All about Napier
Construction of the house begun in 1899, on the cusp of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The owner was Dr Robert MacKenzie of Napier Villa in Edinburgh, close to Merchiston Castle. It is believed that the name is derived from the Edinburgh mathematician John Napier, inventor of logarithms and the decimal point, and also the eighth Laird of Merchiston.
The land for Napier was acquired from Sir Robert, later Viscount Findlay of Newton, who was a prominent QC and MP for Inverness Burgh before being created a Baron in 1916. He was given a human face as "Uncle Robert" in David Thomson's book "Nairn in Darkness and in Light".
Viscount Findlay was a generous benefactor of the Nairn Golf Club, giving the land for the world famous course in free occupancy. As the original feu plan below indicates, the golf course is at the foot of our garden from which there is a private entrance.
