62-632: Dunnet is a village in Caithness , in the Highland area of Scotland . It is within the Parish of Dunnet . The village centres on the A836 – B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats in the east and toward Thurso and Tongue in the west. (At the junction however the road's alignment is much more north-south than east-west.) The B855 leads toward Brough and Dunnet Head point in
124-508: 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
186-414: A clay and stone-lined pit and two red deer antler picks was identified. Radiocarbon dating showed these to be from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. The overlying strata supported by a sequence of radiocarbon dates and dateable finds indicate that the site was also a focus of human activity in the 5th, 13th and 15th centuries up until the early 20th century. While the full extent of the site is currently unknown,
248-432: A much older and extensive archaeological site. Trial trenching has shown that the bank upon which Brotchie's Steading sits is largely man-made and part of an extensive settlement mound that possibly includes a ruined broch . The earliest deposits excavated were from an occupation surface and material from this provided a date in the range 390-170 BC. At the north end of the site, a thick layer of stone rubble associated with
310-516: A registration county. The Norn language was historically the language of everyday communication for people in Caithness, but 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
372-452: 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
434-627: 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
496-507: 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
558-554: 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 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
620-544: A shop, a cafe, a post office, a hotel, a church or a bank. These include Castletown , Dunbeath , Dunnet , Halkirk , John o' Groats , Keiss , Lybster , Reay /New Reay, Scrabster and Watten . Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of
682-465: 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
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#1732776324907744-584: A summer residence and ran the local salmon station. Lady Doris was a close friend of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , and invited her to stay at the house in 1953. During her stay, she looked east out of one of the upper floor windows and spied the tower of the recently vacated Barrogill Castle, 6 miles (9.7 km) away. Upon enquiring about the castle, a visit was arranged to view it. It was owned by Captain and Mrs Imbert-Terry, an eccentric couple whose family reputedly owned Terry's chocolate factory in York. A deal
806-474: 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
868-525: 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
930-552: 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
992-493: Is near the road junction and has documented history dating from 1230. From 1726 to 1750 the minister was Rev James Oswald who was born and raised in Dunnet and served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1765. Brotchie's Steading is a ruined croft house just to the west of Dunnet Church . It originally became the focus of archaeological interest because structural members (cruck blades) in one of
1054-673: 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 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
1116-639: 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
1178-671: 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
1240-584: The Coronation of the British monarch in 1953 . The then-Moderator, James Pitt-Watson , presented a Bible to Queen Elizabeth II , saying: "Here is wisdom; This is the royal law; These are the lively Oracles of God." During the Coronation of Charles III in 2023, the then-Moderator, Iain Greenshields once again presented a Bible to The King, saying: "Sir, to keep you ever mindful of the law and
1302-614: 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
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#17327763249071364-415: 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
1426-490: The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland – the most prominent figure in the life of Church of Scotland adherents. The moderator can be any minister, deacon or elder, within the Church of Scotland. Whoever is selected as moderator is often of considerable experience and held in high esteem in the Church of Scotland. The moderator is nominated by the "Committee to Nominate
1488-650: 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
1550-616: 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
1612-766: The 9th century. The -ness element comes from Old Norse and means "headland". The Norse called 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
1674-639: The Church of Scotland , which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Assembly, the Moderator then spends the following year representing the Church of Scotland at civic events, and visiting congregations and projects in Scotland and beyond. As the Church of Scotland is Scotland's national church, and as a presbyterian church has no bishops , the Moderator is – arguably alongside
1736-568: The Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes, receive this Book, the most valuable thing that this world has to offer. Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God." The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland has an official coat of arms awarded by the Lord Lyon King of Arms . It includes a shield showing
1798-458: The Moderator", which consists of twelve people elected annually - comprising eleven ministers and elders, and one deacon. The moderator must, however, also be formally elected by the commissioners (i.e. all representatives) at the start of the General Assembly – this is in practice a formality. A new moderator is elected each year, and usually announced in October. In 2004 Alison Elliot became
1860-527: 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
1922-493: The burning bush, plus the Quigrich - the crozier of St Fillan - behind the shield (with the curved head of the Quigrich visible above the shield). The shield is surmounted by a black Geneva bonnet - closely associated with John Knox. Similar to the coat of arms of an archbishop, there are the addition of twenty blue tassels arranged with ten on each side. By virtue of an Order of Precedence established by King Edward VII
