Editing Caithness (section)

==History==
The Caithness landscape is rich with the remains of pre-historic occupation. These include the [[Grey Cairns of Camster]], the [[The Stone Lud|Stone Lud]], the [[Hill O Many Stanes]], a complex of sites around Loch of Yarrows near [[Thrumster, Caithness|Thrumster]], and over 100 [[broch]]s. A [[prehistoric]] [[souterrain]] structure at Caithness has been likened to discoveries at [[Midgarth]] and on [[Shapinsay]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17936 |title=C.Michael Hogan, ''Castle bloody'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham, 2007 |access-date=12 February 2008 |archive-date=10 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610071831/http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=17936 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The study of Caithness prehistory is well represented in the county by groups including Yarrows Heritage Trust,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yarrowsheritagetrust.co.uk/|title=Yarrows Heritage Trust – Home|website=yarrowsheritagetrust.co.uk|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=13 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613044752/http://www.yarrowsheritagetrust.co.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> Caithness Horizons<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/caithness-horizons-museum-p256591|title=Caithness Horizons Museum|access-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204004746/https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see-do/caithness-horizons-museum-p256591|archive-date=4 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Caithness Broch Project]].

[[File:Keiss Castle, Caithness - geograph.org.uk - 2379256.jpg|thumb|[[Keiss Castle]]: 16th century but possibly on site of an earlier building]]
Numerous coastal castles (now mostly ruins) are [[Norway|Norwegian]] ([[West Norse]]) in their foundations.<ref>Scholarly essays in J.R. Baldwion and I.D. Whyte, eds. ''The Viking Age in Caithness, Orkney and the North Atlantic'' (Edinburgh University Press) 1993, give an overview.</ref> When the Norsemen arrived, probably in the 10th century, the county was inhabited by the [[Picts]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Priests and Picts|url=http://www.caithnessarchaeology.org.uk/picts.html|website=Caithness Archaeology|access-date=7 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220071800/http://www.caithnessarchaeology.org.uk/picts.html|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> but with its culture subject to some [[Goidelic]] influence from the [[Celtic Church]]. The name Pentland Firth can be read as meaning Pictland Fjord.

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. Many of the names of places are Norse in origin.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Logan|first1=F. Donald|title=The Vikings in History|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|page=28|isbn=9781136527098|edition=3rd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jfz7AQAAQBAJ&q=norse+names+of+caithness+places&pg=PA28|access-date=7 August 2016|archive-date=17 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117114507/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jfz7AQAAQBAJ&q=norse+names+of+caithness+places&pg=PA28#v=snippet&q=norse%20names%20of%20caithness%20places&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, some Caithness surnames, such as [[Clan Gunn|Gunn]], are Norse in origin.<ref>{{cite book|last1=MacBain|first1=Alexander|title=Place Names Highlands and Islands of Scotland|date=1922|publisher=Mackay|location=Stirling|isbn=978-1179979427|page=21|url=https://archive.org/stream/placenameshighla00macbuoft#page/n7/mode/2up|access-date=7 August 2016}}</ref>

The area was anciently part of the [[Picts|Pictish]] kingdom of [[Kingdom of Cat|Cat]], which also included Sutherland. It was conquered in the 9th century by [[Sigurd Eysteinsson]], Jarl of Orkney. The Jarls owed allegiance to the [[Monarchy of Norway|Norwegian crown]]. The [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scottish crown]] claimed the overlordship of the Caithness and Sutherland area from Norway in 1098.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crawford |first1=Barbara E. |editor1-last=Stringer |editor1-first=Keith J. |title=Essays on the Nobility of Medieval Scotland |date=2004 |publisher=John Donald |location=9781788853408 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0tWEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 |access-date=6 October 2024 |chapter=The Earldom of Caithness and the Kingdom of Scotland, 1150–1266|isbn=978-1-78885-340-8 }}</ref> 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 itself.<ref name=Grant>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Alexander |editor1-last=Cowan |editor1-first=Edward J. |editor2-last=McDonald |editor2-first=R. Andrew |title=Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Middle Ages |date=2000 |publisher=Tuckwell Press |location=East Linton |isbn=1-86232-151-5 |pages=98–110 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/albacelticscotla0000unse/page/98/mode/2up |access-date=28 August 2024 |chapter=The Province of Ross and the Kingdom of Alba}}</ref>

