48-574: Alexander Keith may refer to: Alexander Keith (politician) (1795–1873), Canadian politician, freemason and brewer Alexander Keith (minister) (1791–1880), Scottish clergyman Alexander Keith, Jr. (1827–1875), Canadian mass murderer Sandy Keith (Alexander M. Keith, 1928–2020), American politician Alexander Keith, 18th-century Church of England clergyman responsible for thousands of clandestine marriages; see Keith's Chapel Sir Alexander Keith of Dunnottar , Knight Marischal (died 1819), namesake of
96-626: A mansard roof . He died in Halifax in 1873 and is buried at Camp Hill Cemetery . His estate at death was evaluated at $ 251,000. Alexander Keith Jr. : his nephew, who was a criminal and Confederate secret agent and used in 1875 a time bomb in an attempt to destroy the ship Mosel in Bremerhaven , Germany , to collect in an insurance fraud scheme. Caithness Caithness ( / k eɪ θ ˈ n ɛ s / ; Scottish Gaelic : Gallaibh [ˈkal̪ˠɪv] ; Old Norse : Katanes )
144-508: A member of parliament (MP) to one parliament and then the other elected an MP to the next. Between 1832 and 1918 Caithness elected an MP to every parliament. In 1918 the Caithness constituency and Wick were merged into the then new constituency of Caithness and Sutherland . In 1997 Caithness and Sutherland was merged into Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross . The Scottish Parliament constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
192-553: A brewery, which he bought out in 1820. In 1822, he moved the brewery to larger facilities and, in 1836, built a new brewery. The end of slavery in the British and French Caribbean reduced the availability of sugar for rum -making, and other beverages grew in popularity. Beverages brewed by Keith included spruce beer , porter , ginger wine , and strong ale . The brewery is now part of Anheuser-Busch InBev . From 1837, he served in senior management of various companies, including
240-452: A representative body for their communities. The Highland Council designates community council areas, but a community council is only formed if there is sufficient interest from the residents. Since a review in 2019, Caithness has comprised the following communities, of which all except Bower have community councils operating as at 2024: The Caithness constituency of the House of Commons of
288-627: A review of boundaries, with parish and county boundaries being adjusted to eliminate cases where parishes straddled county boundaries. The parish of Reay had straddled Sutherland and Caithness prior to the act; the county boundary was retained, but the part of Reay parish in Sutherland was transferred to the parish of Farr in 1891. Local government was reformed in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts with
336-507: A roughly triangular-shaped area of about 712 sq mi (1,840 km ). The topography is generally flat, in contrast to the majority of the remainder of the North of Scotland. Until the latter part of the 20th century when large areas were planted in conifers , this level profile was rendered still more striking by the almost total absence of woodland. It is a land of open, rolling farmland, moorland and scattered settlements. The county
384-465: A stronghold for many once common breeding species that have undergone serious declines elsewhere, such as waders , water voles , and flocks of overwintering birds. Many rare mammals, birds, and fish have been sighted or caught in and around Caithness waters. Harbour porpoises , dolphins (including Risso's , bottle-nosed , common , Atlantic white-sided , and white-beaked dolphins ), and minke and long-finned pilot whales are regularly seen from
432-474: A two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Caithness became part of the Highland Region . At the district level there was a Caithness District , which initially covered the pre-1975 county plus the parishes of Farr and Tongue from Sutherland. The transfer of Farr and Tongue to Caithness district was not popular; less than two years later, in 1977, they were transferred to
480-525: Is Old Red Sandstone to an estimated depth of over 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). This consists of the cemented sediments of Lake Orcadie , which is believed to have stretched from Shetland to Grampian during the Devonian period, about 370 million years ago. Fossilised fish and plant remains are found between the layers of sediment. Older metamorphic rock is apparent in the Scaraben and Ord area, in
528-470: Is a historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland . There are two towns, being Wick , which was the county town, and Thurso . The county includes the northernmost point of mainland Britain at Dunnet Head , and also the most north-easterly point at Duncansby Head near John o' Groats . The Flow Country is the largest blanket bog in Europe, and covers a large inland area in
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#1732794586900576-502: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Alexander Keith (politician) Alexander Keith (5 October 1795 – 14 December 1873) was the founder of Alexander Keith's Brewery , a businessman, politician and Freemason . After learning the brewing trade from his uncle in Northern England , Keith emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1817 and became manager at
