Dornoch
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Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town,
seaside resort A seaside resort is a town, village, or hotel that serves as a vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, such as in the Germ ...
, parish and former
royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...
in the
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
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 ...
in the
Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...
of
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It lies on the north shore of the
Dornoch Firth The Dornoch Firth ( gd, Caolas Dhòrnaich, ) is a firth on the east coast of Highland, in northern Scotland. It forms part of the boundary between Ross and Cromarty, to the south, and Sutherland, to the north. The firth is designated as a nat ...
, near to where it opens into the
Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
to the east. The town is within the
Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...
. The town is near the
A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** A9 highway (South Australia), a ...
, to which it is linked by the A949 and the B9168. The town also has a grass air strip suitable for small aircraft and helicopters.


History

The name 'Dornoch' is derived from the Gaelic for 'pebbly place', suggesting that the area contained pebbles the size of a fist (''dorn'') which could therefore be used as weapons. Archaeological excavations during the development of a new business park in 1997 revealed a building, evidence for ironworking and part of a whale, dating from 8th through the 11th centuries AD. The archaeologists surmised that the findings are of an industrial area on the edge of a settlement and that a settlement existed from at least the 8th century at Dornoch. However, the first direct reference to a settlement in Dornoch is not until the early 12th century when
David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland (di ...
, recorded in the 
Dunfermline Abbey Dunfermline Abbey is a Church of Scotland Parish Church in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The church occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large medieval Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Scottish Reforma ...
 register, orders 
Rognvald Ragnvald, Rögnvald or Rognvald or Rægnald is an Old Norse name (Old Norse ''Rǫgnvaldr'', modern Icelandic ''Rögnvaldur''; in Old English ''Regenweald'' and in Old Irish, Middle Irish ''Ragnall''). Notable people with the name include: * Ragnva ...
, the Earl of Orkney, to respect the monks at Dornoch. Dornoch has the thirteenth-century
Dornoch Cathedral Dornoch Cathedral is a former Roman Catholic cathedral and is currently a Church of Scotland parish church serving the small Sutherland town of Dornoch, in the Scottish Highlands. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyteria ...
, the Old Town Jail, and the previous Bishop's Palace which is now the well-known hotel,
Dornoch Castle Dornoch Castle is situated opposite Dornoch Cathedral in the town of Dornoch, in Sutherland, Scotland, a little over north of Inverness. As of 2021, the castle was operated as a family-run hotel with 24 rooms. History Dornoch Castle was built ...
and a notable
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
, the
Royal Dornoch Golf Club Royal Dornoch Golf Club is a golf club in Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland. It is generally referred to as Royal Dornoch. The club has two 18-hole courses: the Championship Course and the Struie Course. The older Championship Course is a links cou ...
, named the 5th best golf course outside the United States in 2005 by ''
Golf Digest ''Golf Digest'' is a monthly golf magazine published by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit under its Warner Bros. Discovery Golf division. It is a generalist golf publication covering recreational golf and men's and women's competiti ...
''. It is also notable as the last place a
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
was burnt in Scotland. Her name was reported as
Janet Horne Janet Horne (died 1727) was the last person to be executed legally for witchcraft in the British Isles. Horne and her daughter were arrested in Dornoch in Sutherland and imprisoned on the accusations of her neighbours. Horne was showing signs o ...
; she was tried and condemned to death in 1727. There is a stone, the Witch's Stone, commemorating her death, inscribed with the year 1722. The golf course designer Donald Ross began his career as a
greenkeeper A Greenskeeper (or Course Superintendent) is a person responsible for the care and upkeep of a golf course or a sports turf playing surface. Work description and duties A greenskeeper maintains a golf course's or country club's grounds. Thi ...
on the Royal Dornoch links. The golf course is next to the award-winning blue flag beach. Dornoch used to be connected to the main railway network at The Mound by a
light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...
. The railway was opened on 2 June 1902. Stations on the line were
Dornoch Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray ...
, Embo, Skelbo, Cambusavie Halt and The Mound Junction. The stations were shut on 13 June 1960. Dornoch Academy Modern Languages teacher Margaret C. Davidson, led the
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was ren ...
in the burgh from 1913, volunteered as a nurse in the
Scottish Women's Hospitals The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr. Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...
in France in
World War One World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, and returned to teach and serve as a
Girl Guide Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
leader in 1931. On 21 December 2000, the
pop star A pop icon is a celebrity, character, or object whose exposure in popular culture is regarded as constituting a defining characteristic of a given society or era. The usage of the term is largely subjective since there are no definitively object ...
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
had her son Rocco christened in
Dornoch Cathedral Dornoch Cathedral is a former Roman Catholic cathedral and is currently a Church of Scotland parish church serving the small Sutherland town of Dornoch, in the Scottish Highlands. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyteria ...
, the day before her wedding to
Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr. Ritchie left school at age 15 and wor ...
in nearby
Skibo Castle Skibo Castle (Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Sgìobail'') is located to the west of Dornoch in the Highland county of Sutherland, Scotland overlooking the Dornoch Firth. Although largely of the 19th century and early 20th century, when it was the hom ...
. On 13 January 2005, Dornoch was granted
Fairtrade Town The Fair Trade Towns campaign is the result of a grass-roots citizens movement that started in the UK in 2001 (see below). It allows citizens to get together in order to self-proclaim their town (or other local geographical area) as a region that ...
status. The Burghfield House Campus of the
University of the Highlands and Islands , type = federal, public , image_name = UHI Coat of Arms.jpg , image_size = 150px , established = 2011 – University status 1992 – UHI Millennium Institute , chancellor = The Princess Royal , vice_chancellor = , budget = £139m (202 ...
in Dornoch is the home for the Centre for History teaching
undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
and
postgraduate Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...
history degrees to students around the UHI network and worldwide.


