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Sutherland

Coordinates: 58°15′N 4°30′W / 58.250°N 4.500°W / 58.250; -4.500
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This article is about the county of Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. For other uses, see Sutherland (disambiguation).

Sutherland
Cataibh (Scottish Gaelic)
Historic county
Flag of Sutherland
Flag
Coordinates: 58°15′N 4°30′W / 58.250°N 4.500°W / 58.250; -4.500
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Country Scotland
Council areaHighland
Area
 • Total
2,028 sq mi (5,252 km2)
 Ranked 5th of 34
Population
 (2011)
 • Total
12,650
 • Density6.2/sq mi (2.4/km2)
Chapman code
SUT

Sutherland (Template:Lang-gd) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Viking era when the area was ruled by the Jarl of Orkney; although Sutherland includes some of the northernmost land on the island of Great Britain, it was called Suðrland ("southern land") from the standpoint of Orkney and Caithness.

From the 13th century, Sutherland was a provincial lordship, being an earldom controlled by the Earl of Sutherland. The earldom just covered the south-eastern part of the later county. A shire called Sutherland was created in 1633, covering the earldom of Sutherland and the neighbouring provinces of Assynt to the west and Strathnaver to the north. Shires gradually eclipsed the old provinces in administrative importance, and also become known as counties.

The county is generally rural and sparsely populated. Sutherland was particularly affected by the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries, and the population has been in decline since the mid-19th century. As at 2011 the population of the county was 12,803, being less than half of the peak of 25,793 which was recorded in 1851. Only one town held burgh status, being Dornoch, where the county's courts were held. Between 1890 and 1975 Sutherland had a county council, which had its main offices in the village of Golspie.

Sutherland has a coast to the east onto the Moray Firth and a coast to the north-west onto the Atlantic Ocean. Much of the county is mountainous, and the western and northern coasts include many high sea cliffs. There are four national scenic areas wholly or partly in the county: Assynt-Coigach, North West Sutherland, Kyle of Tongue and Dornoch Firth, with the first three of these lying along the western and northern coasts.

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 Sutherland from 1975 to 1996, which was a lower-tier district within the Highland region, covering a similar but not identical area to the pre-1975 county. The pre-1975 county boundaries are still used for certain functions, being a registration county. The neighbouring counties prior to the 1975 reforms were Caithness to the north-east and Ross and Cromarty to the south.

The Sutherland lieutenancy area was redefined in 1975 to be the local government district. The registration county and the lieutenancy area therefore have slightly different definitions; the registration county does not include Kincardine, but the lieutenancy area does.

History

In Gaelic, the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich MhicAoidh (or Dùthaich 'IcAoidh) (MacAoidh's country) in the north (also known in English as Mackay Country), Asainte (Assynt) in the west, and Cataibh in the east. Cataibh is also sometimes used to refer to the area as a whole.

Much of the area that would become Sutherland was anciently part of the Pictish kingdom of Cat, which also included Caithness. It was conquered in the 9th century by Sigurd Eysteinsson, Jarl of Orkney. The Jarls owed allegiance to the Norwegian crown. It is possible that Sigurd may have taken Ross to the south as well, but by the time of his death in 892 the southern limit of his territory appears to have been the River Oykel. 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.[1]

Dornoch Cathedral

The Diocese of Caithness was established in the 12th century. The bishop's seat was initially at Halkirk, but in the early 13th century was moved to Dornoch Cathedral, which was begun in 1224.[2][3] Around the same time, a new earldom of Sutherland was created from the southern part of the old joint earldom of Orkney and Caithness.[4][5]

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.[1][6] An act of parliament in 1504 acknowledged that 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.[7]

The shire of Caithness was split in 1633 when a new shire called Sutherland was created. The shire of Sutherland covered the earldom of Sutherland plus the provincial lordships of Strathnaver on the north coast and Assynt on the west coast.[8]