624-552: Is fringed to the north and east by dramatic coastal scenery and is home to large, internationally important colonies of seabirds. The surrounding waters of the Pentland Firth and the North Sea hold a great diversity of marine life. Notable features of the north coast are Sandside Bay , Thurso Bay and Dunnet Bay , Dunnet Head (the northernmost point of Britain) and Duncansby Head (the north-east tip of Britain); along
672-586: Is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe. Around 1,500 km (580 sq mi) of the Flow Country is protected as both a Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the name Caithness and Sutherland Peatlands , and a portion is further designated as the Forsinard Flows national nature reserve . In 2014 44 square miles (110 km ) of the eastern coastline of Caithness between Helmsdale and Wick
720-671: Is well represented in the county by groups including Yarrows Heritage Trust, Caithness Horizons and Caithness Broch Project . Numerous coastal castles (now mostly ruins) are Norwegian ( West Norse ) in their foundations. When the Norsemen arrived, probably in the 10th century, the county was inhabited by the Picts , but with its culture subject to some Goidelic influence from the Celtic Church . The name Pentland Firth can be read as meaning Pictland Fjord. Norse settlers landed in
768-554: Is within Caithness. From the 9th century the Caithness area was ruled by the Jarl of Orkney , who at different times owed allegiance to both Norway and Scotland. Caithness subsequently became a separate provincial lordship from Orkney in the 14th century, being an earldom controlled by the Earl of Caithness . The name was also used for the Diocese of Caithness from the 12th century to
816-870: The Bank of Nova Scotia , the Halifax Fire Insurance Company, Colonial Life Assurance Company, the Halifax Gas, Light, and Water Company, the Provincial Permanent Building, and Investment Society. In 1841, he was elected to the city council of Halifax and was elected mayor in 1843, 1853, and 1854. In 1843, he was appointed to the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia , becoming its president from 1867 until his death in 1873. Keith served with several fraternal and charitable societies, including as president of
864-657: The Keith Medal See also [ edit ] Alexander Keith's Brewery , brewery and beer brand Keith Alexander (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexander_Keith&oldid=1014022713 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
912-614: The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , taking most of the functions of the commissioners of supply (which were eventually abolished in 1930). Caithness County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at the Town and County Hall in Wick. The county council moved its administrative offices to the County Offices on High Street, Wick, in 1930, but continued to hold its meetings at the Town and County Hall. The 1889 Act also led to
960-415: The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the regions and districts created in 1975 abolished and replaced with single-tier council areas . The former Highland region became one of the new council areas. The boundaries of the historic county are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a registration county . The pre-1996 district (being the same area as
1008-701: The North British Society and Grand Master of the Freemasons . Born in Caithness , Scotland , in 1795 he immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1817. Keith married Sarah Ann Stalcup in 1822, and they had three children, all of whom died before reaching adulthood. Sarah Ann Stalcup died in 1832, and a year later, Keith married Eliza Keith, with whom he had eight children. Architect William Hay began construction of Keith's new residence, Keith Hall, in 1863. The palazzo mixes styles including baroque and
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#17327945869001056-650: The Norwegian crown . The Scottish crown claimed the overlordship of the Caithness and Sutherland area from Norway in 1098. The Earls of Orkney thereafter owed allegiance to the Scottish crown for their territory on the mainland, which they held as the Mormaer of Caithness , but owed allegiance to the Norwegian crown for Orkney itself. The Diocese of Caithness was established in the 12th century. The bishop's seat
1104-616: The Parliament of Great Britain (1708 to 1801) and the Parliament of the United Kingdom (1801 to 1918) represented essentially the county from 1708 to 1918. At the same time however, the county town of Wick was represented as a component of Tain Burghs until 1832 and of Wick Burghs until 1918. Between 1708 and 1832 the Caithness constituency was paired with Buteshire as alternating constituencies : one constituency elected
1152-405: The 17th century. The diocese was larger than the later county, also including Sutherland. A shire called Caithness covering the same area as the earldom was created in 1641, after a couple of earlier abortive attempts. Shires gradually eclipsed the old provinces in administrative importance, and also became known as counties. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975, when
