1 |Garden's Of Tongue

Burr's of Tongue History Project

Historic photo of a street in Orkney with shops to either side. A sign advertising Garden's hangs from the building on the left. Two small figures are visible in the background.

Histoic image of Burr's Tongue. A figure dressed in black stands in the shop doorway and a motorcar is seen in the background before a drive leading to a two storey house.

Burr's of Tongue General Stores and Merchants began in the early 1900's when Robert Garden from Orkney set up the business in north Sutherland.

Garden’s first store on the mainland was in Bettyhill with a second store in Skerray which housed a bakery.

In 1909 the business was relocated to Tongue where it became the central store on the mainland.

Robert Garden had eight daughters and two sons. The eldest son was Robert Garden Jnr who was born in Kirkwall in 1874. He became a grocer in Glasgow but moved to Tongue after his marriage. In Tongue, Garden Jnr managed the store and also built a beautiful house, “Dunvarrich”.

Early 20th century image of a man sitting in the drivers seat of an early motor vehicle. He wears a long coat and a cap.

Late 20th century image of a two storey house. The house has chimney stacks at either gable, a 1 and a half storey garage is attached on the right. An estate car sits outside a white front door on a circular drive.

He introduced motor transport to north Scotland. Not only did he own the first car in Tongue but also, by 1904, he was running a lorry service. In 1908 he was awarded the first motor-rail service between Tongue and Thurso