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1984-414: 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
2046-465: The council vetoed the project on grounds of drainage and sewerage difficulties, because the land is flow country or blanket bog . In 1974 when it came on the market, the rock band Led Zeppelin viewed it several times with a view to making it into a recording studio. A possible reason for this may be that guitarist Jimmy Page already owned Boleskine House , for many years the home of notorious occultist and white witch Aleister Crowley , near Foyers on
2108-590: 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
2170-471: 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
2232-574: 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
2294-647: 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
2356-481: 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
2418-696: The first woman (and first elder for approximately 400 years) to be elected Moderator. Three years later Sheilagh M. Kesting became the first woman minister to be elected to the office. In total, there have been five female moderators. Moderators who also serve as a minister are styled the Right Reverend during the term of office and the Very Reverend thereafter. This gives no further status beyond that of teaching elder. The Moderator has an official residence at Number 2 Rothesay Terrace in Edinburgh's West End . The Moderator first took part in
2480-468: The knoll upon which Dunnet Church now sits would appear to form a part of a major archaeological site that has seen almost continuous, or at least regular, occupation for over two millennia. Caithness Caithness ( / k eɪ θ ˈ n ɛ s / ; Scottish Gaelic : Gallaibh [ˈkal̪ˠɪv] ; Old Norse : Katanes ) is a historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland . There are two towns, being Wick , which
2542-689: 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
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2604-492: The nearby RAF Castletown fighter station. It is locally owned and in 2017 undertook a major renovation. The village has a hall, The Britannia Hall, which is run by a committee, and which is used for a variety of activities including a children's nursery, an indoor bowling club, a badminton club and the Post Office, which visits twice a week, on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays. Its main fund raising activity each year for
2666-583: 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
2728-504: The north. The Northern Sands Hotel is located on the A836, adjacent to the village church. It is a small hotel with 12 bedrooms, a large dining room, a large car park and 2 bars. It was originally called The Golf Links Hotel, there being a links course between Dunnet and Castletown that fell into disuse during World War II. It was taken over by the RAF during WW2 & used to station pilots from
2790-530: 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 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
2852-700: 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
2914-486: 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
2976-458: 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
3038-469: 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
3100-478: The rooms were known to have been formed from a pair of whale mandibles, probably from a fin or blue whale. These are presently housed in the Dunnet Bay Visitor Centre. An excavation by Headland Archaeology was undertaken to examine the role of whale bones as a construction material in Caithness croft houses, but it quickly became apparent that the 19th to 20th century croft houses sit on
3162-421: 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
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#17327763249073224-427: 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
3286-428: 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
3348-473: The south bank of Loch Ness , and was a frequent visitor to Caithness. During this period, scenes from a horror film were recorded using the outside of the house as a backdrop. The house was empty until 1984/5, when a family from Kent bought it and made it into a private residence again. It has 1,800 acres (7.3 km) of land, 6 lochs and a small beach, the Peedie Sannie ("Small Beach"). Dunnet Church
3410-550: The upkeep of the hall is the Marymas Fair, held in late August on a nearby farm field, it has the usual attractions such as Highland dancing, a display of vintage and classic cars and motorcycles, bonniest baby, home baking, tossing the wheatsheaf, line dancing, face painting, raffles and tug of war. The House of the Northern Gate (sometimes called Dwarick House) sits in a commanding position on Dunnet Head, overlooking
3472-401: The west side of the village. It was built between 1895 - 1908 by Admiral Alexander Sinclair who also owned Freswick, Keiss & Dunbeath Estates. Admiral Sinclair died in 1945 and the estate was broken up, the last croft to be bought by its tenant was by Mary Ann & James Calder, now a museum. The estate was bought in 1948 by Commander Clair Vyner and his wife Lady Doris Vyner. They used it as
3534-570: 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
3596-772: 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
3658-493: 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
3720-490: 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
3782-519: Was struck to buy the rather dilapidated castle and Longoe Mains farm for a reported £6,000. The Queen Mother renamed it the Castle of Mey , its original name. The House of the Northern Gate was run as a hotel by Bill Dodd from 1967 until 1974 and then owned by a Mr Divanian Gold from 1974 until around 1984/5, a flamboyant Jewish fashion clothes manufacturer from Manchester, who used it as a summer home. He later tried to sell building plots on its land, but
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#17327763249073844-401: 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 the west of the county. Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and
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