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9. Contact - got a question about Caithness, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
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{| class="toccolours" style="border-collapse: collapse; float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em;" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="260"|+
County of Caithness|-| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: white;"||-| colspan="2" style="background: #f0f0f0; font-weight: bolder;"|Geography|-! style="font-weight: normal;" |
Surface area- Total
- % Water| List of Scottish traditional counties by area
438,833 acres (1776 km²)
? %|-!
County town|-! [Chapman code)The Cait element of Caithness is [Picts or
Goidelic languages in origin but the origin of
Caithness is Old Norse language or Norn language, and may be read as meaning
Horn (or
Nose)
of Cait. The Gaelic name,
Gallaibh, means
land of the Norse (or
of the foreigner). The
Cait element of
Caithness is represented as
Cat in
Cataibh, the Gaelic name for
Sutherland, and as
Cait in
Na h-Innse Cait, the
Old Irish for Shetland. is a registration county,
Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and historic
Local government in Scotland of
Scotland. The name was used also for the Earl of Caithness and the Caithness (UK Parliament constituency) of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom (1708 to 1918). Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is now entirely within the Highland
Council areas of Scotland. This year, 2007, the
Highland Council, which is now the local government authority, created the
Highland Council, which has boundaries similar to those of the historic local government area.
Caithness became a local government
Counties of Scotland, with its own
county council, in 1890, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. Although officially within the county, the
burghs of Wick, Caithness and
Thurso retained their status as autonomous local government areas. Wick, a royal burgh and traditionally the county town, became the administrative centre for the local government county. County and burgh councils were later abolished, in 1975, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and Caithness became one of eight districts, each with its own district council, within the new two-tier Highland
Regions and districts of Scotland. In 1996, under the
Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, the region became a
Unitary council area, and the district councils were abolished.
As registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area, Caithness has a land boundary with the equally historic local government area of Sutherland. Otherwise it is bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a
Water divide and is crossed by two roads, the
A9 road and the
A836 road, and one railway, the
Far North Line. Across the Pentland Firth ferries link Caithness with Orkney, and Caithness has also an airport at Wick. The Pentland Firth island of Stroma, Scotland is within Caithness.
In 2001 Caithness had a resident population of 23,866 and settlement centres include those of
Berriedale, Burnside, Caithness,
Castletown, Caithness, Dunnet, Halkirk, Haster,
Reiss, John o' Groats,
Latheron, Mey,
Parish of Reay, Sibster, Thurso, Watten, Highland and Wick, Caithness.Ordnance Survey
British national grid reference systems:
- Towns and villages:
- Topography features:
Geography
Caithness extends about 40
miles (64 kilometres) north-south and about 30 miles (50 km) east-west. The general aspect of Caithness, which measures in area about 712 square miles (1844 km²), is flat, in contrast to the majority of Highland Region. Until the latter part of the 20th century when significant areas were planted in conifers, this was rendered still more striking by the almost total absence of forest. from Beinn FreiceadainMost of Caithness is old red
sandstone to an estimated depth of over 4,000 metres. 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 (
granite) rock is apparent in the Scaraben and Ord, Highland area, in the relatively high southwest area of the county. Caithness' highest point (Morven, Caithness) 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 a land of open, rolling farmland, moorland and scattered settlements. The area 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. Away from the coast, the landscape is dominated by open moorland and blanket
bog, divided up along the
straths (river valleys) by more fertile farm and
croft (land) land.
History
The Caithness landscape is rich with the remains of pre-historic occupation. These include the
Grey Cairns of Camster, the
The Stone Lud, the
Hill O Many Stanes, a complex of sites around
Loch Yarrows and over 100
brochs. And numerous coastal castles (now mostly ruins) are Norsemen in their foundations. When the Norsemen arrived, probably in the 10th century, the county was probably
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.
