Thurso, oblique aerial view, taken from the S.

Description Thurso, oblique aerial view, taken from the S.

Date 13/6/1995

Collection RCAHMS Aerial Photography

Catalogue Number C 46107

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 873539, SC 1675390

Scope and Content Thurso, Caithness, Highland Situated on the Pentland Firth, Thurso is the most northerly town on the Scottish mainland. Its name comes from the Norse 'Thorsa', meaning Thor's River and, in the Viking period, Thurso was an important gateway to the mainland. In 1633 Charles I constituted Thurso a free burgh of barony under the control of the Earls of Caithness. This aerial view shows the eastern part of Thurso, Thurso River (centre left) and part of Thurso Bay (top). The road bridge (centre left) and harbour at the mouth of the river can also be seen. Thurso was once a thriving market town and trading port, exporting goods to Scandinavian and Baltic ports from the 14th century. With the development of the Caithness flagstone industry in the early 19th century, Thurso also exported stone throughout Britain and north-west Europe. The harbour became less important when, in the 1850s, the nearby port at Scrabster was developed. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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