Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Gordon Arms Hotel: How the history of the iconic Elgin High Street building will be preserved

Last week, we revealed plans for the upper floors at 118 High Street to be turned into a creative arts centre.

Post Thumbnail

The new residents of the Gordon Arms Hotel have pledged to preserve its history.

Last week, we revealed plans for the upper floors of the building at 118 Elgin High Street to be turned into a creative arts centre.

It will include a public art gallery and exhibit, multi-use community space,
individual makers’ spaces and working space.

This space will be operated by Moray Arts Development Engagement  (Made) who will work with other partners to make it more sustainable.

Last week, I exclusively revealed more details about the plans.  Image: Clarke Cooper/DC Thomson

The history of the Gordon Arms Hotel

Gordon Arms Hotel could be given new life in a second phase of the South Street redevelopment which aims to connect South Street and High Street more.
Gordon Arms Hotel could be given new life.

The hotel was a popular destination in its heyday.

Ann Torry recalled: “In 1962, I had our wedding reception in the Gordon Arms.”

Brenda Jamieson added: “I believe a stained glass window is still in there.

“I was a flower girl at a wedding in there.

“It was a lovely hotel.”

The building pictured once home to the Gordon Arms Hotel. Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

Preserving the Gordon Arms heritage

Made director Stacey Toner said preserving the history of the building is vital while giving it new life.

She said: “Next year, we will hold community consultations around the heritage of Gordon Arms Hotel.

“We are looking for stories, pictures and memories about the Gordon Arms Hotel.

“We want to work with the content to create something inside the building.

“The heritage would be preserved even though it will have a new use.”

Elgin from the sky! Image: Jason Hedges/DC Thomson

She added: “Inside there is still the original wooden staircase and stained glass window.

“From our point of view we have asked the architects to try and preserve as much of it as possible and we can work the space around these original features.

“It is important to celebrate the history of the building.”

Melting pot for creatives

First floor plan to breathe new life into the iconic building.

In 2021, plans first surfaced about opening up a creative arts centre inside one of Elgin’s empty units in the town centre.

She added: “The two main spaces in the arts facility will be the gallery and active community workshop space for people to develop their creativity skills.

“It will be important to invite artists outwith Moray so the community can be exposed to different kind of work and an learning space for schools.”

‘More voices to ensure longevity’

Ms Toner believes having a range of voices involved will ensure the longevity of this art centre.

She said: “Our work in the new year will be trying to get the community on board and involved to see what they want.

“Up until this point, it has been strategic vision and now it is important to get more voices involved to ensure the facility has longevity.

“It will be more a creative hub with lots of different organisations and artists working under one roof.”

She also said it is vital to be clear the Levelling Up Fund is about regenerating buildings and bringing back into public use.

Meanwhile it is understood that the new facility might be named The Pot Still to pay homage to the former Elgin bar.

This facility will form part of the South Street development.

Conversation