Mystery of carved initials in historic house is resolved

When a newlywed couple began their life together in Inverness they also started a mystery that would last hundreds of years.

The initials AS and HP, alongside the date 1681, carved into a marriage stone above the main fireplace in the city’s Abertarff House, have long puzzled historians and visitors.

The landmark, dating to the late 1500s, in the oldest secular building in Inverness.

Now run by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), it reopens today with a new piece of history to relate.

The charity’s experts have been intrigued by the initials since they took over the building in 1963.

Now, some 343 years after they were carved, their story has been revealed.

Historian Dr Jim Mackay’s extensive research has helped to solve the puzzle.

Dr Mackay, who chairs the Kirkmichael Trust in the Black Isle, discovered the initials were those of Helen Pape and Alexander Stewart who lived in what is now Abertarff House.

Helen, the daughter of a Cullicudden minister, Reverend Charles Pape, married Alexander, an Inverness sea captain and merchant.

It is thought they lived in the house from 1681 until Alexander’s death in 1720.

His son, John, the subject of the antiquarian history The Letter-book Of Bailie John Steuart, lived at Abertarff House until he died in 1751.

The Stewart family owned the building for three generations during a time of unrest and turmoil, notably the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion.

The property was sold in 1771 on the death of John’s daughter, Margaret.

Gail Cleaver, NTS operations manager for Culloden, Abertarff House and Hugh Miller’s Cottage, said: “We are grateful to Dr Mackay who has helped us to solve a puzzle more than 300 years old, adding further colour to the history of this significant building and the stories we hope to share with our visitors.

“As Scotland’s largest conservation charity, we are privileged to protect, care for and share the heritage of places like Abertarff House, which has witnessed significant moments in our country’s history: the Covenanters’ era, Jacobite risings and two world wars.

“An example of Scottish domestic architecture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, it makes an important contribution to the historic streetscape of Church Street in Inverness and to what we know about the city’s heritage.”

Abertarff House is open over the Easter weekend from 10am until 4pm, and then Tuesday to Saturday 10am until 4pm.

LOVE LETTERS: The centuries-old initials on the marriage lintel in Abertarff House have baffled historians, until now.

The secular building dates back to the late 1500s.