Simon Varwell, of Inverness, responded to a plea from a Kent couple to find a city property decorated with what looked like a Star of David above an upstairs window.

His discovery came as welcome news to Ann and Bryan Darby, from Tunbridge Wells, who appealed to HN readers for information after they thought there was a connection to their friend, 93-year-old Joan Wiltshire, who died in June.

Spinster Joan worked for Barclays Bank in Tunbridge Wells until 1966 and Ann, a junior at the same bank in the 1950s, was the executor of her will.

The Darbys were keen to find out more after finding photos of the house in Joan's possessions and remembering stories she used to tell about visiting the property in Inverness.

There was even a slim chance the house could still be linked to her estate.

However, the elderly woman suffered from a psychological condition which causes a person to tell stories which aren't true and the couple wondered whether their search would be fruitless.

But eagle-eyed Simon spotted the house with his fiancée when they were walking to some friends in a part of town they didn't know.

"She first spotted the Star of David on the house and it made me think of the article I'd read on the Highland News website," he said.

"It stood out because it is an unusual feature for this part of the world.

"I took a photo so I could check the article to see if it was the same house, which it was!"

The four bedroomed home, in Muirfield Road, is now owned by Iain MacNeil, former depute director of finance at Inverness District Council and North of Scotland Water Authority treasury manager.

Iain (65) hadn't seen the story and was surprised by the inquiry.

However, the "star" on the front of his 19th century house has always attracted on-lookers and suggestions as to why it is there.

"I do not know what it is supposed to be, but it might be a masonic symbol," said Iain.

He said the house was originally constructed by an Inverness builder, thought to be called John Ellis, as his own home around the 1860s.

Ian McNeil outside his Willow Cottage home, which was the subject of the mysterious photo found among the possessions of a spinster in Kent. Bobby Nelson

Iain and his wife Fiona, an English teacher at Charleston Academy, have lived there for 27 years but part of the Darbys' information about Joan did seem to ring true.

Ann told the HN that Joan once said the house was her's and a housekeeper lived there.

"The bit about the housekeeper living here – well, that rings a bell," explained Iain.

"I believe the house was once owned by a milliner, my wife thinks the name was Wiltshire, and she had a housekeeper who lived here, but I don't know much more than that.

"The housekeeper left and moved in with her daughter in town.

"But the part that it might still be linked to her estate, well that's just not true."

Iain said the house and the street had found brief fame before when a record price was paid for one home there.

"The headline in the newspaper then was something like 'Are these houses in the dearest road in Inverness?' but obviously Southside Road has more chance of claiming that," laughed Iain.

As for the current value, Iain said he didn't know and it wasn't up for sale.

But the house, which boasts a former washhouse in its back garden, has stood the test of time.

"When we replaced the windows and the old ones came out they were bone dry – they were pitch pine. Buildings do not seem to last these days."

The Darbys were "absolutely delighted" that the HN had found the house.

"It's nice to know that not everything she said was made up and there was some substance to it," she said.

"And it will be good to pass that on when I meet up with other former colleagues of Barclays Bank."

o.bell@highland-news.co.uk

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