Geography

Suilven from the Glencanisp Lodge path
Sandwood Bay
Cape Wrath from the sea

Much of the population of approximately 13,000 inhabitants are situated in small coastal communities, such as Helmsdale and Lochinver, which until very recently made much of their living from the rich fishing of the waters around the British Isles. Much of Sutherland is poor relative to the rest of the UK, with few job opportunities beyond government-funded employment, agriculture and seasonal tourism. Further education is provided by North Highland College, part of the University of the Highlands and Islands, which has campuses in Dornoch.[9]

The inland landscape is rugged and very sparsely populated. Despite being Scotland's fifth-largest county in terms of area, it has a smaller population than a medium-size Lowland Scottish town. It stretches from the Atlantic in the west, up to the Pentland Firth and across to the North Sea in the east. The sea-coasts boast very high cliffs and deep fjords in the east and north, ragged inlets on the west and sandy beaches in the north. The east coast contains the sea lochs of Loch Fleet and Dornoch Firth. The remote far northwest point of Sutherland, Cape Wrath, is also the most northwesterly point in Scotland. Several peninsulas can be found along the north and west coasts, most notably Strathy Point, A' Mhòine, Durness/Faraid Head (the latter two formed by the Kyle of Durness, Loch Eriboll and the Kyle of Tongue), Ceathramh Garbh (formed by Loch Laxford and Loch Inchard), and Stoer Head. The county has many fine beaches, a remote example being Sandwood Bay, which can only be reached by foot along a rough track. The number of visiting tourists is, naturally, minimal.

Sutherland has many rugged mountains such as Ben Hope, the most northerly Munro, and Ben More Assynt, the tallest peak in the county at 998 m (3,274 ft). The western part comprises Torridonian sandstone underlain by Lewisian gneiss. The spectacular scenery has been created by denudation to form isolated sandstone peaks such as Foinaven, Arkle, Cùl Mòr and Suilven. Such mountains are attractive for hill walking and scrambling, despite their remote location. Together with similar peaks to the south in Wester Ross, such as Stac Pollaidh, they have a unique structure with great scope for exploration. On the other hand, care is needed when bad weather occurs owing to their isolation and the risks of injury.

There are a large number of inland lochs in the county. The most prominent being:

Elevation Area Parish
Loch Veyatie
Loch Urigill
Loch Dionard
Fionn Loch
Càm Loch
Loch Assynt
Loch an Gainimh
Loch Poll
Loch Beannach
Loch an Leothaid
Loch an Leothaid Bhuain
Loch Stack
Loch na Tuadh
Loch na Claise Carnaich
Sandwood Loch
Loch Ailsh
Loch na Claise Moire
Loch Fiag
Loch Merkland
Loch Shin
Glas-Loch Mor
Loch Meadie
Loch an Deerie
Loch a’Ghorm-choire
Loch Coire-na Saidhe Duibhe
Loch Airigh na Beinnea
Loch Meadaidh
Loch na Seilg
Loch Hope
Loch Loyal
Loch Craggie
Loch Syre
Loch Truderscaig
Loch Cròcach
Loch Druim à Chliabhain
Loch Arichlinie
Loch an Ruathair
Loch nan Clach
Loch Mòr na Caorach
Loch Hord
Loch Brora
Loch Buidhe
Loch Migdale
Gorm-loch Mòr
Loch Ascaig
Loch Naver
Loch a' Bhealaich
Loch Choire
Loch Rimsdale
Loch Nan Clar
Loch Badanloch
Loch an Altan Fheàrna
Loch na Seilge
Loch Borralan

Owing to its isolation from the rest of the country, Sutherland was reputedly the last haunt of the native wolf, the last survivor being shot in the 18th century. However, other wildlife has survived, including the golden eagle, sea eagle and pine marten amongst other species which are very rare in the rest of the country. There are pockets of the native Scots Pine, remnants of the original Caledonian Forest.

The importance of the county's scenery is recognised by the fact that four of Scotland's forty national scenic areas (NSAs) are located here.[10] The purpose of the NSA designation is to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The areas protected by the designation are considered to represent the type of scenic beauty "popularly associated with Scotland and for which it is renowned".[11] The four NSAs within Sutherland are:

Islands

Transport

Rogart railway station on the Far North Line

The A9 road main east coast road is challenging north of Helmsdale, particularly at the notorious Berriedale Braes, and there are few inland roads. The Far North Line north-south single-track railway line was extended through Sutherland by the Highland Railway between 1868 and 1871. It enters Sutherland near Invershin and runs along the east coast as far as possible, but an inland diversion was necessary from Helmsdale along the Strath of Kildonan. The line exits to the east of Forsinard.

