The Butcher on the High Street: Peter Harrold

Peter Harrold

Written by Nairn Museum’s family historian, John Urquhart.

Peter Harrold owned the shop at 49 High Street Nairn from 1969-1984.
Prior to this, the shop was known as Cameron the butcher. It was owned by a relative of Kenny Cameron who owned Rose Brothers – the shop opposite. The shop was subsequently owned by Hugh Fraser, who was later joined by Norman Fraser, who owned a butcher’s shop at 4 Bridge Street. He then continued trading in Harbour Street in the shop between the Post Office and Phillip’s Dairies.
That shop then became Tommy Taylor’s Fish Shop. Norman was the brother of the Fraser’s of Durban Place, James and Bob, who were painters and decorators. Their sister Catherine married James Main, the draper on High Street Brae.

Norman Fraser married Rachel Brooman of Brooman’s Inverness. Her Aunt Christine (Teen) was married to Hugh Fraser, butcher at 49 High Street. Hence, the partnership H & N Fraser. Peter Harrold worked with Norman Fraser before WW2 as a message boy and then an apprentice butcher. After the war, because of rationing, there was little work in butchering. Peter worked for British Rail as a shunter. He returned to work with Norman Fraser in 1952. The shop was extended at the back in the 1960’s. Peter said that many years ago ovens were housed underneath the shop, and therefore it may have previously been a baker’s shop. It is also said to be one of the oldest shops in Nairn.

Peter Harrold owned the shop from 1969, when Norman Fraser retired. He continued until 1984. The shop was then sold to John MacKay and Fred Holmes, and it was still a butcher’s shop. The shop was later sold and continued as a china shop. Later the shop was taken over by Betty Gibson who ran it as Dallas, Jeweller. The shop then became a florist’s called Big Bloomers. Sadly, in 2020 it ceased trading.

The story of 49 High Street is woven into the fabric of Nairn’s history. From its beginnings as Cameron the butcher to its time as Peter Harrold’s shop and later as a china shop, jeweller, and florist, this building has been a cornerstone of the town’s High Street for generations.

Though the shop closed in 2020, it remains intertwined with the lives of families like the Harrolds, Frasers, and Camerons, who each left their mark on the High Street.

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