In 1887, John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles described Thurso like this:
Thurso.-- seaport, police burgh, and par., Caithness, on Thurso Bay, at the mouth of river Thurso, 20¾ miles NW. of Wick by rail and 25 SW. of Stromness by sea - par., 28,049 ac., pop. 6217; burgh, pop. 4026; P.O., T.O., 5 Banks, 1 newspaper. Market-day, Friday. Thurso has a small harbour, which is obstructed by a bar at the mouth of the river, but there is a good pier and roadstead at Scrabster. ...
Grain and flagstones for paving are exported. The fisheries in Dunnet Bay are productive. Thurso (from the Norse Thorsa - i.e. Thor's river) is an ancient place, and was a great centre of trade between Scotland and the Scandinavian countries. It was made a burgh of barony in 1633, and for nearly 2 centuries afterwards was practically the county town of Caithness. Thurso Castle is the seat of the Sinclairs of Thurso.
Thurso through time
Thurso is now part of Highland district. Click here for graphs and data of how Highland has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Thurso itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Thurso, in Highland and Caithness | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/16345
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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