Numerous bands of Norse settlers landed in the county, and gradually established themselves around the coast. On the Latheron (south) side, they extended their settlements as far as Berriedale. Most of the names of places, and not a few of the surnames in the lowland parts of the county, are Norse in origin. A dialect of the
Norn language was spoken, although little is known about it. Some of this linguistic influence still exists in some parts of the county, however. A native of Wick, for example, will tend to say
til instead of
to. This is an example of the surviving modern use of an Old Norse word (
til is Old Norse for
to).
For a long time sovereignty over Caithness was disputed between Scotland and the Norway Earldom of Orkney. Circa 1196 Earl Harald Maddadarsson agreed to pay a monetary tribute for Caithness to William I of Scotland. Norway has recognized Caithness as fully Scottish since the Treaty of Perth in 1266.
Scottish Gaelic was spoken in the west of the county into the 20th century, although it is believed to be extinct now. It is sometimes erroneously claimed to have never been spoken in Caithness, but the Gaelic name for the region,
Gallaibh, translates as "Land of the Gall (
non-Gaels)". The language boundary changed over time, but the
New Statistical Record in 1841 says,
"On the eastern side of Burn of East Clyth scarcely a word of Gaelic was either spoken or understood, and on the west side, English suffered the same fate".
Historically, the
Anglic language of Caithness has been defined and named, usually, as
English (language). There is littleJamieson 1879, Grant and Dixon 1921, SND Vol. I 1946 etc. etc. or no evidence, predating the late 20th century, of
Scots being used as a name for Caithness dialect, but there is now, in some quarters, a tendency to see and name it as a form of Scots language.
Other quotes,
"Persons with a knowledge of Gaelic in the County of Caithness (in 1911) are found to number 1,685, and to constitute 6.7 per cent of the entire population of three years of age and upwards. Of these 1,248 were born in Caithness, 273 in Sutherland, 77 in Ross & Cromarty, and 87 elsewhere.... By an examination of the age distribution of the Gaelic speakers, it is found that only 22 of them are less than 20 years of age." (J. Patten MacDougall, Registrar General, 1912)
"A presbytery minute of 1727 says of 1,600 people who had 'come of age', 1500 could speak Gaelic only, and a mere five could read. Gaelic at this time was the principal language in most parishes except Bower, Canisbay, Dunnet and Olrig" (Omand, D.
From the Vikings to the Forty-Five, in
The Caithness book)
Natural heritage
The underlying geology, harsh climate and long history of human occupation have shaped this rich and distinctive natural heritage. Today we see a diverse landscape incorporating both common and rare habitats and species, and Caithness provides a stronghold for many once common breeding species that have undergone serious declines elsewhere, such as waders, water voles and flocks of
bird migration birds.
Many rare mammals, birds and fish have been sighted or caught in and around Caithness waters.
Harbour porpoises, dolphins (including Risso's dolphin,
bottle-nosed dolphin,
common dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin and white-beaked dolphins) and
minke whale and long-finned pilot whales are regularly seen from the shore and boats. Both
grey seal and
common seals come close to the shore to feed, rest and raise their pups, and
otters can be seen close to river mouths in some of the quieter locations.
Local government
See also: Politics of the Highland council area
County, burghs and parishes, 1890 to 1975
Caithness became a Local government in Scotland
Counties of Scotland, with its own elected county council, in 1890, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. At that time, two towns within the county, Wick, Caithness and
Thurso, were already well established as autonomous burghs with their own burgh councils. Ten parish councils, covering rural areas of the county were established in 1894.
Wick, a
royal burgh, served as the county's administrative centre.
The parish councils were abolished in 1931 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929. The county council and the burgh councils were abolished in 1975 under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The 1973 act also created a new two tier system, with Caithness as a district within the Highland Regions of Scotland.
Parishes
Prior to implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, civil administration parishes were also parishes of the
Church of Scotland, and one Caithness parish, Reay, straddled the boundary between the county of Caithness and the county of Sutherland, and another, Thurso had a separate fragment bounded by Reay and Halkirk. For civil administration purposes, implementation of the act redefined parish boundaries, transferring part of Reay to the Sutherland parish of Farr and the fragment of Thurso to the parish of Halkirk. Boundary changes as described in
Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland, Hay Shennan, 1892
In the cases of two of the parishes, Thurso and Wick, each includes a burgh with the same name as the parish. For civil administration purposes each of these parishes was divided between the burgh and the landward area of the parish.
