Caithness

The historical caithness mix

Picts, Vikings, Earls, Castles, Battles, Religion, Harbours, Herring, Farms, flagstone, Schools, Settlements and Dounreay – all have helped create the modern Caithness

With the coming of the Vikings in the 9th century, Caithness became part of the great Scandinavian empire stretching across northern Europe and as far as North America. The remains of their impressive coastline strongholds are still with us – the Castle of Old Wick being a particularly stirring example.

The Norse hold on Caithness was physically challenged by the Scottish Crown in the late 11th century with William the Lion sending his great army four times to the county. With the then decline of Norse power, came the arrival of Scottish noblemen such as the powerful Sinclair family, which was granted the Earldom of Caithness in 1455. Feuds were common between families or clans and indeed, one of the last clan battles on Scottish soil was fought near Wick in 1680. A number of Caithness lairds ‘came out’ in support of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, provisioned out of Dunbeath Castle.

The two main towns in Caithness have distinguished histories dating back to their origins as Viking settlements. By the Middle Ages, Thurso was an important sea port, with strong European trading links (one of our main shopping areas is called Rotterdam Street). Wick became a Royal Burgh in 1589 and by the 19th century was the most important herring fishing port in Europe. The remarkable story of the ‘herring boom’ comes alive at the Wick Heritage Centre, and tells of the years in which the Caithness coastline teemed with boats and people. Tiny harbours sprang up in apparently wild and inaccessible places; visitors to the small harbour of Dunbeath will be amazed to learn that this picturesque location was home to 76 boats in 1838, employing up to 3,000 people and that during its heyday around 1845, Lybster was in forth place in the British table for the quantity of cured herring being processed.

More recent times have brought further changes to Caithness; large-scale agriculture was developed in the 19th century, along with the exportation of local paving stone, known as ‘flagstone’ to all corners of the world. The cradle of the flagstone industry was Castlehill, some five miles east of Thurso, where some 500 men were once employed at the site. There is a welcome international resurgence in demand for our most durable product.

Dounreay – the world’s first fast-breeder atomic energy programme was established at Dounreay in the mid-1950’s, bringing new skills and people to the County. Although the establishment is now being de-commissioned, the iconic Dounreay ‘ball’ has been listed for safe-keeping.

George Bethune (Dunbeath) and George Watson (Thurso)