Old photograph of the Haughton Arms Hotel in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Haughton House was originally built in 1791 and was the home of the Farquharsons, who owned two thirds of the parish of Alford. They bought the house in the late 17th century. The original Haughton House was the L-shaped cottage by the River Don. The family added the main house, which wasn’t completed until 1854. The Farquharsons had six daughters, three of whom died in childhood. The other three never married and because this left no male heir, in 1925 Miss Elizabeth and Miss Ann Farquharson sold the house to a Mr C Spence, of the Forbes Arms Hotel in Bridge of Alford. From that time, the house was used for a number of different purposes. First the Spence family ran it as a shooting and fishing hotel, and it remained so until 1959. At that point they sold it to a group of nuns, the Carmelite nuns of Oxford, England, who used it as a convent. Many people believe the house is haunted by a friendly nun, who likes to sit on the stairs and give people a gentle push on their way up or down. The next venture was a school for 17 Catholic boys. The people who ran it installed a large fire escape, dormitories, ablution rooms and a central heating system. As is the case with the nuns, money ran out and the school had to close. Links with Catholicism didn’t stop there though, as the house was then used as a church and home for a local priest. This continued for about two years; there was even a confessional box installed next to what is now the pool room.
All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.
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