The Robert Gordon Collection

A series of photographs taken by Robert Gordon who worked on the construction of the British Aluminium factory in the late 1890s. All photographs courtesy of his grandson Robert Gordon.

Foyers Bridge

Circa 1897. Sports day at the Foyers factory? The ghostly figure left of centre is an indication of the exposure time required to take photographs in those far gone days.

Among the heathy hills and rugged woods, The foaming Foyers pours his mossy floods Till full he dashes on the rocky mounds Where through a shapeless breach his stream resounds As high in air the bursting torrents flow As deep recoiling surges down below. Prone down the rock the whitening sheet descends And viewless Echo’s ear astonished rends Dim seen thru’ rising mist and ceaseless showers The hoary cavern wide resounding low’rs. Still thru’ the gap the struggling river toils And still below the horrid cauldron boils. Robert Burns 1787

A group of pipe laying “navvies” in the mid 1890s carrying our work involved in the construction of the Foyers aluminim factory. The plant used water from the River Foyers to power the electricity generators – the country’s first ever industrial hydro-electric power. Water was diverted at the Intake from going over the Falls of Foyers and passed through a tunnel and pipework to drive the generators. The size of the pipe can be guaged by the depth of the trench and the men within it.

Fishing near the Falls of Foyers.

Same pool as in the previous photograph but without the fisherman.

Bridge Foyers Upper Falls

The man himself. Robert Gordon (1859 - 1901). Robert Gordon worked as an engineer on the construction of the British Aluminium factory in the late 1890s and lived in Foyers until his death.