Landward, in this context, means
rural.
{] near its geographic centre|-| Canisbay| Includes the village of
John O Groats and [Dunnet Head|-| Latheron| Includes the village of [Latheron
Was, at one time, partly in the [county of Sutherland|-| Thurso Landward| A rural area around the burgh of [Thurso|-| Wick Landward| A rural area around the burgh of [Wick (Highland)|}
District, 1975 to 1996
Caithness was a district of the Highland local government Regions of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. When created, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the district included the whole of the county plus
Tongue, Highland and Strathnaver areas of the neighbouring Sutherland. The boundary was soon changed, however, to correspond with that between the counties. Caithness was one of eight districts in the Highland region.
The region was also created in 1975, as one of nine two-tier local government regions of Scotland. Each region consisted of a number of districts and both regions and districts had their own elected
Local government. The creation of the Highland region and of Caithness as a district involved the abolition of the two burgh councils in Caithness, Wick, Caithness and
Thurso, as well as the Caithness county council.
Wick, which had been the administrative centre for the county, became the administrative centre for the district.
In 1996 local government in Scotland was again reformed, to create
Council areas of Scotland. The Highland region became the Highland unitary council area, and the functions of the district councils were absorbed by the
Highland Council.
Management area and area committee, 1996 to 2007
In 1996, Caithness and the other seven districts of the Highland region were merged in to the unitary Highland Council areas of Scotland, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. The new Highland Council then adopted the former districts as management areas and created a system of area committees to represent the management areas.
Until 1999 the Caithness management and committee areas consisted of 8 out of the 72 Highland Council ward (politics)s. Each ward elected one councillor by the
first past the post system of election.
In 1999, however, ward boundaries were redrawn but management area boundaries were not. As a result area committees were named after and made decisions for areas which they did not exactly represent. The new Caithness committee area, consisting of ten out of the 80 new Highland Council wards, did not include the village of
Reay, although that village was within the Caithness management area. For area committee representation the village was within the Sutherland committee area.
New wards were created for elections this year, 2007, polling on 3 May and, as the wards became effective for representational purposes, the Highland Council's management and committee structures were reorganised. The Caithness management area and the Caithness area committee were therefore abolished.
Ward management area, from 2007
In 2007 an area similar to that of the Highland Council's Caithness management area was divided between three new wards electing councillors by the
single transferable vote system of election, which is designed to produce a form of
proportional representation. One ward elects four councillors. Each of the other two elects three councillors. Also, the council's eight management areas were abolished, in favour of three new corporate management areas, with Caithness becoming a ward management area within the council's new
Highland Council, which covers seven of the council's 22 new wards. The boundaries of the Caithness ward management area are not exactly those of the former Caithness management area, but they do include the village of Reay.
The ward management area is one of five within the corporate management area and consists of three wards, the
Highland Council wards created in 2007, the
Highland Council wards created in 2007 and the Highland Council wards created in 2007. Each of the other ward management areas within the corporate management area consists of a single ward.
Community councils, 1975 to present (2007)
Although created under
local government legislation (the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973) community councils have no Statute powers or responsibilities and are not a tier of Local government in Scotland. They are however the most local tier of statutory representation.
Under the 1973 Act, district councils were obliged to implement community council schemes. The Caithness district scheme was adopted in 1975, dividing the area of the district between 12 community councils.
Statutory status for community councils was continued under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, and the Caithness scheme is now the responsibility of the Highland Council.
At present, 2007, one of the Caithness community councils is moribund, due to lack of nomination of candidates for election to the council.
Constituency
The
Buteshire and Caithness (UK Parliament constituencies) of the
British House of Commons of 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, Highland was represented as a component of
Tain Burghs (UK Parliament constituency) until 1832 and of
Wick Burghs (UK Parliament constituency) until 1918.
