Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former
burgh
A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...
, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great Britain. From a latitudal standpoint, Thurso is located further north than the southernmost point of Norway and in addition lies more than north of London.
It lies at the junction of the north–south A9 road and the west–east A836 road, connected to Bridge of Forss in the west and Castletown in the east. The
River Thurso
The River Thurso ( gd, Abhainn Theòrsa) has Loch Rumsdale in Caithness as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of T ...
flows through the town and into Thurso Bay and the Pentland Firth. The river estuary serves as a small harbour. At the 2011 Census, Thurso had a population of 7,933. The larger Thurso civil parish including the town and the surrounding countryside had a population of 9,112.
Thurso functioned as an important Norse port, and later traded with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century.
A thriving fishing centre, Thurso also had a reputation for its linen-cloth and tanning activities. the Dounreay Nuclear Research Establishment, although mostly decommissioned at the end of the 20th century, employs a significant number of the local population. The Category-A listed ruined Old St Peter's Church (St. Peter's Kirk) is one of the oldest churches in Scotland, dating to at least 1125. The current church, St Andrew's and St Peter's, was built in 1832 to a design by William Burn in the Gothic style.
The town contains the main campus of North Highland College and Thurso High School, the northernmost secondary school on the British mainland, which was established in 1958. Thurso Castle, built in 1872, is in ruins. Thurso is home to the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team Thurso FC, established in 1998, who play in the
North Caledonian League
The North Caledonian Football Association is a football (soccer), football association operating throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and is a recognised body of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and as such has its senior footb ...
, and the rugby teams
Caithness Crushers
The Caithness Crushers are a Scottish rugby league team based in Thurso. Formed in 2011 the goal is to compete in Scotland Rugby League's Conference Division 1.
See also
*Rugby league in Scotland
*List of rugby league clubs in Britain
This ...
and
Caithness RFC
Caithness Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club from Thurso
Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical Cou ...
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
; the Northlink ferry () operates between Scrabster and
Stromness
Stromness (, non, Straumnes; nrn, Stromnes) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital.
E ...
.
Etymology
Originally Thurso was known by the Celtic name of meaning "bull water" or "bull river"; similarly Dunnet Head was standing for "bull fort" and the name of the town name may have its roots there. Norse influence altered its name to , then , based on the deity of Thor and translating as the place on Thor's River.
The local
Scots
Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
* Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland
* Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland
* Scoti, a Latin na ...
name, , derives from the Norse, as does the modern Scottish Gaelic . means a river mouth, and is generally found as ''Inver'' in many anglicised names.
History
Thurso's history stretches back to at least the era of Norse
Orcadian
Orcadians, also known as Orkneymen, are an ethnic group native to the Orkney Islands, who speak an Orcadian dialect of the Scots language, a West Germanic language, and share a common history, culture and ancestry. Speaking Norn, a native North G ...
rule in
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...
, which ended conclusively in 1266. Neolithic horned cairns found on nearby Shebster Hill, which were used for burials and rituals, date back about 5,000 years. The town was an important Norse port, and has a later history of trade with ports throughout northern Europe until the 19th century. In 1330 Scotland's standard unit of weight was brought in line with that of Thurso at the decree of King David II of Scotland, a measure of the town's economic importance. Old St Peter's Kirk is said to date from circa 1220 and the time of Caithness Bishop Gilbert Murray, who died in 1245.
In 1649, Gaels from Ireland, led by Donald Macalister Mullach, attacked Thurso and were chased off by the residents, headed by Sir James Sinclair. One of the locals, a servant of Sinclair was said to have killed Mullach by "cutting a button from his master's coat and firing it from a musket". In 1811, the parish had 592 houses with a population of 3,462. This had decreased to 2,510 people by 1841. Following the passage into law of the 1845
Poor Law Act
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
, a combination poorhouse was constructed; work commenced in 1854 and was completed by 1856. The building, which had a capacity to house 149 inmates, was on a site to the west of Thurso Road and provided poor relief for Thurso and the parishes of
Bower
Bower may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' Catherine, or The Bower'', an unfinished Jane Austen novel
* A high-ranking card (usually a Jack) in certain card games:
** The Right and Left Bower (or Bauer), the two highest-ranking cards in the ...
Dunnet
Dunnet is a village in Caithness, in the Highland (council area), Highland area of Scotland. It is within the Parish of Dunnet.
