Memories of the Lady Ross Hotel in Ardgay by Lily Byron
WE have all known recently that the Lady Ross Hotel, Ardgay, was due to be demolished, even before the recent fire, but passing through Ardgay the other day, I was saddened by the sight of the burnt-out skeleton of a building which had played such a big part in Ardgay life.
The construction of the “caferina” was the most exciting thing that ever happened in my childhood. I was still at school and excited about having a cafe in which we teenagers could meet to discuss life and the universe but for adults it must have meant even more – the promise of a brighter future.
My sister Frances, who was recently here on holiday, was one of those who benefited. I had forgotten that, after our mother died, she as a 16-year-old, was expected to keep house for my father, my brother and myself for the next five years, without any payment, except for pocket money from my brother and older sister who were working.
She told me they would pay her into dances and occasionally give her money to buy some clothes from Belle MacDonald’s shop in Bonar. Daughters staying at home to keep house was what was expected in those days!
I was asking her how she got her job in the newly built Lady Ross. Were there interviews?
As far as she can remember, local people just went and asked for jobs and, having got permission from our father, she went to ask and was given a job in the kitchen. Just imagine what that meant to her. A job with pay at the end of the week.
Mr and Mrs Herrington, the managers, wanted her to work from 9am-6pm but she said she would have to be home to make her father’s dinner when he came in from work, so they gave her a split shift 9am-3 pm and 6-9 pm.
She remembers the opening day in June 1959, a Saturday. There were free drinks in the bar and her job was to collect glasses. However, it was so busy that she ended up serving as well.
She worked in the kitchen with Jessie Morrison, (now Mrs Glenn Grant) Mrs Durie who was there for a short time before Ina Ross became one of the cooks.
The other staff she remembers were Jean MacBain (Hossack), Jean Davidson, Mrs Louis MacDonald, Willie Johnson, Nellie MacRae and Marion Matheson. Later Maribel Ross joined the staff.
The cafe was open from 7am until 2am but never gave the “24 hour service”, as painted on the gable of the neighbouring barn.
About three weeks after the cafe opened, Mrs Herrington asked Frances to come down on the Saturday afternoon, although it was her day off and her 21st birthday.
When she walked in, all the staff were assembled round the piano and the man they called the “Mad Major” started playing “I’m 21 today.” Mrs Herrington led the singing “I’ve got the key of the door, I’ve never been 21 before.” Frances was then presented with a sparkling necklace and ear-rings, to which all the staff had contributed. Hers was the first birthday celebration in the Lady Ross.
I think she must have been quite overwhelmed as she wasn’t used to being made a fuss of but secretly quite chuffed because she never forgot it.
The Herringtons, including their daughter Joan, were very nice people and well liked by locals. I came across one of my father’s brief (and blunt) letters the other day, in which he writes on April 8 1970: “Old Mrs Herrington died a week last Saturday of a heart attack. Buried in Kincardine, from the Church of Scotland. They are making big improvements at the Lady Ross. Another cocktail bar and car park They have Fergie’s now, that’s 10 rooms for guests. They are fine next door.”
I expect many readers will have happy memories of the Lady Ross, which, by the time you read this, will probably have been completely demolished.
