Inverness High pupils add street art to Merkinch
Welfare Hall looks well good after graffiti addition
Pupils from Inverness High School have helped add a bit of colour to renovations at the Merkinch Welfare Hall with the addition of some graffiti art.
The Merkinch Welfare Hall was originally built in 1914 for a temperance organisation called the 'Catch-My-Pal Union'.
It is prominently sited on Grant Street in Merkinch and is the subject of an ambitious community-led Heritage Lottery Funded project to bring it back into productive use from its present derelict state.
The project will conserve the building, making repairs where necessary to the many fine architectural details of the building (such as timber linings and dado panelling, fireplaces and door architraves).
It will house a gym and changing rooms on the ground floor (for the Inverness City Boxing Club) and a community support centre on the first floor.
(Taking part in the project at Inverness High School were Chloe Connell, Caitlin MacIntosh, James Newlands, Michael Shields-Stevenson, Louise Watt, Caitlin Hunter, Aidyn Jones, Kuba Logocki, Jack Mackenzie, Chantelle McLeod & Calum Stewart). Temperance Halls were increasingly commonplace in towns and cities across Scotland in the latter half of the 19th century, although remarkably little built evidence survives. The Temperance movement recognised the great draw of bars and saloons, not least for the convivial surroundings, fireplaces providing warmth and the company and fellowship of others. In designing and fitting out the Merkinch Welfare Hall, the Catch-My-Pal Union aimed to match the quality of materials and fittings in 19th century bars and saloons. Many of the bespoke architectural features survive to this day – an increasingly rare example of a distinct period of social history. The project aims to bring a significant building back into productive use, once again well maintained, well used and fit for the future, making a positive contribution to the local community.