Between 1708 and 1832 the Caithness constituency was one of the
Buteshire and Caithness (UK Parliament constituencies) alternating constituencies: one constituency elected a
Member of Parliament (MP) to one parliament and then the other elected an MP to the next. Between 1832 and 1918 it was a separate constituency, electing an MP to every parliament.
In 1918 the Caithness constituency and Wick were merged into the then new constituency of
Caithness and Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency). In 1997 Caithness and Sutherland was merged into
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (UK Parliament constituency).
The Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Scottish Parliament constituency) was created in 1999 and now has boundaries slightly different from those of the House of Commons constituency.
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 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 (Scottish Parliament region) Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions.
See also
Local media
Newspapers
The John O'Groat Journal and
The Caithness Courier are weekly
newspapers published by
Scottish Provincial Press Limited Scottish Provincial Press Limited website trading as North of Scotland Newspapers North of Scotland Newspapers website and using offices in Union Street,
Wick (Highland)(Public reception, however, is via Cliff Road.) and Olrig Street, Thurso.
News coverage tends to concentrate on the former counties of Caithness and Sutherland.
The John O'Groat Journal is normally published on Fridays and
The Caithness Courier is normally published on Wednesdays.
Historically, they have been independent newspapers, with the
Groat as a Wick-centred paper and the
Courier as a
Thurso-centred paper. Even now, the
Groat is archived in the public library in Wick, while the
Courier is similarly archived in the library in Thurso.
Radio
Caithness FM has been broadcasting since 1993. Caithness FM website
Websites
Various community organisations, including Caithness Arts, Caithness Arts website Castletown, Highlandhttp://www.castletown.info/ Castletown and District Community Council website] and
Castletown, Highland, Castletown Heritage Society maintain their own websites.
Notes and references
See also
Wikipedia articles
External pages
- Caithness Arts
- Caithness Dialect
- Caithness Tartan
{| class="toccolours" style="border-collapse: collapse; float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 1em 1em;" border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" width="260"|+
County of Caithness|-| colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background: white;"||-| colspan="2" style="background: #f0f0f0; font-weight: bolder;"|Geography|-! style="font-weight: normal;" |
Surface area- Total
- % Water| List of Scottish traditional counties by area
438,833 acres (1776 km²)
? %|-! County town|-! [Chapman code)The
Cait element of
Caithness is [Picts or
Goidelic languages in origin but the origin of
Caithness is
Old Norse language or Norn language, and may be read as meaning
Horn (or
Nose)
of Cait. The Gaelic name,
Gallaibh, means
land of the Norse (or
of the foreigner). The
Cait element of
Caithness is represented as
Cat in
Cataibh, the Gaelic name for
Sutherland, and as
Cait in
Na h-Innse Cait, the Old Irish for Shetland. is a registration county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and historic
Local government in Scotland of Scotland. The name was used also for the
Earl of Caithness and the Caithness (UK Parliament constituency) of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom (1708 to 1918). Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is now entirely within the
Highland Council areas of Scotland. This year, 2007, the Highland Council, which is now the local government authority, created the
Highland Council, which has boundaries similar to those of the historic local government area.
Caithness became a local government Counties of Scotland, with its own
county council, in 1890, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. Although officially within the county, the burghs of Wick, Caithness and Thurso retained their status as autonomous local government areas. Wick, a
royal burgh and traditionally the county town, became the administrative centre for the local government county. County and burgh councils were later abolished, in 1975, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, and Caithness became one of eight districts, each with its own district council, within the new two-tier Highland
Regions and districts of Scotland. In 1996, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, the region became a
Unitary council area, and the district councils were abolished.
As registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area, Caithness has a land boundary with the equally historic local government area of
Sutherland. Otherwise it is bounded by sea. The land boundary follows a
Water divide and is crossed by two roads, the A9 road and the
A836 road, and one railway, the Far North Line. Across the Pentland Firth ferries link Caithness with
Orkney, and Caithness has also an airport at Wick. The Pentland Firth island of
Stroma, Scotland is within Caithness.