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]] (now in Sutherland), which was begun in 1224.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num= LB24632|desc= Dornoch Cathedral |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Farmer|first=David Hugh|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Saints|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press Press|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-280058-2|pages=208–209|edition=4}}</ref>

Caithness became a separate earldom during the 14th century, under the [[Feudalism|feudal]] control of the [[Earl of Caithness]]. The title Earl of Caithness had sometimes been used by the mormaers who were also Jarls of Orkney; the earldoms had been separated by the time [[David Stewart, Earl of Strathearn]] was made Earl of Caithness, sometime between 1375 and 1377.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Paul |editor1-first=James Balfour |title=The Scots Peerage: Volume 2 |date=1905 |publisher=David Douglas |location=Edinburgh |page=321 |url=https://archive.org/details/scotspeeragefoun02paul/page/320/mode/2up |access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref>

===Shire and county===
In terms of shires (areas where justice was administered by a [[Sheriff principal|sheriff]]), the north of mainland Scotland was all included in the [[Inverness-shire|shire of Inverness]] from the 12th century.<ref name=Grant/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Alice |title=The Shape of the State in Medieval Scotland, 1124–1290 |date=2016 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198749202 |pages=144, 234–235 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XvnCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref> In 1455 the Earl of Caithness gained a grant of the [[justiciar|justiciary]] of the area, giving Caithness partial independence from the [[Sheriff of Inverness]].<ref name=Campbell>{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=H. F. |title=Caithness and Sutherland |date=1920 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |pages=1–2 |isbn=978-1-107-69280-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MZfrtfS7gJIC&pg=PA1 |access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref>

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, Scotland|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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Keith |title=Legislation: final legislation published outwith the parliamentary register, Edinburgh, 11 March 1504 |website=The Records of the Parliament of Scotland to 1707 |url=http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1504/3/105 |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref> That act was set aside for most purposes in 1509, and Caithness once more came under the sheriff of Inverness.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Keith |title=Legislation, 8 May 1509 |website=The Records of the Parliament of Scotland to 1707 |url=http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/A1509/5/3 |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref> The sheriff of Inverness was then directed to appoint a number of deputies, including one based in Wick.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mackintosh |first1=John |title=Historic Earls and Earldoms of Scotland |date=1898 |publisher=W. Jolly & Sons |location=Aberdeen |page=130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3_8OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA130 |access-date=30 September 2024}}</ref> In 1584, [[George Sinclair, 5th Earl of Caithness]], forfeited the justiciary of the area after a dispute with [[George Gordon, 1st Marquess of Huntly|George Gordon, Earl of Huntly]], who was sheriff of Inverness at the time.<ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of National Biography: Volume 52 |date=1897 |pages=292–293 |publisher=Smith, Elder, & Company |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbkcAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA293 |access-date=26 September 2024}}</ref>

Caithness was restored to being a shire in 1641.<ref name=Campbell/> The shire of Caithness created in 1641 just covered the earldom of Caithness; Sutherland had been made its own shire in 1633.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Keith |title=Act in favour of John Gordon, Earl of Sutherland, 28 June 1633 |website=The Records of the Parliament of Scotland to 1707 |url=http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1633/6/74 |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Chamberlayne |first1=John |title=Magnae Britanniae Notita: or, the Present State of Great Britain |date=1748 |location=London |page=314 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7re2keiml2YC&pg=PA314 |access-date=23 September 2024}}</ref> Wick was declared to be the head [[burgh]] of the shire, and the Earl of Caithness became the hereditary sheriff.<ref name=Campbell/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Keith |title=Ratification in favour of the town of Wick of their infeftment, with a declaration declaring the said town to be the head burgh of the sheriffdom of Caithness, 17 November 1641 |website=The Records of the Parliament of Scotland to 1707 |url=http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1641/8/425 |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref>

Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667 [[Commissioners of Supply]] were established for each shire, which would serve as the main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890. Following the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union]] in 1707, the English term 'county' came to be used interchangeably with the older term 'shire'.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Keith |title=Act of the convention of estates of the kingdom of Scotland etc. for a new and voluntary offer to his majesty of £72,000 monthly for the space of twelve months, 23 January 1667 |url=http://www.rps.ac.uk/trans/1667/1/10 |website=Records of the Parliament of Scotland |publisher=University of St Andrews |access-date=25 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Scottish Counties and Parishes: their history and boundaries on maps |url=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/boundaries/history.html |website=National Library of Scotland |access-date=2 September 2024}}</ref>

Following the [[Jacobite rising of 1745]], the government passed the [[Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act 1746]], returning the appointment of sheriffs to the crown in those cases where they had become hereditary positions, as had been the case in Caithness.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Whetstone |first1=Ann E. |year= 1977|title=The Reform of the Scottish Sheriffdoms in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries |journal=Albion: A Quarterly Journal Concerned with British Studies |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=61–71 |doi=10.2307/4048219 |jstor=4048219}}</ref> From 1748 the government merged the positions of Sheriff of Sutherland and Sheriff of Caithness into a single post. Although they shared a sheriff after 1748, Caithness and Sutherland remained legally separate counties, having their own commissioners of supply and, from 1794, their own [[Lord-lieutenant|lord lieutenants]].<ref>[[Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747]]</ref>

[[File:Wick Town Hall (geograph 6897593) cropped.jpg|thumb|left|[[Wick Town Hall]], built 1828: Former meeting place of both Caithness County Council and Wick Town Council]]
Although Wick had been declared the head burgh of the shire in 1641, for much of the next 200 years the sheriff held most courts and had his clerk's offices in Thurso. In 1828 a new Town and County Hall (now known as [[Wick Town Hall]]) was completed on Bridge Street in Wick, jointly funded by Wick Town Council and the county's commissioners of supply. Whilst it was under construction, the Wick authorities took legal action against the sheriff, successfully securing an order requiring him to hold regular courts and have his clerk's offices in Wick.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4xEvAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA32  |title= Sketch of the Civil and Traditional History of Caithness, from the Tenth Century|first= James Tait|last= Calder|year=1861|publisher=T. Murray & Son|page=32}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2UBNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA650  |title= Cases Decided in the Court of Session, Teind Court, Court of Exchequer and House of Lords |volume=6|year=1828|page=650|publisher=Scottish Council of Law Reporting}}</ref>

Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889]], taking most of the functions of the commissioners of supply (which were eventually abolished in 1930). Caithness County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at the Town and County Hall in Wick.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wick |url=https://maps.nls.uk/townplans/background/wick.html |website=National Library of Scotland |access-date=28 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Caithness County Council |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=28 September 2024 |work=Northern Ensign |date=27 May 1890 |location=Wick |page=2}}</ref> The county council moved its administrative offices to the [[County Offices, Wick|County Offices]] on High Street, Wick, in 1930, but continued to hold its meetings at the Town and County Hall.<ref>{{Historic Environment Scotland|num= LB48834|desc= County Council Offices, 73, 75 & 77 High Street, Wick|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Shields |first1=Alan |title=From newspaper office to council HQ |url=https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/from-newspaer-office-to-council-hq-122970/ |access-date=28 September 2024 |work=John O'Groat Journal and Caithness Courier |date=15 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=County of Caithness |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers |access-date=28 September 2024 |work=John O'Groat Journal |date=26 December 1952 |location=Wick |page=1 |quote=The proposal will be considered by the County Council as a meeting to be held within the Town Hall, Wick, on Saturday, 28th February 1953...}}</ref>

