Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

was a constituency that returned

shire commissioner A commissioner was a legislator appointed or elected to represent a royal burgh or shire in the pre-Union Scottish Parliament and the associated Convention of the Estates. Member of Parliament (MP) and Deputy are equivalent terms in other ...

s to the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

and to the

Convention of the Estates The Convention of Estates of Scotland was a sister institution to the Scottish Parliament which sat from the early sixteenth century. Initially it was only attended by the clergy and nobles, but the burgh commissioners were later added. The Conve ...

. Sutherland became a

sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a ...

after the resignation of the heritable jurisdiction by the Earl of Sutherland on 28 June 1633.

List of shire commissioners

* 1639–40: Robert Murray of

Spinningdale Spinningdale ( gd, Spainnigeadal) is a hamlet, in the Parish of Creich, on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth in eastern Sutherland, in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies northeast of Bonar Bridge and is in the Scottish council area of Highland ...

* 1641: Robert Murray, now laird of Pulrossie * 1643–44: Robert Gray of SkiboFoster
p. 163
* 1645: Robert Gray of Ballone * 1646–47: Alexander Sutherland of

Duffus Duffus ( gd, Dubhais) is a village and parish in Moray, Scotland. The Duffus Village Inn, the local shop, Post Office and Duffus Village Hall provide a focal point for the community. Nearby are the remains of Duffus Castle, St. Peters' Kirk, a ...

Foster
p. 338
* 1648: Robert Gray of Ballone * 1649–50: Sir Robert Gordon of

Embo Embo ( gd, Eurabol, IPA: �iaɾəpɔɫ̪ is a village in the Highland Council Area in Scotland and the former postal county of Sutherland, about north-northeast of Dornoch. On 16 July 1988, Embo declared itself independent from the rest of the ...

G. E. C., ''The Complete Baronetage'', volume II (1902
p. 392
During the

Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

, the sheriffdoms of Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty were jointly represented by one Member of Parliament in the

Protectorate Parliament This is a list of parliaments of England from the reign of King Henry III, when the '' Curia Regis'' developed into a body known as Parliament, until the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707. For later parliaments, see the List ...

at Westminster. After

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, the Parliament of Scotland was again summoned to meet in Edinburgh. * 1661–63: (Sir) Robert Gordon of Langdale, with Sir Robert Gordon of Embo in 1661; Embo's absence was excused in 1663''RPS''
1661/1/2
* 1669–74: Sir George Munro of

Culrain Culrain (Cul Raoin) is a small village in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. Location It lies west of Ardgay, beside the Kyle of Sutherland about west from the village of Bonar Bridge, where several rivers converge to flood into the sea through l ...

and Newmore with

Robert Gordon Robert Gordon may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Gordon (actor) (1895–1971), silent-film actor * Robert Gordon (director) (1913–1990), American director * Robert Gordon (singer) (1947–2022), American rockabilly singer * Robert Gordon (scr ...

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. It is named after the estate owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 17th century; the school now uses this estate as its campus. It is located ...

, yr 1672–74G. E. C., vol. II
p. 278
* 1678:

of Gordonstoun, yr with Robert Gordon of

Rogart Rogart ( , , meaning "great enclosed field") is a small village in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. The village was the home of Major Andrew MacDonald, who fought in the French and Indian War. It was originally a scattered crofting village, u ...

* 1681–82:

of Gordonstoun, yr with John Gordon of Embo, yr * 1685–86: Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstoun with Sir John Gordon of Doall * 1689 (convention), 1689–90: (Sir) John Gordon of Embo * 1689 (convention), 1689–1700: (Sir) Adam Gordon of Dalfolly (died c.1700)Foster
p. 150
G. E. C., ''Complete Baronetage'', vol. IV (1904
p. 423
* 1700–02, 1702–05: Alexander Gordon of Garty * 1700–01: John Gordon the younger of CarrollFoster
p. 152
* 1702–04: David Sutherland the younger of Kinnauld After the

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

was represented by one Member of Parliament in the House of Commons at Westminster.

References

{{Constituencies of the Parliament of Scotland Constituencies of the Parliament of Scotland (to 1707) Constituencies established in 1633 Constituencies disestablished in 1707 1707 disestablishments in Scotland 1633 establishments in Scotland Politics of the county of Sutherland