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Country Houses in Caithness by Donald Sinclair There are three very lovely country houses in the far north of Scotland that are tied to some of the famous families of Caithness, The Sinclairs, Dunbars, and Sutherlands have passed these houses through kinship and marriage. The Sinclairs of Stirkoke House, went on to own all three at one time in history and maybe soon will own one of the others again. George Sinclair, 5th Earl Caithness, known as the "Wicked Earl." had two sons, one of which was, Francis Sinclair of Northfield (b. abt. 1610). His grandson, also a Francis Sinclair, was born about 1640 and became the first Sinclair of Stirkoke. The house was built at that time and therefore dates to the middle 1600s. Francis Sinclair of Stirkoke had sons, Patrick, John of Stirkoke, George of Sibster, Charles of Bilbster, and one daughter, Jean.
Stirkoke is again mentioned in the History of Oldwick. The castles of Oldwick and Berriedale fell to separate owners. The Earls of Caithness retained Oldwick but as it was situated within a few miles of their chief stronghold of Girnigoe it fell into disuse. Berriedale was acquired by a junior branch of the Sutherlands of Forse, also descended from the ancient Earls of Sutherland. Afterwards it became the property of the Sinclairs of Ulbster and later still it passed to the Horne family of Langwell and Stirkoke, who descended from the Sinclairs. With the building of the splendid new mansion of Langwell House, the old castle fell to ruin and decay. After the death of the weak sixth Earl of Caithness and the usurping of his estates and titles by his creditor Campbell of Glenorchy about 1680. Oldwick eventually passed by sale to the Dunbars of Hempriggs who had built Hempriggs House nearby. They were a branch of the Sutherlands of Duffus who had changed their name to Dunbar on inheriting the baronetcy of Hempriggs of that family. During the False Coin Scandal between the Sutherlands and Sinclairs, there was a warrant for the arrest of the accused forger Smith. Donald MacKay and Robert Gordon, acting on the wishes of Earl Sutherland, accordingly rushed to the street; and shortly after, John Sinclair, younger of Stirkoke, James Sinclair of Durran, James Sinclair, brother of the Laird of Dunn, and other relatives of Lord Caithness who happened to be in town on a visit to Lady Berriedale, made their appearance. Mackay and Gordon showed their commission and endeavored to satisfy them that they were acting under the King�s authority; but Sinclair of Stirkoke, in a defiant tone, swore that he would not allow his uncle�s servant to be apprehended without his knowledge, and in his absence. The commissioners replied sharply that they were determined to do their duty, and not suffer the Royal warrant to be resisted. High words were exchanged, and a serious scuffle ensued, which was maintained for some time with great obstinacy on both sides. The party that guarded Smith, hearing a great noise in the town, killed him in order to prevent his escape, and hurried in to assist their countrymen. The inhabitants, who were not so well armed as their opponents, finally gave way, and retreated to their houses. John Sinclair of Stirkoke was killed, and James Sinclair of Dunn severely wounded. James Sinclair of Durran saved himself by flight. None of the Sutherland men were killed, but many of them were badly wounded. Sir John Sinclair of Greenland, who then lived at Ormlie and the Laird of Dunn arrived when the fray was concluded. Dunn proposed to renew the attack, but Sir John Sinclair, considering what had already happened, would not agree to any hazardous attempt of the kind. The Sutherland men withdrew from the town, and soon after proceeded homeward, carrying their wounded along with them. When the Earl of Caithness, who happened to be in Edinburgh at the time, was informed of the occurrences in Thurso, he immediately instituted a criminal prosecution against the Earl of Sutherland, Sir Robert Gordon, and Donald Mackay, for the slaughter of his nephew, John Sinclair of Stirkoke; while they, on the other hand, raised a similar process against the Earl of Caithness, his son, Lord Berriedale, and their coadjutors, for sundry past outrages, and particularly for resisting, at Thurso, the King�s commissioners, and attacking those employed in its execution. On the day appointed for their appearance at Edinburgh, the parties, with the exception of the Earl of Sutherland, met, attended by their respective friends. The Earl of Caithness and Berriedale were accompanied by Lord Gray, Sinclair of Roslyn, the Laird of Cowdenknowes, a son of the sister of the Earl of Caithness, and his two brothers, Sir John Sinclair of Greenland, and James Sinclair of Murkle. And the Laird of Duffus of Hempriggs House attended Sir Robert Gordon and Donald Mackay. The Council spent three days in hearing the parties and deliberating upon the matters brought before them; but they came to no decision, and adjourned the proceedings until the King�s pleasure should be known. The King proposed that their differences should be submitted to arbitration, and after some discussion, the parties were induced to sign a submission to that effect. Arbiters were accordingly appointed, but finding the parties obstinate, and determined not to yield a single point of their respective claims, they declined to act any further in the matter, and remitted the whole case back to the Privy Council. At a meeting of the Council, the Earl of Caithness preferred a very serious charge against Sir Robert Gordon. He said that he had procured the commission solely with the intention of ruining him and his house, and that previous to the affair at Thurso he had on one occasion lain in wait to kill him at the Little Ferry. Sir Robert, of course, indignantly repelled the charge. The dispute, from all that appears, was never settled; and the Earls of Caithness and Sutherland continued to maintain the same hostile attitude towards each other as before. George Sinclair was a natural son of David Sinclair of