The 1889 Act also led to a review of boundaries, with parish and county boundaries being adjusted to eliminate cases where parishes straddled county boundaries. The parish of [[Reay]] had straddled Sutherland and Caithness prior to the act; the county boundary was retained, but the part of Reay parish in Sutherland was transferred to the parish of [[Farr, Sutherland|Farr]] in 1891.<ref name=Hay>{{cite book |last1=Shennan |first1=Hay |title=Boundaries of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 |date=1892 |publisher=W. Green |location=Edinburgh |page=129 |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_meygAAAAMAAJ/page/n165/mode/2up |access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref>

===Since 1975===
[[Image:ScotlandHighlands.png|thumb|[[Highland council area|Highland]]: Region 1975–1996, council area since 1996]]
Local government was reformed in 1975 under the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973]], which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and [[landward district]]s with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Caithness became part of the [[Highland Region]]. At the district level there was a '''Caithness District''', which initially covered the pre-1975 county plus the parishes of [[Farr, Sutherland|Farr]] and [[Tongue, Sutherland|Tongue]] from Sutherland.<ref name=1973act>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973|year=1973|chapter=65|accessdate=17 April 2023}}</ref><ref name=OSsheet3>{{cite web |title=Quarter-inch Administrative Areas Maps: Scotland, Sheet 3, 1968 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/view/222075455 |website=National Library of Scotland |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=24 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=14587|page=1125|date=1 October 1929|city=e}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=14632|page=264|date=7 March 1930|city=e}}</ref> The transfer of Farr and Tongue to Caithness district was not popular; less than two years later, in 1977, they were transferred to the Sutherland district, after which the district covered the same area as the pre-1975 county.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Caithness and Sutherland Districts (Tongue and Farr) Boundaries Order 1977|year=1977|number=14|access-date=1 August 2024}}</ref>

Caithness District Council was based at the former county council's headquarters at the County Offices in Wick, and held its meetings alternating between Wick Town Hall and [[Thurso Town Hall]].<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=23939|page=397|date=20 February 1996|city=e}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Highlands and Islands Telephone Directory |date=July 1977 |page=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Municipal Year Book |date=1976 |publisher=Municipal Journal |page=1039}}</ref> Throughout the district's existence from 1975 to 1996, a majority of the seats were held by [[Independent politician|independent]] councillors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Compositions calculator |url=https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/?page_id=3825 |website=The Elections Centre | date=4 March 2016 |access-date=14 September 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Welcome to Caithness Sign - geograph.org.uk - 6171484.jpg|thumb|left|County boundary sign on the [[A836 road|A836]] west of Reay]]
Further local government reforms in 1996 under the [[Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994]] saw the regions and districts created in 1975 abolished and replaced with single-tier [[council area]]s. The former Highland region became one of the new council areas.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994|year=1994|chapter=39|accessdate=17 April 2023}}</ref> The boundaries of the historic county are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being a [[registration county]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ros.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/14921/LandMassCoverageReport2015-proofed.pdf |title=Land Mass Coverage Report |publisher=Registers of Scotland |access-date=2015-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232505/https://www.ros.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/14921/LandMassCoverageReport2015-proofed.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The pre-1996 district (being the same area as the pre-1975 county) is also used as a [[Lieutenancy areas of Scotland|lieutenancy area]], served by the [[Lord Lieutenant of Caithness]].<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Lord-Lieutenants (Scotland) Order 1996|year=1996|number=731|access-date=1 September 2024}}</ref>

The [[Highland Council]] has an [[area committee]] called the Caithness Committee, comprising the councillors representing the wards which approximately cover the Caithness area. The council also marks the historic county boundaries with road signs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caithness Committee |url=https://www.highland.gov.uk/info/20003/committee_information/669/caithness_committee |website=The Highland Council |access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref>