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Caledonian Hotel Oban

From: <ian.thompson~at~ges.gla.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2008 18:14:36 -0000 (GMT)
To: jvf~at~gilead.org.il

Last month I promised to try to cast a little more light on the
disappearance of the Caledonian Hotel where Verne spent the nights of
Thursday the 17th July and Friday the 18th July 1879. It is interesting to
go back to the origin of the hotel. An advert in The Scotsman, 30th June
1832, front page) stated;
                     To Tourists.
                New "Caledonian Hotel"
                   Oban Argyleshire

Duncan McArthur, late of the King's Arms, Port Glasgow [on the Clyde
estuary], begs respecfully to intimate that he has opened the above
extensive establishment, with every possible accommodatioon for
Travellers,- the want of which has hitherto been a subject of general
complaint by strangers visiting this place.
For the information of strangers, it may be necessary to remark, that Oban
is romantically situated at the extremity of the main land, and ranks
amongst the most healthy and pleasing summer retreats in the Highlands,-
it is the point from which steam-boats sail to the celebrated islands of
Staffa, Iona. Spar Cove in Sky and all the other interesting islands on
the West Coast. Its situation for Sea Bathing is extremely good, and the
Lakes and Rivers afford delightfull amusement to anglers [fresh water
fishermen].
A choice assortment of Foreign Wines and Spirits,Excellent Stabling and
Carriages, Cars,Gigs, and Saddle Horses etc lent out to hire.

Clearly from its opening, the hotel was intended as a high quality hotel
to attract wealthy clients.
Almost fifty years later at the time of Verne's visit, the hotel had been
recently refurbished and being situated opposite the North Pier where
Verne intended to take the steamer the following day at 8am (not 7am as I
previously reported) it was an obvious choice for Verne and his
companions.
The demise of the hotel was in a sense a result of its success. The growth
of tourism in Oban resulted in the hotel being expanded. An extra floor
was added and refenestrated and a more ornate sandstone facade was added
which probably contributed to the hotel's deterioration. Very few of the
old buildings on the seafront had adequate foundations. They were built on
top of the unstable slaty unconsolidated material of the raised beach. The
additional weight of the hotel after its enlargement could not be
sustained.
The hotel was converted to tenements (flats) about or before the second
world war. As a result of subsidence it was condemned for demolition in
the middle of the 1960's. As was sometimes the case, the shops integrated
into the building at street level ( a well known clothiers and a large
grocery) had sufficient influence to get the demolition postponed by
having the top floors removed, the roof sealed and the reduced building
supported from beneath. Finally the building was demolished in c1970.
The Verne pilgrim sadly can now see nothing of Verne's hotel, immortalised
also in Le Rayon vert, owned by the fictitious Mr MacFyne.Verne had
arrived in Oban by sailing up Loch Fyne to the Crinan Canal and this is
almost certainly what inspired the name...I am not aware that there is a
Scottish surname MacFyne.
Ian Thompson
Received on Sat 05 Jan 2008 - 20:14:49 IST

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