Early Portland Cement: Its Use and Influence on Architectural Design

Very little has been written about early Portland cement in construction in Scotland, nor the impact it had within the space of a few decades on architectural design and detailing. In the remote North Highlands and in the Northern and Western Isles the use of cements was driven by the difficulties of procuring good building materials, and working them in an extremely hostile climate. Landowners in these areas were quick to react to the opportunities presented by alternative forms of construction. Until now, what little study has been afforded on the subject has assumed that the impact-if anything at all-had been confined to vernacular building construction without appreciating how the buildings of the coastal settlements, fuelled by the boom in the herring fisheries from the 1870s onwards, had been transformed. By the end of the century, some of Scotland's most celebrated architects were not only familiar with the potential of Portland cement, but they were using it to novel effect.