In 2001 Caithness had a resident population of 23,866 and settlement centres include those of
Berriedale,
Burnside, Caithness, Castletown, Caithness, Dunnet,
Halkirk,
Haster, Reiss, John o' Groats,
Latheron, Mey,
Parish of Reay, Sibster,
Thurso, Watten, Highland and Wick, Caithness.Ordnance Survey
British national grid reference systems:
Geography
Caithness extends about 40
miles (64 kilometres) north-south and about 30 miles (50 km) east-west. The general aspect of Caithness, which measures in area about 712 square miles (1844 km²), is flat, in contrast to the majority of Highland Region. Until the latter part of the 20th century when significant areas were planted in conifers, this was rendered still more striking by the almost total absence of forest. from Beinn FreiceadainMost of Caithness is old red sandstone to an estimated depth of over 4,000 metres. 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 (
granite) rock is apparent in the Scaraben and
Ord, Highland area, in the relatively high southwest area of the county. Caithness' highest point (
Morven, Caithness) 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 a land of open, rolling farmland, moorland and scattered settlements. The area 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. Away from the coast, the landscape is dominated by open moorland and blanket bog, divided up along the
straths (river
valleys) by more fertile farm and
croft (land) land.
History
The Caithness landscape is rich with the remains of pre-historic occupation. These include the
Grey Cairns of Camster, the The Stone Lud, the Hill O Many Stanes, a complex of sites around
Loch Yarrows and over 100 brochs. And numerous coastal castles (now mostly ruins) are Norsemen in their foundations. When the Norsemen arrived, probably in the 10th century, the county was probably 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.
Numerous bands of Norse settlers landed in the county, and gradually established themselves around the coast. On the Latheron (south) side, they extended their settlements as far as Berriedale. Most of the names of places, and not a few of the surnames in the lowland parts of the county, are Norse in origin. A dialect of the
Norn language was spoken, although little is known about it. Some of this linguistic influence still exists in some parts of the county, however. A native of Wick, for example, will tend to say
til instead of
to. This is an example of the surviving modern use of an Old Norse word (
til is Old Norse for
to).
For a long time sovereignty over Caithness was disputed between Scotland and the Norway Earldom of Orkney. Circa 1196 Earl Harald Maddadarsson agreed to pay a monetary tribute for Caithness to
William I of Scotland. Norway has recognized Caithness as fully Scottish since the Treaty of Perth in 1266.
Scottish Gaelic was spoken in the west of the county into the 20th century, although it is believed to be extinct now. It is sometimes erroneously claimed to have never been spoken in Caithness, but the Gaelic name for the region,
Gallaibh, translates as "Land of the Gall (
non-Gaels)". The language boundary changed over time, but the
New Statistical Record in 1841 says,
"On the eastern side of Burn of East Clyth scarcely a word of Gaelic was either spoken or understood, and on the west side, English suffered the same fate".
Historically, the
Anglic language of Caithness has been defined and named, usually, as English (language). There is littleJamieson 1879, Grant and Dixon 1921, SND Vol. I 1946 etc. etc. or no evidence, predating the late 20th century, of
Scots being used as a name for Caithness
dialect, but there is now, in some quarters, a tendency to see and name it as a form of
Scots language.
Other quotes,
"Persons with a knowledge of Gaelic in the County of Caithness (in 1911) are found to number 1,685, and to constitute 6.7 per cent of the entire population of three years of age and upwards. Of these 1,248 were born in Caithness, 273 in Sutherland, 77 in Ross & Cromarty, and 87 elsewhere.... By an examination of the age distribution of the Gaelic speakers, it is found that only 22 of them are less than 20 years of age." (J. Patten MacDougall, Registrar General, 1912)
"A presbytery minute of 1727 says of 1,600 people who had 'come of age', 1500 could speak Gaelic only, and a mere five could read. Gaelic at this time was the principal language in most parishes except Bower, Canisbay, Dunnet and Olrig" (Omand, D.
