Hide

Thurso

hide
Hide

"THURSO, a parish, seaport, market and sessions town, and burgh of barony, county Caithness, Scotland, 21 miles S.W. of Wick, and the same distance W. from John-o'-Groat's house. Coaches run to Bonar Bridge in connection with the Highland railway, and the Leith steamers call at the bay, which has good anchorage. It is situated on the north-western coast of the county, at the head of a bay, into which the river Thurso falls, between Dunnet and Holburn Heads, after a course of 25 miles from the borders of Halkirk parish. Vessels of any burthen may find shelter in the bay, or Scrabster Roads, as it is called, in all weathers, but those intending to enter the harbour must wait the tide before they can cross the barony It is a subport to Wick, and has a pier and custom-house. The main export of the place consists of the Caithness pavement, the manufacture of which is carried on to a great extent, and heavy draughts of salmon are occasionally taken in the river, which is here spanned by a stone bridge. The largest draught recorded was in 1743, when 2,560 were taken in one draught of the net. The parish is about 6½ miles in length by 5 broad, and the land is well cultivated. The coast, except near the bay, is rocky, the cliffs rising 400 feet above the sea-level in some parts. The prevailing rocks are Old Red sandstone, coarse slate, and trap, with flagstone, which is quarried. Traces of lead have been found. The town, which is called in Gaelic Inverhorsa, stands on the left bank of the river, about 2 miles to the eastward of the harbour. The streets are neat and clean, and there are many good houses. Many of the inhabitants are engaged in the fisheries and coasting trade, and some in the linen, woollen, leather, and straw-plait manufactures. There are a post-office, masonic lodge, assembly rooms, customhouse, savings-bank, and two branch banks. In the parish are "Picts' houses," a Danish camp, and the ruins of a house where the Earl of Montrose stayed on landing, before his capture. The parish is in the presb, of Caithness. The church was erected in the early part of the present century by Sir G. Sinclair, the projector of the great statistical account of Scotland. There are, besides a Free church, chapels for Original Seceders, Independents, and Baptists, also parochial and Free Church schools, and several private seminaries. A little to the E. of the town stands Thurso Castle, the seat of Sir G. Sinclair, Bart., an ancient building recently enlarged; and at a short distance on the coast is Harold's Cross, erected by the late baronet to the memory of Harold Earl of Caithness, who fell here in 1190. Market day is on Friday. Fairs are held on the last Tuesdays of April and May, second Tuesday in July Monday next before Inverness, Friday after Links of Dunnet, first Tuesday in September, and last Tuesday in October."

Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)

Hide
topup

Churches

Presbyterian / Unitarian
Thurso, Church of Scotland
topup

Description & Travel

You can see pictures of Thurso which are provided by:

topup

Gazetteers

Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, Samuel Lewis - 1851

THURSO, a parish and sea-port and burgh of barony, in the county of Caithness; containing 4881 inhabitants, of whom 2510 are in the burgh, 20 miles (N. W. by W.) from Wick, and 55 (N. N. E.) from Dornoch. This place derives its name from its situation at the mouth of the river Thurso, or the river of "Thor". From the circumstance of the weights used here being adopted in the reign of David I. as the standard of assize for the kingdom, it would appear to have attained a high degree of prosperity at a very early period. No events, however, of striking importance are recorded in its history; and it was not till the year 1633 that it obtained a charter erecting it into a free burgh of barony, granted by Charles I. to the master of Berrydale, at that time its superior. In the reign of this monarch, during the wars of the Covenanters, the Earl of Montrose, having landed on one of the islands of Orkney, visited Thurso, and resided for some time in a house whose ruins are still remaining. In 1746 a party of Highlanders under the command of their chieftain, McLeod, encamped near Thurso, previously to the battle of Culloden, in order to recruit their numbers; but the inhabitants, stedfast in their loyalty to the reigning sovereign, pursued them on their departure; and at a ferry near Dnnrobin Castle, attacking the party, took several of their officers prisoners. The barony passed from the lords of Berriedale, in 1718, to the ancestor of the late Sir John Sinclair, author of the well-known Statistical Account of Scotland, whose representative. Sir George Sinclair, of Ulbster, Bart., is the present proprietor.

topup

Maps

You can see maps centred on OS grid reference ND098659 (Lat/Lon: 58.571334, -3.552414), Thurso which are provided by:

topup

Poor Houses, Poor Law

Poorhouses - Scotland

It is hard to compete with The Workhouse site.

Thurso Combination - notes from the accounts and punishment books of the Thurso combination, by Henrietta Munro.