1943. Today, the honour of being here allows me to close this final chapter of his life, and to pay tribute to him and so many others who also gave up their lives in the Second World War.”

Mr Pottinger runs the neighbouring farm at Isauld, including most of the land of the former Lower Dounreay. His son Tom, of Baillie Farm, was the last person to be born in the farmhouse at Lower Dounreay. He said a recent final visit to the old farmhouse had brought back many bittersweet memories of their start in farming half a century earlier.

Dounreay’s then site director, Peter Welsh, said: “The new accommodation is an investment in the future of Dounreay and I was delighted that Mrs Nicolson and Mr Pottinger, with their strong historical links to Dounreay’s past, accepted our invitation to officially open it.

The farmhouse played an important role in the construction of the site. Ordnance Datum, the official mark of sea level, was inscribed in one of the walls and used as a measure during construction. It was salvaged during demolition and placed on display at the site's visitor centre. When the centre closed, the stone was offered to Caithness Horizons for display in the Dounreay exhbition.

The main contractor for the demolition of the former farmhouse and surrounding properties was KDC Contractors Ltd.