Village
The village centres on the A836 road, A836–B855 road junction. The A836 leads towards John o' Groats ...
,
Halkirk
Halkirk ( gd, Hàcraig) is a village on the River Thurso in Caithness, in the Highland council area of Scotland. From Halkirk the B874 road runs towards Thurso in the north and towards Georgemas in the east. The village is within the parish ...
Reay
Reay ( gd, Ràth) is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. It is within the historic Parish of Reay and the historic county of Caithness.
The village is on the A836 road some ...
and Watten. Many of the poorhouses in Scotland were under used, and by 1924 the building had been unoccupied for several years so was sold; it was later utilised as housing but by 2001 was again abandoned.
Much of the town is a planned 19th-century development. In 1906, a new
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
boathouse and slipway was inaugurated near Scrabster Harbour. A fire on 10 December 1956 destroyed the building and its
47ft Watson-class lifeboat
The 47 ft Watson-class was a class of non self-righting displacement hull lifeboat built from 1955 to 1963 and operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution between 1956 and 1991.
History
The 47 ft Watson was the final devel ...
and a new building and boat was built, launched the following year. A new lifeboat, named "The Three Sisters" was inaugurated in 1971 by the Queen Mother. A major expansion occurred in the mid-20th century when the Dounreay
nuclear power plant
A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a electric generator, generato ...
was established at Dounreay in 1955, to the west of the town. The arrival of workers related to the power station caused a three-fold increase in the population of Thurso; the 1951 census gave a figure of 3,000 but this had swelled to 9,000 by 1971. This led to around 1,700 new houses being built in Thurso and nearby Castletown, a mixture of local authority housing blended with private houses and flats built by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Decommissioned at the end of the 20th century, it is estimated the site will not be cleared of all the waste until the 2070s, so will continue to provide employment.
Thurso is also the name of the
viscountcy
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
held by the Sinclair family in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Thurso hosted the
National Mòd
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ...
in 2010, which was the first time this festival of Gaelic language and culture had been held so far north.
Governance
Thurso has history as a burgh of barony dating from 1633 when it was established by Charles I. From 1870, the burgh council was based at
Thurso Town Hall
Thurso Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street, Thurso, in the Highland area of Scotland. The structure, which is used as a museum, is a Category B listed building.
History
The building was financed by a local landowner, Alexande ...
. In 1975, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975.
The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...
burgh
A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burg ...
was merged into the
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...
unitary council area
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...
. From 1996 until 2007, the town of Thurso was covered by two or three wards, each electing one councillor by the first-past-the-post system of election. In 2007, a single Thurso ward was created to elect three councillors by the single transferable vote system. In 2017 the Thurso ward was absorbed into a new multi member ward along with the Western portion of Landward Caithness, the new ward, named Thurso and Northwest Caithness, was contested for the first time in the Highland Council election of 2017. The incumbent councillors are Cllr Matthew Reiss (Independent), Provost Struan Mackie (Scottish Conservative), Cllr Ron Gunn (Scottish Liberal Democrats) and Cllr Karl Rosie (
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 ...
).
Electing four members to the new ward, it is one of two within the
Highland Council
The Highland Council (' ), the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional represe ...
's Caithness ward management area and one of seven within the council's Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross corporate management area.
Thurso Community Council was created in 1975 when the burgh was abolished. The community council is not a tier of local government, but it is recognised as a level of statutory representation. The community council represents an area which is somewhat smaller than that represented by ward councillors. The ward area also includes parts of other community council areas.
Geography
Thurso is the most northerly town on the British mainland, situated on the northern coastline overlooking the
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
. It is situated at the northern terminus of the A9 road, the main road linking
Caithness
Caithness ( gd, Gallaibh ; sco, Caitnes; non, Katanes) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland.
Caithness has a land boundary with the historic county of Sutherland to the west and is otherwise bounded by ...
with the south of Scotland, and is west of John o' Groats and northwest of Wick, the closest town. Thurso railway station is the most northerly location served by Britain's rail network, which links the town directly with Wick, the
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of Caithness, and with Inverness. Thurso is bordered by the parishes of Olrig and
Bower
Bower may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' Catherine, or The Bower'', an unfinished Jane Austen novel
* A high-ranking card (usually a Jack) in certain card games:
** The Right and Left Bower (or Bauer), the two highest-ranking cards in the ...
to the east,
Halkirk
Halkirk ( gd, Hàcraig) is a village on the River Thurso in Caithness, in the Highland council area of Scotland. From Halkirk the B874 road runs towards Thurso in the north and towards Georgemas in the east. The village is within the parish ...
to the south, and
Reay
Reay ( gd, Ràth) is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. It is within the historic Parish of Reay and the historic county of Caithness.
The village is on the A836 road some ...
to the west, and stretches from Holborn Head and Crosskirk Bay in the west to Dunnet Head and Dunnet Bay in the east. It lies slightly further north than the Alaskan capital of Juneau, and slightly further south than the Swedish capital of
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
.
The
River Thurso
The River Thurso ( gd, Abhainn Theòrsa) has Loch Rumsdale in Caithness as its source, about 26 kilometres south and 14 kilometres west of the burgh of Thurso, Caithness, and about 2 kilometres south of the railway line linking the burghs of T ...
, reputable for its salmon fishing, flows through the town and into Thurso Bay and the Pentland Firth. The river estuary serves as a small harbour. Thurso has a fine harbour and beach and looks out over the Pentland Firth to the Orkney island of Hoy and the towering Old Man of Hoy (a stack of rock standing out from the main island).
Climate
Thurso has a cool
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
( Köppen ''Cfb''), featuring similar weather to the Scottish Highlands. The highest temperature recorded was
(July 1995) and the lowest (December 2010). Although Thurso is mild enough to permit the growth of trees, the windswept surroundings mostly consist of grasslands resembling the offshore northern archipelagoes of
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
and
Shetland
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
The islands lie about to the no ...
. The sea remains chilly also in summer and offshore sea surface temperatures do not fluctuate much throughout the year.
Economy
Historically, Thurso was known for its production of linen cloth and had a thriving tanning business. Fishing has always been of major significance in the running of the local economy, and the Thurso Shipowner's Association overlooked much of the shipping activity. The port of Scrabster lies about to the west of the estuary of the River Thurso, and plays a significant role in the white fish industry in Scotland. Scrabster has deep water in the shelter of Holborn Head. The harbour includes a berth for the '' MV Hamnavoe'', a roll-on/roll-off
ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
operated by Northlink linking the Scottish mainland with
Stromness
Stromness (, non, Straumnes; nrn, Stromnes) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital.
E ...
on Orkney. There is also a large fishmart and the local lifeboat is stationed there too. From June 2007, a summer-only weekly ferry service operated by the Faroese company
Smyril Line
Smyril Line is a Faroese shipping company, linking the Faroe Islands with Denmark and Iceland. It previously also served Norway and the United Kingdom. is the Faroese word for the merlin.
History
Since 1983, the company has operated a r ...
reopened, connecting Scrabster with the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Norway, but has now been discontinued.
Thurso boasts a small museum, Caithness Horizons, several hotels and bars, a surf shop/cafe stocking famous brands, and a small skatepark. There is also a sizeable
British Telecom
BT Group plc (trade name, trading as BT and formerly British Telecom) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered in London, England. It has operations in around 180 countries and is th ...
call centre and a plant making lithium-ion batteries for the MoD on the west side of the town, which along with the Dounreay Nuclear power plant, provide a high level of employment in Caithness. On 12 January 2010, approval was granted for the Baillie wind farm near Thurso which will feature 21 turbines and supply 52.5 MW, enough for 25,000 homes.
Landmarks
The Category A listed ruined Old St Peter's Church (St. Peter's Kirk) is one of the older churches in Scotland, dated to at least 1125, and at one time it was the principal church for the county, administered by the Bishops of Caithness. The church held hearings against criminal activity and determined how those caught should be punished. In 1701, a woman who had a relationship with a Dutch sailor had her head shaved and was publicly shamed, paraded through the town by the local hangman.
The current church, St Andrew's and St Peter's, was built in 1832 to a design by William Burn in the Gothic style with buttressed walls and a square tower. The pipe organ was added by
Norman & Beard
Norman and Beard were a pipe organ manufacturer based in Norwich from 1887 to 1916.