Governance

Dornoch was a
parliamentary burgh In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
, combined with
Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cas ...
,
Kirkwall Kirkwall ( sco, Kirkwaa, gd, Bàgh na h-Eaglaise, nrn, Kirkavå) is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name (''Church Bay''), which later changed to ''Kirkv ...
, Tain and
Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...
in the Northern Burghs
constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
of the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...
from 1708 to 1801 and of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
from 1801 to 1918.
Cromarty Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from ...
was added to the list in 1832. The constituency was a
district of burghs The Act of Union 1707 and pre-Union Scottish legislation provided for 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Scotland to be elected from districts of burghs. All the parliamentary burghs (burghs represented in the pre-Union Parliament of Scotland) ...
known also as Tain Burghs until 1832, and then as Wick Burghs. It was represented by one
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP). In 1918 the constituency was abolished and the Dornoch component was merged into the then new
county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...
of
Caithness and Sutherland Caithness and Sutherland was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was c ...
. Scotland's Westminster constituencies were redrawn for the 2005 UK general election, when Dornoch became part of the new Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency. Since 2017, the MP has been Jamie Stone of the Liberal Democrats. In the Scottish Parliament, since 2011 Dornoch has been part of the
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Gaelic: ''Gallaibh, Cataibh agus Ros'') is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the northern part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first pa ...
constituency. It elects one
Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The ad ...
(MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Since its creation, the constituency has been held by the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...
(SNP). the MSP is
Maree Todd Maree Todd is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross since May 2021. She was previously an MSP for the Highlands and Islands from the election in ...
, who was first elected in May 2021. It is also one of eight constituencies in the
Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 ...
Scottish Parliament region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole. There is also elected local government councillors, and as of November 2011 there are elected community councillors.


Dornoch in popular culture

Rosamunde Pilcher's last novel ''Winter Solstice'' is largely set in and around Dornoch, fictionalised under the name of Creagan.


References

{{Authority control Populated places in Sutherland Royal burghs County towns in Scotland Seaside resorts in Scotland Towns with cathedrals in the United Kingdom Towns in Highland (council area)