1200-527: The Sutherland district, after which the district covered the same area as the pre-1975 county. Caithness District Council was based at the former county council's headquarters at the County Offices in Wick, and held its meetings alternating between Wick Town Hall and Thurso Town Hall . Throughout the district's existence from 1975 to 1996, a majority of the seats were held by independent councillors. Further local government reforms in 1996 under
1248-664: The area Katanes ("headland of the Catt people"), and over time this became Caithness . The Gaelic name for Caithness, Gallaibh , means "among the strangers", referring to the Norse. The name of the Catti survives in the Gaelic name for eastern Sutherland , Cataibh , and in the old Gaelic name for Shetland , Innse Chat . Caithness extends about 30 miles (48 km) north-south and about 30 miles (48 km) east-west, with
1296-557: The area became part of the Highland region, which in turn became a single-tier council area in 1996. There was a local government district called Caithness from 1975 to 1996, which was a lower-tier district within the Highland region. The pre-1975 county boundaries are still used for certain functions, being a registration county. The Norn language was historically the language of everyday communication for people in Caithness, but
1344-414: The case in Caithness. From 1748 the government merged the positions of Sheriff of Sutherland and Sheriff of Caithness into a single post. Although they shared a sheriff after 1748, Caithness and Sutherland remained legally separate counties, having their own commissioners of supply and, from 1794, their own lord lieutenants . Although Wick had been declared the head burgh of the shire in 1641, for much of
1392-590: The county, and gradually established themselves around the coast. On the Latheron (south) side, they extended their settlements as far as Berriedale. Many of the names of places are Norse in origin. In addition, some Caithness surnames, such as Gunn , are Norse in origin. The area was anciently part of the Pictish kingdom of Cat , which also included Sutherland. It was conquered in the 9th century by Sigurd Eysteinsson , Jarl of Orkney. The Jarls owed allegiance to
1440-471: The earldom of Caithness; Sutherland had been made its own shire in 1633. Wick was declared to be the head burgh of the shire, and the Earl of Caithness became the hereditary sheriff. Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667 Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire, which would serve as
1488-574: The east coast can be found Freswick Bay, Sinclairs Bay and Wick Bay . To the north in Pentland Firth lies Stroma , the only major island of the county. Away from the coast, the landscape is dominated by open moorland and blanket bog known as the Flow Country which is the largest expanse of blanket bog in Europe, extending into Sutherland. This is divided up along the straths ( river valleys ) by more fertile farm and croft land. In
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1536-647: The era of district councils and, in some cases, county councils. In the Scottish Parliament Caithness is represented also as part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region . In 2021, Caithness had a resident population of 25,347 (26,486 in 2011). There are two towns in Caithness: Thurso and Wick . 54% of the population live in one of those towns. There are also a few villages large enough to have amenities such as
1584-481: The far south the landscape is slightly hillier, culminating in Morven , the highest peak in the county at 706 m (2,316 ft). The county contains a number of lochs, though these are smaller in comparison with the rest of northern Scotland. The most prominent are Loch Heilen , St. John's Loch , Loch Watten , Loch More , Loch Shurrery , Loch Calder and Loch Mey . The underlying geology of most of Caithness
1632-689: The main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890. Following the Acts of Union in 1707, the English term 'county' came to be used interchangeably with the older term 'shire'. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 , the government passed the Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746 , returning the appointment of sheriffs to the crown in those cases where they had become hereditary positions, as had been
1680-583: The next 200 years the sheriff held most courts and had his clerk's offices in Thurso. In 1828 a new Town and County Hall (now known as Wick Town Hall ) was completed on Bridge Street in Wick, jointly funded by Wick Town Council and the county's commissioners of supply. Whilst it was under construction, the Wick authorities took legal action against the sheriff, successfully securing an order requiring him to hold regular courts and have his clerk's offices in Wick. Elected county councils were established in 1890 under
1728-700: The pre-1975 county) is also used as a lieutenancy area , served by the Lord Lieutenant of Caithness . The Highland Council has an area committee called the Caithness Committee, comprising the councillors representing the wards which approximately cover the Caithness area. The council also marks the historic county boundaries with road signs. Parishes existed from medieval times. From 1845 to 1894 they had parish boards and from 1894 to 1930 they had parish councils. They have had no administrative functions since 1930, but continue to be used for