Helmsdale on the east coast is on the A9 road, at a junction with the A897, and has a railway station on the Far North Line. Buses operate about every two hours Mondays-Saturdays and infrequently on Sundays from Helmsdale to Brora, Golspie, Dornoch, Tain and Inverness in the south, and Berriedale, Dunbeath, Halkirk, Thurso and Scrabster in the north.[13] These are on route X99 and are operated by Stagecoach Group, but tickets can be bought on the Citylink website. Various other Stagecoach buses link the other towns of eastern Sutherland, such as Lairg and Bonar Bridge to Tain and Inverness.[14] The western areas of the county are less well served by public transport, however the Far North Bus company does provided scheduled services connecting Durness to Lairg (bus 806), and from Durness to Thurso via the towns of the north Sutherland coast (bus 803).[15]

There are no commercial airports in the county. There is a small general aviation airstrip south of Dornoch, the former RAF Dornoch, which sees little traffic.[16]

Highland Clearances

Main article: Highland Clearances
Historical Sutherland population
YearPop.±%
180123,117—    
181123,629+2.2%
182123,840+0.9%
183125,518+7.0%
184124,782−2.9%
185125,793+4.1%
186124,157−6.3%
187123,298−3.6%
188122,376−4.0%
189121,896−2.1%
190121,440−2.1%
191120,179−5.9%
192117,802−11.8%
193116,101−9.6%
195113,670−15.1%
196113,507−1.2%
197113,055−3.3%
201112,650−3.1%
Source: Vision of Britain

Sutherland, like other parts of the Highlands, was affected by the Highland Clearances, the eviction of tenants from their homes and/or associated farmland in the 18th and 19th centuries century by the landowners. Typically, this was to make way for large sheep farms. The Sutherland Estate (consisting of about two thirds of the county) had the largest scale clearances that occurred in the Highlands, much of this being carried out in 1812, 1814 and 1819–20. In this last period (the largest of the three listed), 1,068 families were evicted: representing an estimated 5,400 people. This population was provided with resettlement in coastal areas, with employment available in fishing or other industries. However, many instead moved to farms in Caithness or left Scotland to emigrate to Canada, the US or Australia.[17]

It was the villages produced by this policy that formed the last Gaelic speaking communities to be found on the east coast of Scotland, as discovered by Nancy Dorian in the early 1960s, and there are still some native speakers of the East Sutherland dialect of Gaelic in this area.[18]

Local government

See also: Politics of the Highland council area
Arms of the former Sutherland County Council

In 1890 Sutherland became a local government county, with its own elected county council, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. At that time, one town within the county, Dornoch, was already well established as an autonomous burgh with its own burgh council. Dornoch, a royal burgh, had its own Burgh Council but did not serve as the county's administrative centre. The County Offices for Sutherland were based on Main Street in Golspie.[19][20]

In 1975 the Local Government council and the burgh council were superseded under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. The 1973 act also created a new two-tier system, with Sutherland becoming part of Highland region. The county was divided between districts entitled Caithness and Sutherland, two of the eight districts within Highland. The Tongue and Farr areas of the county of Sutherland became part of the Caithness district (which also included the entirety of the county of Caithness); additionally the Kincardine area of the county of Ross and Cromarty was merged into the new Sutherland district. Less than two years later, in 1977, Tongue and Farr were transferred to the Sutherland district, after which the border between the Sutherland and Caithness districts followed the pre-1975 county boundary.[21][22]

The harbour at Helmsdale

In 1996 local government in Scotland was again reformed, by the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, which created 32 unitary council areas. The Highland council region became the Highland unitary council area, and the functions of the district councils were absorbed by the Highland Council. The new Highland Council then adopted the former districts as management areas and created a system of area committees to represent them. Until 1999 the Sutherland management and committee areas consisted of seven out of the 72 Highland Council wards. 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 for and made decisions for areas which they did not exactly represent. The new Sutherland committee area consisted of six out of the 80 new Highland Council wards.[citation needed]

In 2007 new multi-member wards were created for elections under the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system. Some local decisions are delegated to the Sutherland County Committee, which consists of all councillors representing Sutherland.[23]

Civil parishes

An 1861 map of Sutherland, with its parishes outlined in red

In 1894 Parish councils covering rural areas of the county were established. In 1931 the parish councils were superseded under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929.

