An appeal has been launched to find historic images of Strichen after an eclectic collection of photographs in a north-east restaurant were damaged beyond repair.
The Lodge at Strichen was originally a derelict building on the edge of the village’s community park, but was converted into a heritage centre and restaurant in 2011.
It has since changed hands and evolved into solely a catering venue, with a collection of old Strichen photographs depicting the main street and churches in bygone days adorning the walls.
However, the collection has been found to be damaged beyond repair by the new owners – PGA professional golfer Peter Myers and his wife Emma.
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The couple moved from Yorkshire to Aberdeenshire in 2015, taking ownership of the golf centre in Fraserburgh, but wanted a project which would challenge them.
When the lodge appeared for lease, the couple knew it would be ideala.
But, when the building reopened in February after the Myers renovated the building to how they wanted it, the pictures were no longer hanging on the walls.
Now Mr Myers is appealing for people to come forward to start a new collection of old photos of Strichen to go permanently on show.
Mr Myers said: “The people who ran the Lodge partly as a heritage centre had taken the pictures down to redecorate and had stacked them all in a pile on top of each other.
“But the photos had been held to the wall with sticky tape which then ruined each of them as well as causing damage to the corners.
“It’s a beautiful building and I think the pictures being damaged is giving us an opportunity to work with the community to create a new collection for the wall.”
Mr Myers enlisted the help of business owner Alistair Brown, who directs Fraserburgh-Based Photogifts Scotland to help compile the collection.
Mr Brown was intrigued with the idea and is hoping people come forward with old pictures of their own.
He said: “The Lodge used to have a very small collection of prints on display which showed parts of the village of Strichen in years gone by.
“We have spoken with Aberdeenshire Heritage in Mintlaw who will provide any images available, and are speaking to the local library to see if they have anything we can use.
“But we thought it might be a great opportunity to involve the community as they may have old photos stored away in family archives.
“Any photo could be significant and interesting. They don’t need to be 100 years old, there might be some from the 50s or 60s or war time.”
To get involved with the collection, email Mr Brown at alistair@photogifts.co.uk