1776-486: The presentation of statistics. Following the 1891 parish boundary changes, Caithness contained the following civil parishes: Halkirk was formed at the Reformation by the merger of the ancient parishes of Halkirk and Skinnet. Watten was created from part of Bower parish in 1638. Community councils were created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 . They have no statutory powers, but serve as
1824-458: The purposes of biological recording and other scientific data-gathering. The vice-counties were introduced by Hewett Cottrell Watson , who first used them in the third volume of his Cybele Britannica , published in 1852. The underlying geology, harsh climate, and long history of human occupation have shaped the natural heritage of Caithness. Today a diverse landscape incorporates both common and rare habitats and species, and Caithness provides
1872-469: The relatively high southwest area of the county. Caithness's highest point ( Morven ) is in this area. Because of the ease with which the sandstone splits to form large flat slabs ( flagstone ) it is an especially useful building material, and has been used as such since Neolithic times. Caithness is one of the Watsonian vice-counties , subdivisions of Britain and Ireland which are used largely for
1920-421: The sheriff of Inverness. The sheriff of Inverness was then directed to appoint a number of deputies, including one based in Wick. In 1584, George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness , forfeited the justiciary of the area after a dispute with George Gordon, Earl of Huntly , who was sheriff of Inverness at the time. Caithness was restored to being a shire in 1641. The shire of Caithness created in 1641 just covered
1968-427: The shire of Inverness was too big for the effective administration of justice, and so declared Ross and Caithness to be separate shires. The boundary used for the shire of Caithness created in 1504 was the diocese of Caithness, which included Sutherland. The Sheriff of Caithness was directed to hold courts at either Dornoch or Wick. That act was set aside for most purposes in 1509, and Caithness once more came under
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2016-428: The shore and boats. Both grey and common seals come close to the shore to feed, rest, and raise their pups; a significant population over-winters on small islands in the Thurso river only a short walk from the town centre. Otters can be seen close to river mouths in some of the quieter locations. Much of the centre of Caithness is known as the Flow Country , a large, rolling expanse of peatland and wetland that
2064-585: The west of the county. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a watershed and is crossed by two roads (the A9 and the A836 ) and by one railway (the Far North Line ). Across the Pentland Firth , ferries link Caithness with Orkney , and Caithness also has an airport at Wick . The Pentland Firth island of Stroma
2112-570: Was created in 1999 and now has boundaries slightly different from those of the House of Commons constituency. It was replaced by the larger constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross in 2011. The modern constituencies may be seen as more sub-divisions of the Highland area than as representative of counties (and burghs). For its own purposes, however, the Highland Council uses more conservative sub-divisions, with names which refer back to
2160-772: Was declared a Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area under the title East Caithness Cliffs . The cliffs are also designated as both a Special Protection Area and a Special Area of Conservation. The Caithness landscape is rich with the remains of pre-historic occupation. These include the Grey Cairns of Camster , the Stone Lud , the Hill O Many Stanes , a complex of sites around Loch of Yarrows near Thrumster , and over 100 brochs . A prehistoric souterrain structure at Caithness has been likened to discoveries at Midgarth and on Shapinsay . The study of Caithness prehistory
2208-488: Was gradually overtaken by Scots and then English. Norn had probably become extinct in Caithness by the 15th century. The Caith element of the name Caithness comes from the name of a Pictish tribe known as the Cat , Catt or Catti people, whose Kingdom of Cat covered what would become Caithness and parts of Sutherland from the 9th century. The -ness element comes from Old Norse and means "headland". The Norse called
2256-493: Was initially at Halkirk , but in the early 13th century was moved to Dornoch Cathedral (now in Sutherland), which was begun in 1224. Caithness became a separate earldom during the 14th century, under the feudal control of the Earl of Caithness . The title Earl of Caithness had sometimes been used by the mormaers who were also Jarls of Orkney; the earldoms had been separated by the time David Stewart, Earl of Strathearn
2304-490: Was made Earl of Caithness, sometime between 1375 and 1377. In terms of shires (areas where justice was administered by a sheriff ), the north of mainland Scotland was all included in the shire of Inverness from the 12th century. In 1455 the Earl of Caithness gained a grant of the justiciary of the area, giving Caithness partial independence from the Sheriff of Inverness . An act of parliament in 1504 acknowledged that
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