From the Vikings to the Forty-Five, in
The Caithness book)
Natural heritage
The underlying geology, harsh climate and long history of human occupation have shaped this rich and distinctive natural heritage. Today we see a diverse landscape incorporating both common and rare habitats and species, and Caithness provides a stronghold for many once common breeding species that have undergone serious declines elsewhere, such as waders,
water voles and flocks of
bird migration birds.
Many rare mammals, birds and fish have been sighted or caught in and around Caithness waters.
Harbour porpoises, dolphins (including
Risso's dolphin, bottle-nosed dolphin,
common dolphin, Atlantic white-sided dolphin and
white-beaked dolphins) and minke whale and long-finned pilot whales are regularly seen from the shore and boats. Both grey seal and
common seals come close to the shore to feed, rest and raise their pups, and
otters can be seen close to river mouths in some of the quieter locations.
Local government
See also: Politics of the Highland council area
County, burghs and parishes, 1890 to 1975
Caithness became a Local government in Scotland Counties of Scotland, with its own elected
county council, in 1890, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. At that time, two towns within the county, Wick, Caithness and
Thurso, were already well established as autonomous burghs with their own burgh councils. Ten parish councils, covering rural areas of the county were established in 1894.
Wick, a
royal burgh, served as the county's administrative centre.
The parish councils were abolished in 1931 under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929. The county council and the burgh councils were abolished in 1975 under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The 1973 act also created a new two tier system, with Caithness as a district within the Highland
Regions of Scotland.
Parishes
Prior to implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, civil administration parishes were also parishes of the Church of Scotland, and one Caithness parish, Reay, straddled the boundary between the county of Caithness and the
county of Sutherland, and another, Thurso had a separate fragment bounded by Reay and Halkirk. For civil administration purposes, implementation of the act redefined parish boundaries, transferring part of Reay to the Sutherland parish of
Farr and the fragment of Thurso to the parish of Halkirk. Boundary changes as described in
Boundaries of Counties and Parishes in Scotland, Hay Shennan, 1892
In the cases of two of the parishes, Thurso and Wick, each includes a burgh with the same name as the parish. For civil administration purposes each of these parishes was divided between the burgh and the landward area of the parish.
Landward, in this context, means
rural.
{] near its geographic centre|-| Canisbay| Includes the village of John O Groats and [Dunnet Head|-|
Latheron| Includes the village of [Latheron
Was, at one time, partly in the [county of Sutherland|-| Thurso Landward| A rural area around the burgh of [Thurso|-| Wick Landward| A rural area around the burgh of [Wick (Highland)|}
District, 1975 to 1996
Caithness was a district of the
Highland local government
Regions of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. When created, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the district included the whole of the county plus
Tongue, Highland and
Strathnaver areas of the neighbouring
Sutherland. The boundary was soon changed, however, to correspond with that between the counties. Caithness was one of eight districts in the Highland region.
The region was also created in 1975, as one of nine two-tier local government regions of Scotland. Each region consisted of a number of districts and both regions and districts had their own elected
Local government. The creation of the Highland region and of Caithness as a district involved the abolition of the two burgh councils in Caithness, Wick, Caithness and Thurso, as well as the Caithness
county council.
Wick, which had been the administrative centre for the county, became the administrative centre for the district.
In 1996 local government in Scotland was again reformed, to create
Council areas of Scotland. The Highland region became the Highland unitary council area, and the functions of the district councils were absorbed by the
Highland Council.
Management area and area committee, 1996 to 2007
In 1996, Caithness and the other seven districts of the Highland region were merged in to the unitary Highland
Council areas of Scotland, under the
Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. The new Highland Council then adopted the former districts as management areas and created a system of
area committees to represent the management areas.
Until 1999 the Caithness management and committee areas consisted of 8 out of the 72 Highland Council
ward (politics)s. Each ward elected one councillor by the
first past the post system of election.
In 1999, however, ward boundaries were redrawn but management area boundaries were not. As a result area committees were named after and made decisions for areas which they did not exactly represent. The new Caithness committee area, consisting of ten out of the 80 new Highland Council wards, did not include the village of
Reay, although that village was within the Caithness management area. For area committee representation the village was within the Sutherland committee area.