History
The origins of the company are from a business founded in Diss in 1870 by Ernest William Norman (1851–1927). In 1876 he moved to Norwich where he wen ...
in 1914, and in 1922
Oscar Paterson
Oscar Paterson (1863 – 1934) was a Scottish artist based in Glasgow, who specialised in stained glass.
Work
Paterson's work has been described as "the epitome of the Glasgow Style", and is still celebrated today. He is best known for his st ...
contributed some of the stained glass windows such as 'The Sower'. In 2013 gravestones were vandalised in the graveyard.
Holburn Head Lighthouse
Holburn is a hamlet in the English county of Northumberland. Holburn is located between Lowick and Belford.
Governance
Holburn is in the parliamentary constituency of Berwick-upon-Tweed.
See also
*Holburn Lake and Moss
...
, within the parish territory, was completed in 1862 to a design by David & Thomas Stevenson and has since achieved Category B listed status.
The Swanson Gallery of Thurso hosts exhibitions throughout the year, and showcases glass art by Ian Pearson. The Caithness Horizons building contains a museum and also hosts exhibitions. Hotels of note include the 103-room Royal Hotel, Pentland Hotel, Waterside House, Murray House and the Category B listed Forss House Hotel, about 4 miles to the west of Thurso in a Georgian country mansion. At Sir John's Square is an ornamental garden and statue which was donated to the town by Sir Tollemache Sinclair in memory of his grandfather Sir John Sinclair, a prominent local figure responsible for the "compilation of the First Statistical Account of Scotland and the pioneering of agricultural reforms in Caithness". A Category C listed fountain was built in 1894 by the son of Sir George Sinclair. Also of note is the wellhouse of Meadow Well at the junction of Traill Street and Manson's Lane, which was the primary water supply for Thurso for centuries. The current well, with a conical roof, was completed in 1823.
The war memorial in Thurso dates from 1922 and was designed by
Percy Portsmouth
Percival ("Percy") Herbert Portsmouth RSA FRSBS (1874–1953) was a 20th-century British sculptor. His most notable public work is Elgin War Memorial, and the similar War Memorial in Thurso.
Life
He was born in Reading, England, in 1874, the ...
.
Education
The main campus of North Highland College, formerly Thurso College, is one of several partner colleges which constitute the University of the Highlands & Islands. It offers several certificate, diploma and degree courses from subjects as diverse as Nuclear Decommissioning, Hairdressing, Gamekeeping and Golf Management. Adjacent to the UHI is Thurso High School, the most northerly secondary school on the British mainland, established in 1958. The town also has three primary schools, Pennyland, Miller Academy Primary and Mount Pleasant. Mount Pleasant Primary School has a Scottish Gaelic medium unit, part of a revival of the language in Caithness. According to the 2011 census, 110 residents of the town age three and over (1.43%) speak Gaelic while 181 overall (2.35%) have some facility with the language. A Gaelic language nursery school, Cròileagan Inbhir Theòrsa, was created in the town in 1996.
Caithness Horizons is a small museum that opened in 2008. The museum now houses panels from the control room at the Dounreay Materials Testing Reactor (DMTR), which in 1958 had become Scotland's first operation nuclear reactor.
Sport
With its powerful swells, Thurso is a notable location for
surfing
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
and
kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
, with international surfing championship events having regularly been held in the area. It attracts surfers from all over the world, and both the European Surfing Championships and Scottish Surf Kayaking Championships have been held in Caithness, with Thurso East being the main focus of activity. An annual raft race is organised by the North Coast Branch of Coastguard Association.
The football team, Thurso FC (nicknamed "the Vikings"), was established in 1998 and plays in the
North Caledonian League
The North Caledonian Football Association is a football (soccer), football association operating throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and is a recognised body of the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and as such has its senior footb ...
.
Caithness Crushers
The Caithness Crushers are a Scottish rugby league team based in Thurso. Formed in 2011 the goal is to compete in Scotland Rugby League's Conference Division 1.
See also
*Rugby league in Scotland
*List of rugby league clubs in Britain
This ...
Caithness RFC
Caithness Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club from Thurso
Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical Cou ...
are a rugby union club that participate in the Caledonia One. The local athletics club is Caithness Amateur Athletics Club (C.A.A.C.); hurdler Moira Mcbeath was a 1986 Commonwealth Games athlete. Thurso has the largest swimming club in the Highland area, Thurso Amateur Swimming Club (TASC), with over 250 members. Thurso Bowling Club is next door to the Tesco supermarket. Also of note is Caithness Motocross Club, which stages races fortnightly during the summer on tracks around the county.