Castle Street in the Royal Burgh of Dornoch

Civil parishes are still used for some statistical purposes, and separate census figures are published for them. As their areas have been largely unchanged since the 19th century this allows for comparison of population figures over an extended period of time. (Refer to map:[24]) The following individual parish population figures, giving a total population of 12,650 at the 2011 Census for the 13 Civil Parishes (1930 boundaries), were extracted from Census Table QS112SC using the interactive Standard Outputs system at the Scotland's Census website.[25]

Of the 871 civil parishes in Scotland listed on the General Register Office for Scotland website,[26] 13 are identified on the Wikipedia list of civil parishes in Scotland as being in Sutherland. In addition, the list states that Reay used to be partly in Sutherland, until 1891.

Eddrachillis and Tongue were formerly part of Durness parish, being separated in 1724.[27] The other eleven parishes are ancient in origin.

Community councils

Although created under local government legislation (the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973) community councils have no statutory powers or responsibilities and are not a tier of local government. They are however the most local tier of statutory representation. Here is a list of Highland Community Councils (scroll to Sutherland). Under the 1973 act, they were created in terms of community council schemes created by the district councils which were created under the same act. The Sutherland district scheme was adopted in 1975. Statutory status for community councils was continued under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, and the Sutherland scheme is now the responsibility of the Highland Council.

Settlements

Lairg
Tongue

Abandoned settlements

Allnabad

Constituency

Main article: Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency)

The Sutherland constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented the county from 1708 to 1918. At the same time however the county town of Dornoch was represented as a component of the Northern Burghs constituency. In 1918 the Sutherland constituency and Dornoch 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 was created in 1999 for the newly established parliament. The constituency was extended for the 2011 election to include more of Ross-shire, and was so renamed Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. In the Scottish Parliament, Sutherland is represented also as part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

In M. C. Beaton's Hamish Macbeth mystery series, the fictional towns of Lochdubh and Strathbane are located in Sutherland.

Rosamunde Pilcher's last novel Winter Solstice is largely set in and around the fictional Sutherland town of Creagan, located in the Sutherland town of Dornoch.

The ship captained by Horatio Hornblower in C. S. Forester’s book A Ship of the Line is called HMS Sutherland.

The short story "Monarch of the Glen" by Neil Gaiman is set in Sutherland, and includes a discussion on the origin of the name.

It is still common to refer to the entire Gaelic-speaking world with the phrase "Ó Chataibh go Cléire" (from Sutherland to Cape Clear) or "Ó Chataibh go Ciarraí" (from Sutherland to Kerry). Cléire and Ciarraí are Gaelic-speaking regions in the far south-west of Ireland.

Notable people with Sutherland connections

  • George Mackay Brown (1921–1996), "Bard of Orkney", whose mother was born in Strathy
  • John Lennon (1940–1980), a frequent visitor to Durness
  • Norman MacCaig (1910–1996), Edinburgh-born poet, who wrote about the region of Assynt, which he visited many times over a period of forty years.
  • Patrick Sellar (1780–1851), lawyer and factor
  • W. C. Sellar (1898–1951), humourist who wrote for Punch, best known for the book 1066 and All That
  • William Young Sellar (1825–1890), classical scholar
  • Joe Strummer (1952–2002), frontman of the Clash; born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey; his mother, Anna Mackenzie, was a crofter's daughter born and raised in Bonar Bridge
  • Donald Ross (1872–1948), golfer and golf course designer, born in Dornoch. Ross's most famous designs are Pinehurst No. 2, Aronimink Golf Club, East Lake Golf Club, Seminole Golf Club, Oak Hill Country Club, Glen View Club, Memphis Country Club, Inverness Club, Miami Biltmore Golf Course and Oakland Hills Country Club; all in the United States of America.