New wards were created for elections this year, 2007, polling on 3 May and, as the wards became effective for representational purposes, the Highland Council's management and committee structures were reorganised. The Caithness management area and the Caithness area committee were therefore abolished.
Ward management area, from 2007
In 2007 an area similar to that of the Highland Council's Caithness management area was divided between three new wards electing councillors by the single transferable vote system of election, which is designed to produce a form of proportional representation. One ward elects four councillors. Each of the other two elects three councillors. Also, the council's eight management areas were abolished, in favour of three new corporate management areas, with Caithness becoming a ward management area within the council's new Highland Council, which covers seven of the council's 22 new wards. The boundaries of the Caithness ward management area are not exactly those of the former Caithness management area, but they do include the village of Reay.
The ward management area is one of five within the corporate management area and consists of three wards, the Highland Council wards created in 2007, the
Highland Council wards created in 2007 and the Highland Council wards created in 2007. Each of the other ward management areas within the corporate management area consists of a single ward.
Community councils, 1975 to present (2007)
Although created under
local government legislation (the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973) community councils have no Statute powers or responsibilities and are not a tier of Local government in Scotland. They are however the most local tier of statutory representation.
Under the 1973 Act, district councils were obliged to implement community council schemes. The Caithness district scheme was adopted in 1975, dividing the area of the district between 12 community councils.
Statutory status for community councils was continued under the
Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, and the Caithness scheme is now the responsibility of the
Highland Council.
At present, 2007, one of the Caithness community councils is moribund, due to lack of nomination of candidates for election to the council.
Constituency
The
Buteshire and Caithness (UK Parliament constituencies) of the
British House of Commons of 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, Highland was represented as a component of Tain Burghs (UK Parliament constituency) until 1832 and of
Wick Burghs (UK Parliament constituency) until 1918.
Between 1708 and 1832 the Caithness constituency was one of the Buteshire and Caithness (UK Parliament constituencies)
alternating constituencies: one constituency elected a Member of Parliament (MP) to one parliament and then the other elected an MP to the next. Between 1832 and 1918 it was a separate constituency, electing an MP to every parliament.
In 1918 the Caithness constituency and Wick were merged into the then new constituency of Caithness and Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency). In 1997 Caithness and Sutherland was merged into Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (UK Parliament constituency).
The
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Scottish Parliament constituency) was created in 1999 and now has boundaries slightly different from those of the House of Commons constituency.
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 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 (Scottish Parliament region) Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions.
See also
Local media
Newspapers
The John O'Groat Journal and
The Caithness Courier are weekly
newspapers published by Scottish Provincial Press Limited Scottish Provincial Press Limited website trading as North of Scotland Newspapers North of Scotland Newspapers website and using offices in Union Street,
Wick (Highland)(Public reception, however, is via Cliff Road.) and Olrig Street, Thurso.
News coverage tends to concentrate on the former counties of Caithness and
Sutherland.
The John O'Groat Journal is normally published on Fridays and
The Caithness Courier is normally published on Wednesdays.
Historically, they have been independent newspapers, with the
Groat as a Wick-centred paper and the
Courier as a Thurso-centred paper. Even now, the
Groat is archived in the public library in Wick, while the
Courier is similarly archived in the library in Thurso.
Radio
Caithness FM has been broadcasting since 1993. Caithness FM website
Websites
Various community organisations, including Caithness Arts, Caithness Arts website Castletown, Highlandhttp://www.castletown.info/ Castletown and District Community Council website] and Castletown, Highland, Castletown Heritage Society maintain their own websites.
Notes and references
See also
Wikipedia articles
External pages
- Caithness Arts
- Caithness Dialect
- Caithness Tartan
Caithness.Org :: Caithness Community Web Site
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Caithness Family History Society
Promotes an interest in genealogy, and helps others trace their roots in families originating from Caithness. Includes resources, information about events, and publications.
Caithness Rugby Football Club
Information on future fixtures and results, galleries, league tables and events. Based in Thurso, Highlands.