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...
in 1923. and it is now part of the Far North Line.
The nearby port of Scrabster provides ferry services to the
Orkney Islands
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
.
Twin towns
Thurso is twinned with Brilon, Germany. Clive Campbell, Scout Leader at 2nd Thurso met Joachim Brill, Brilon Scout Leader at Gilwell Park in London in 1971. Brill brought his group to Thurso in 1972; a reciprocal visit to Brilon happened in 1973, when Campbell met Hans Witteler, another Brilon Leader with whom he formed a close friendship. Brill moved to Bielefeld shortly afterwards, but the close friendship between the Campbell and Witteler families as well as their respective Scout Groups continued, and in 1979 the towns were formally twinned.
Scouts from Thurso and Brilon continue to meet regularly, and 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of the formal twinning with 60 German Scouts and 12 civic guests from Brilon visiting Thurso to mark the occasion.
Notable people
* Andrew Geddes Bain (1797–1864) — geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer.
* Colin Birss (born 1964) — British judge.
* David Orson Calder (1823–1884) — academician and pioneer settler in Utah.
* John Charles "Jock" Campbell (VC) (1894–1942) — British Army officer.
* Martin Carr (born 1968) — writer and musician.
* Robert Dick (1811–1866) — geologist; lived in Thurso from 1830 until death.
*
John Finlaison
John Finlaison (1783–1860) was a Scottish civil servant, government actuary and the first president of the Institute of Actuaries.
John was born under the name Finlayson, however, was better known under the name of Finlaison.
Early life
J ...
(1783–1860) — civil servant and government actuary.
* George Finlayson (1790–1823) — naturalist and traveler.
* Bryan Gunn (born 1963) — professional football goalkeeper and manager.
* Robin Harper (born 1940) — politician.
* William Henderson (1810–1872) — physician and homeopath.
*
Christina Keith
Christina Keith (12 January 1889 - 1963) was a pioneering Scottish academic and author who travelled to France towards the end of the First World War as a lecturer to the troops. With a friend, she was one of the first women to explore the devas ...
(1889–1963), Scottish academic and author
* Jock Macdonald (1897–1960) — Canadian painter and art educator.
* Gary Mackay-Steven (born 1990) — professional football winger, currently playing for
Heart of Midlothian F.C.
Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Professional Football League. Hearts, the oldest and most successful football club in the Sco ...
*
Tommy McGee
Tommy McGee (born 9 July 1979 in Thurso, Scotland) is a Scottish former rugby union footballer for Leeds Tykes. His usual position is at prop. McGee was released by Leeds in 2010 and later that year was appointed head coach of Wharfedale. He has ...
(born 1979) — Scottish rugby league and rugby union footballer.
* Anne McKevitt (born 1967) — entrepreneur, TV Personality, author and philanthropist.
* Martin Rennie (born 1975) — professional football coach.
* Sir William David Ross, KBE (1877–1971) — moral philosopher, editor and translator of Aristotle.
*
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During ...
(1737–1818) — American Revolutionary War soldier and politician.
*
Sir William Alexander Smith
Sir William Alexander Smith (27 October 1854 – 10 May 1914), the founder of the Boys' Brigade, was born in Pennyland House, Thurso, Scotland. He was the eldest son of Major David Smith and his wife Harriet. He had one sister and two brothers.
...
Donald Swanson
Chief Inspector Donald Sutherland Swanson (12 August 1848 - 24 November 1924) was born at Geise, where his father operated a distillery, before the family moved in 1851 to Thurso, and was a senior police officer in the Metropolitan Police in Lond ...
(1848–1924) — senior police officer in the Metropolitan Police during the Jack the Ripper murders.
*Very Rev
Walter Ross Taylor
Walter Ross Taylor (1805–1896) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly 1884/85.
Life
He was born in Tain in northern Scotland on 11 November 1805 the son of the sheriff clerk ...
(1805–1896) Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland in 1884 and his son Very Rev
Walter Ross Taylor (1838–1907)
Walter Ross Taylor (1838–1907) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in the critical year of Union in 1900. From 1900 he led the United Free Church of Scotland with its Modera ...