Generator House (former engine house)

The Visitor Centre is a two-storey, flat-roofed former engine house built into a steep rocky slope by the War Office in 1916-17, during the revision and strengthening of the military defences of Inchcolm Island. The lower, advanced storey was likely altered and adapted by the Office of Works in 1931-2.

The upper storey has nine bays, is painted and rendered, and features timber six over six sash and case windows along with roof-top ventilators. The lower storey is constructed of squared and snecked rubble, with lintelled openings and timber six over six sash and case windows. A concrete rooftop pedestrian terrace provides access to the upper storey.

The interior of the Visitor Centre, partially seen in 2016, includes staff offices, a shop, and a large display room that houses an early medieval hog back stone from Inchcolm Abbey. The lower building contains toilets and storage rooms.

To the southeast is the Generator House, another former engine house built between 1940 and 1942. This single-storey, rectangular plan, two-bay, flat-roofed concrete building is rendered and painted. It features air vents immediately below the roofline, steel window shutters on the west-facing elevation, louvred steel window grilles on the north-facing elevation, and a steel door on the south-facing elevation. The interior of the generator house was not seen in 2016.