Glasgow School of Art Altyre Campus students donate visual history poster of Royal Hotel, Forres to former owners
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DESIGN students who worked with a local heritage team handed over copies of their work in person to residents with a special interest.
Over the last academic year, Suraj Suresh and Shashank Gedala from the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) Highland Campus at Altyre designed and produced a visual history of the Royal Hotel - the pair recently donated copies to the children of the building’s former owners, Jimmy and Freda Stewart, in the Tolbooth Courtroom.
Carole, who has recently moved back to the area, said: “I love the posters and will hang it with pride in my new house at Mannachie. My younger brother James will also be delighted with his copy!”
The Royal has been used by the GSA as accommodation for up to 20 students since 2020.
Suraj Suresh and Shashank initially contacted Forres Heritage Trust (FHT) chairman George Alexander to find old photographs of the building. FHT has an extensive archive of local photographs, collated on an ongoing basis by volunteers Grace Reid, Bob Watson, Ray Mills and Ross Dalziel, led by trustee Billy Laing. Using these pictures, details from the original title deeds, newspaper reports and adverts, the students produced the poster which pictorially represents the hotel’s history from 1864 to the present day, including dates, name changes and proprietors. It includes a section on the Beatles stay in May, 1960 - when they left without paying their bill! Suraj told FHT the students enjoyed the collaboration, and hope similar projects will continue in the future.
The poster will be displayed during FHT’s Historic Photo Show in the Tolbooth from Wednesday, August 30 to Saturday, September 2, from 10am-4pm each day.
