ICYMI: Nairn steeple on the move
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Photographers were out in force in Nairn town centre on a Sunday morning as the Courthouse tower was removed by crane as part of an £800,000 refurbishment of the building.
The contract is expected to be completed by November and the operation to remove the six tonne steeple went smoothly to the delight of onlookers.
The King Street car park was closed off as the tower was fixed to a cradle and lowered to the ground to allow repairs to its timbers to take place.
One onlooker was SPP Media Group journalist Donald Wilson.
"I had a personal interest because the courthouse was built by Provost John Wilson whose family I am descended from," he said.
"I was meant to be going out running at 9.30am but I couldn't bring myself to miss this moment in history. I was watching from the High Street side while a lot of onlookers were on King Street where the tower was lowered into the car park.
"Already some inscriptions have been found on the leadwork from tradesmen who have been up working in the tower during its lifetime."
John Wilson was Provost of Nairn from 1839-53 and he was a prominent figure in the town's development and was responsible for the construction of many properties in the High Street including the Royal Bank of Scotland, which closed recently, and the British Linen Bank which is now Barron House and has been converted into apartments.
Originally a sheriff court and council administrative headquarters for the town and county of Nairnshire it has been passed down to the ownership of Highland Council.
The former Town Council met in the court room and the County Council met in the jury room until the re-organisation of local government in the mid 1970s.
The public benches from the court room were removed when its function as a sheriff court ceased. But the building is still in use as administrative headquarters for the town by Highland Council.
Built in 1818, the structure's original tower was removed in 1870 because it was deemed unsafe and it was replaced by the present tower.
It took just minutes to harness the steeple tower and lower it safely to the ground.
Councillor Tom Heggie, who recently climbed into the tower for a preview of the works, said it was a significant investment by the council in the heart of Nairn's town centre.
The work is being undertaken by Laing Traditional Masonry who undertook the renovation of the stonework on Inverness Town House.
