Brough, Caithness
| Brough | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Brough Slipway | |
  Brough Location within the Caithness area | |
| Population | 72 Scotland Census 2011 |
| OS grid reference | ND222733 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | THURSO |
| Postcode district | KW14 |
| Dialling code | 01847 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament |
|
Brough /brɒx/ is a small village in Caithness on the far north coast of mainland Scotland.[1] It is the most northerly village of mainland Great Britain. It is 10 miles (16 km) east of Thurso, 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Wick, 200 miles (320 km) north of Edinburgh, and 500 miles (800 km) north of London. It is on the southern shore of the Pentland Firth, the sea channel between Caithness and the Orkney Islands, notorious for strong tidal currents and exceptionally violent sea conditions.[2] Brough is located on the B855 single-track road, 2.5 miles (4 km) south east of Dunnet Head Lighthouse, the most northerly lighthouse and point on mainland Britain. The neighbouring village of Dunnet and the wide sandy beaches of Dunnet Bay lie 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to the south. Brough is within the civil parish of Dunnet.[3][4]
Brough is the site of Brough Castle, a twelfth-century Norse fortress; the ruins are on the property now known as Heathcliff.
In 2011, the village had a population of 72.[citation needed][5] The village has a bus stop and had a village post office and tea room, now closed. Brough harbour, a small cliff-enclosed shingle bay to the north of the village, faces Little Clett rock, an islet which shelters the harbour from the north. The slipway was originally built to assist the construction and maintenance of Dunnet Head lighthouse (1831). The harbour is quite sheltered, but is surrounded by the notorious, powerful currents of the Pentland Firth and the rocky cliffs of Dunnet Head. A second harbour is located at Ham, at the eastern end of the village.
To the south of the village lies St. John's Loch, which supports large, beautifully marked specimen brown trout.[6] The surrounding countryside is wild, largely treeless and dominated by peat bog and small crofting farmsteads.
Name[edit]
The name Brough is pronounced to rhyme with the Scottish word loch (in contrast to the English town of Brough, which is pronounced to rhyme with rough)[7]
Brough is named after the Broch, a type of ancient Pictish defensive homestead. Various spellings of the name have been recorded, including Brughe (1546), Bruche (1592), Brugh (1662), and Burgh (1753). [8]. The remains of a number of brochs are found in the area around the village[9].
History and archaeology[edit]
There is a lack of well-documented archaeological surveys of the village and the surrounding area. Physical evidence of pre-Viking settlement is sparse; a number of sites are identified as Pictish, including brochs and chambered cairns[10], but there are few dated artifacts. There are definite Viking sites at Ham and further east of the village, with silver jewellery dated to 1000AD found at Kirk O'Banks [11]
These sites have been linked with events and locations in the 12th century Orkneyinga Saga, mentioning a Viking sea battle off Randaborg which may refer to Dunnet Head:
Three mounds about 4 or 5 feet in height shaped like inverted boats. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland [member] Mr Anderson pronounced them to be Norse Ship-grave-hills sometimes called 'ship-barrows'. Mr Anderson says: 'It is related in the 15th Chapter of the Orkneyinga Saga, that a bloody sea-fight took place in the year 1046 off the Caithness coast, when Earl Thorfinn, who then lived at Gills, opposed the landing of his nephew, Ronald Brusison, who came over from Orkney with thirty ships. Thorfinn had sixty ships, but Ronald's were much larger; and Thorfinn getting the worst of it, was obliged to draw to land; before he renewed the battle in which he was finally victorious, it is said that he landed 76 dead men, besides his wounded. Of course, the dead that were thus landed wd [would] be buried there. The locality of the fight is said in the "Saga" to have been off Randaboirg the Red Headland , or Red Borg, and it is only in the [neighbourhood] of Dunnet Head that the red beds of the Old Red Sandstone occur.
— Ordnance Survey[12]
In the 17th century, the Sinclair family, notable local landholders and nobility, leased out land in and around Brough:
WALTER BRUCE OF HAM, third son of Saul Bruce of Lyth, obtained, in 1636, from James Sinclair of Rattar, a wadset of Ham and Wester: and in 1647 he got a wadset of Brough from William Sinclair of Rattar. In 1663 the Earl of Caithness gave him a charter of these lands, confirming to him and his heirs "an irredeemable bond of alienation".
— Caithness Family History[13]
Social history[edit]
Crofting and fishing have been the mainstay of livelihoods for the village, probably for it's entire history, and continue to be central to the community. Many small farms make up the village, and the architecture is that of the classic Scottish croft-house, land division and usage is that of crofting. Livestock (sheep and cattle) crops (potatoes, turnips, oats), and common peat cuttings are still evident. Turf roofs have been replaced with slate or corrugated steel, but the buildings and their layout are essentially the same since the Highland Clearances.
Even in the early 20th century, cave-dwelling was noted at Kunk's Hole, a cave in the cliffs near the village.[14]
Wildlife[edit]
The village and the area are popular with ornithologists, providing opportunities to see puffins (at Brough Harbour) along with razorbills, guillemots, fulmars, kittiwakes and great northern divers.[15]
Grey seal can regularly be seen at Brough harbour, and Orca and other whales and dolphins are seen in the Pentland Firth beyond the harbour. The village houses a Seal Rescue and Release Sanctuary.
The unique habitats in the area support rare and endemic plant species, including Primula Scotica.
References[edit]
- ^ Thomas Brown (of Sanguhar.) (1807). Union Gazetteer for Gt. Br. & Ireland ... p. 175. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ Marine Accident Investigation Board. "MAIB Inv Report 8/2016 - Cemfjord - Very Serious Marine Casualty" (PDF). Marine Accident Investigation Board. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Bartholomew's Half Inch to Mile Map of Scotland - Sheet 27 Caithness; publ. John Bartholomew, 1929
- ^ Microsoft; Nokia (26 June 2017). "Brough, Caithness" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
- ^ ScotlandsCensus. "Search the Census". ScotlandsCensus. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Douglas, Gordon. "St John's Loch". Dounreay Fly Fishing Association. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Secret Scotland. "Brough of Birsay". Brough of Birsay. Secret Scotland. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
- ^ Waugh, Doreen (17 May 1985). "Place-names of six parishes in Caithness, Scotland". Edinburgh Research Archive. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Canmore. "Ratter". Canmore. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Canmore. "Ham chambered cairn". Canmore. Retrieved 17/05/2024.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help) - ^ Canmore. "Kirk O'banks". Canmore. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Scotlands Place Names. Ordnance Survey [OS1/7/3/51 OS1/7/3/51].
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help); Missing or empty|title=(help); Text "ScotlandsPlaces" ignored (help) - ^ Henderson, John (17 May 1884). "Caithness Family History". Internet Archive. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ Waterson, Stephanie. "Who were the cave dwellers of Caithness: An examination of the history of the travelling tinsmith's occupation of the caves in the county. 1820 - 1917". ResearchGate. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Dunnet Head". RSPB. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
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