Pavilion to draw on past glories

The pavilion was used as a hospital during World War I

A Victoria-era pavilion where Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst rallied support has launched a marketing campaign to attract more conferences.

The building in Strathpeffer has also hosted a presentation by Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton and last year a gig by band the Kaiser Chiefs.

Management said the pavilion offered modern conferencing facilities.

They hope to increase business from hosting AGMs, awards dinners, product launches and dinner dances.

The five-member management team has already organised a number of public sector conferences at the venue.

Navy sailors

Pavilion manager Andrea Muir said: "The pavilion offers everything you would look for in a modern conference venue - main hall, break-out areas, wireless internet access, bar, restaurant and local accommodation available.

"But more than that, we have a provenance of fascinating historical importance which you can still feel through its architecture and the beautiful gardens which have been restored in all their eccentric Victorian splendour."

The pavilion has its roots in the village's Victorian past.

Visitors, including royalty and members of high society - dubbed "the Quality" by locals - came to Strathpeffer to drink its water, which was said to have health benefits.

It was officially opened by the Duchess of Sutherland - a favourite of Queen Victoria - in 1881.

Victorian holidays

Built at a cost of £2,769, it was a focal point for the village and bands played there.

It would go on to host performances and lectures delivered by Irish dramatist and political thinker George Bernard Shaw, Shackleton and Pankhurst, one of the leading figures in the campaign for votes for women.

The outbreak of World War I cast a shadow over the former Victorian holiday resort and the pavilion was used as a hospital for US Navy sailors.

Buildings in the village were again requisitioned by the military during World War II.

Years later, the pavilion set the stage for gigs by the Bay City Rollers, the Fortunes, Nashville Teens and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes.

However, regular use of the property waned by 1978 and it lay almost unused for 25 years before a fund-raising effort led to its restoration.