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b Grant, Alexander (2000). "The Province of Ross and the Kingdom of Alba". In Cowan, Edward J.; McDonald, R. Andrew (eds.). Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages. East Linton: Tuckwell Press. pp. 98–110. ISBN 1 86232 151 5. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  2. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Dornoch Cathedral (LB24632)". Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  3. ^ Farmer, David Hugh (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (4 ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press Press. pp. 208–209. ISBN 0-19-280058-2.
  4. ^ Fraser, William (1892). The Sutherland Book. Edinburgh. p. 1. Retrieved 23 September 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Pulsiano, Phillip, ed. (1993). Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia. New York and London: Garland Publishing. pp. 63–65. ISBN 0824047877. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  6. ^ Taylor, Alice (2016). The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, 1124–1290. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 144, 234–235. ISBN 9780198749202. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  7. ^ Brown, Keith. "Legislation: final legislation published outwith the parliamentary register, Edinburgh, 11 March 1504". The Records of the Parliament of Scotland to 1707. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  8. ^ Brown, Keith. "Act in favour of John Gordon, Earl of Sutherland, 28 June 1633". The Records of the Parliament of Scotland to 1707. University of St Andrews. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Centre for History - University of the Highlands and Islands". www.uhi.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Map: National Scenic Areas of Scotland" (PDF). Scottish Government. 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Countryside and Landscape in Scotland - National Scenic Areas". Scottish Government. 4 July 2017. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  12. ^ a b c d "The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Stagecoach North Scotland - Caithness and Sutherland Area Guide from 20 August 2018" (PDF). Retrieved 23 June 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Stagecoach North Scotland - Black Isle and Easter Ross Travel Guide from 07 January 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 23 June 2019.[permanent dead link‍]
  15. ^ "The Durness Bus". Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  16. ^ "Dornoch". Abandoned Forgotten & Little Known Airfields in Europe. www.forgottenairfields.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  17. ^ Richards, Eric (2000). The Highland Clearances People, Landlords and Rural Turmoil (2013 ed.). Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited. ISBN 978-1-78027-165-1.
  18. ^ [1] Archived 18 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ "No. 18541". The Edinburgh Gazette. 3 March 1967. p. 179.
  20. ^ "Main Street". Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  21. ^ "The Caithness and Sutherland Districts (Tongue and Farr) Boundaries Order 1977", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1977/14, retrieved 1 August 2024
  22. ^ "Sheet 3: Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty (Mainland)". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. 1968. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  23. ^ "Sutherland County Committee: Tasks and responsibilities". Highland Council. Archived from the original on 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  24. ^ "Old Roads of Scotland". Old Roads of Scotland. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  25. ^ GROS. "Standard Outputs - Census Data Explorer - Scotland's Census". www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  26. ^ "2001 Census - Geography Classifications" (PDF). gro-scotland.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  27. ^ GENUKI. "Genuki: Durness, Sutherland". www.genuki.org.uk. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  • ^1 Sutherland derives from a Norse perception of the land as 'southern' (Suðrland meaning "Southland"). The Norse referred similarly to the Western Isles as Suðreyjar (the "Southern Isles"), southern in relation to the "Northern Isles" of Orkney, Shetland and the Faroe Islands.
  • ^2 Sutherland has two main names in the local, indigenous Scottish Gaelic: Cataibh may be used for the whole of Sutherland, but tended historically to apply to the south east, and Dùthaich MhicAoidh (Mackay Country) which was used for the north west, sometimes referred to as Reay Country in English. Cataibh can be read as meaning among the Cats and the Cat element appears as Cait in Caithness. The Scottish Gaelic name for Caithness, however, is Gallaibh, meaning among the Strangers (i.e. the Norse who extensively settled there).

Bibliography

  • Omand, Donald (1991). The Sutherland Book. Golspie, Scotland, UK: The Northern Times Limited. ISBN 1-873610-00-9.
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