Stirkoke, and nephew of the Earl of Caithness. Like many other Scotsmen of
the period, he was a soldier of fortune, and had entered the service of Gustavus Adoiphus, King of Sweden, who was then at war with Denmark and
Norway. Having raised a regiment in his native county, amounting, it is
said, to some 900 men, Sinclair embarked for Norway, and after a favorable
passage of four days, landed on the coast of Romsdal, where he and his
party where almost all killed in an ambush by the Norwegians. There is a
memorial for George Sinclair in the village of Pillarguri, where a
festival is held each year and attended by the Sinclair Clan representing
their ancestor. Later another famous warrior would start his life in Stirkoke House, WWI General Horne. Lord Horne was born Henry Sinclair Horne at Stirkoke on 19 February 1861, the third son of Major James Horne and his wife, Constance Mary. The family was one of the best known in Caithness and had lived at Stirkoke for several generations. He was educated at Harrow and at the Royal Military. He went on to a quiet but illustrious career in military history. Lastly there is the pipe tune, The Stirkoke Woods. The attractive waltz tune composed by Robert George Harper. He wrote it many years ago when he left Stirkoke. The Lily Pond was a beautiful spot in the Stirkoke Woods on the estate of the late General Lord Horne. During WWII three aircraft where flying over the vicinity of Stirkoke, when one plane crash-landed near the cross that marks the spot of the battle of Altimarlach. The two crewmen scrambled from their plane without much injury. The first recorded history of Hempriggs House was on or about 1646. The Dunbars of Hempriggs House welcomed James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose. He was at the time, the King�s Lt. General of the North. There are great cliffs with natural arches and stacks off the coast behind Hempriggs House. There is also an overgrown path that leads from Hempriggs House past the Castle of Oldwick and into the town of Wick that is till in rare use today. Nearby, the Ackergill Tower is now an accommodation for business functions and private parties. It has two rooms furnished from Hempriggs House. The rooms are aptly names Hempriggs and Dunbar.
The Dunbars are credited with creating all the well-built and finely laid out farms one sees all around the Sinclair Bay area. Hempriggs House is no exception. Although now a Pensioner�s Home, the overgrown gardens cannot hide the sheer beauty of the house and estate. One can survey the area and see how grand it once was. Local volunteers try to keep the grounds maintained now, as there is no money to spend for it. The future of Hempriggs House is now up in the air. The Matron was notified last Christmas by the owner that the house was for sale, and the pensioners� fate yet unknown. Alistair Fraser Sinclair, who currently owns parts of the Stirkoke estate is trying to purchase Hempriggs House and the estate, but sorting through almost four hundred years of property titles and boundary agreements is taking its toll on the whole process. I have information that if successful, Mr. Sinclair will try to keep the pensioner�s in place. Charles of Bilbster Sinclair (b. abt 1680) was the son of Francis Sinclair of Stirkoke. Charles earned the unenviable moniker of "the Earl of Hell." Charles married Katherine Dunbar of Hempriggs House and had one son, Sir George Sinclair of Bilbster and Clythe. Sir George married Jean, Daughter of William? Charles, Earl of Hell, and Katherine also had one daughter, Fenella whom married Donald Sinclair of Olrig (and now Bilbster).
The old estate house is now a beautiful bed and breakfast accommodation and guests are welcome to walk in the formal gardens. The atmosphere is exceptionally tranquil and offers the visitor a relaxing and secluded holiday of a very high standard yet with the freedom to drive quickly and easily to any of the major salmon rivers or trout lochs within Caithness. Research on Bilbster House so far has dated it to before the 1690s being the local 'Manor House' to the estate of Bilbster. Every effort has been made to keep the character since being bought over by the Stewart family in 1970. Previous owners include Gore Brown Hendersons, MacLeays and inevitably for any large estate in Caithness, Sinclairs. As well as the estate of Bilbster, the Gore Brown Hendersons also owned the local distillery, Pulteney Distillery, that now has the renowned 'Old Pulteney collection' of Scotch Whisky. The estate of Bilbster was handed to the son, Hamish, in 1955 and Mrs. Gore Brown Henderson moved to Malleny house, in Edinburgh that she subsequently left to the National Trust. The Trust now opens the gardens at Malleny. The donation of a Telford designed house to the medical profession resulted in a nurse�s home being set up. Contributing to the story were; Reference; |
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