Scottish Highlands Towns and Villages

Thurso holiday accommodation cottages, cabins, caravans and hotels.

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Last Updated on Saturday, 05 May 2012 17:33

Thurso, While most coastal settlements have had their economic history based on the fishing industry, Thurso in the far north-east was from medieval times more of a commercial port.

As far back as the 14th century Caithness was an important grain producer, exported and the cereal through Thurso to Scandinavia. Indeed, so significant was this trade that King David II decreed that a common weight should be used throughout Scotland: the pondus Cathaniae, or 'weight of Caithness'. The trade between Thurso and the other countries of northern Europe helped the town to establish a firm economic base and in the 17th century the export of meal, beef, hides and fish all contributed to the prosperity of this royal burgh. Indeed, the town's Rotterdam Street is an apt reminder of the thriving sea traffic of former times.

When the Caithness flagstone industry developed, again Thurso was ready to act as a commercial seaport and enjoyed renewed prosperity until the advent of concrete paving blocks. Thereafter the town went into decline, witnessing a significant fall in its population until the arrival of the atomic energy establishment at Dounreay, some few miles to the west along the coast. Thurso has a long continuous history of settlement, going back to Viking times (Old Norse Thana: 'Thor's River'), and a number of its existing buildings reflect this.

The ruined Old St Peter's Kirk, close by the harbour, is one of the finest religious buildings of the Middle Ages to have survived in Scotland. It dates from the 13th century, was reconstructed in the 17th century and last used in 1862. Much of the town's layout was due to Sir John Sinclair, 'Agricultural Sir John', so called from his interest in improved farming methods. His broad, evenly spaced streets and pleasant squares built in the early 19th century are a witness to his vision. and its integrity has been largely maintained by subsequent developers.

Thurso and its immediate environs have produced some notable men. In 1811 Robert Dick a baker, botanist and geologist. was a self-taught genius who was influential in his chosen fields. Almost every day he rose at 3 o'clock in the morning to attend to his daily baking chores before he finished the remainder of a crowded dav with his studies and research. Sir William Smith was born in Pennyland House. on the outskirts of Thurso; he founded the Boys Brigade in 1883. Thurso Folk Museum, in the High Street. in addition to presenting a kaleidoscopic display reflecting local life in past centuries, houses the enigmatic Ulbstcr Stone, carved with ancient Pictish and Christian symbols.