Caithness CWS - A - Z Caithness - Sutherland - Dornoch

Gilbert de Moravia planned the building. He became Bishop of Caithness in 1222. At that time the bishopric of Caithness was all of the land north of the Dornoch Firth. He was also responsible for the building of St Peters in Thurso.
Bishops of Caithness 1150 Andrew 1185 John 1214 Adam 1222 St. Gilbert 1251 William 1263 Walter de Baltrodin 1274 Archibald Hayrock 1279 Richard 1279 Hervy de Donodei
1282 Alan de St. Edmund 1296 Andrew 1304 Ferguhard Belegaumbe 1328 David 1341 Alan 1342 Thomas de Fingask 1369 Malcolm 1381 Alexander 1402 John 1414 Alexander de Vaus
1422 John De Grannoch 1427 Robert de Strabgok 1455 William Mudy c.1470 Prosper c.1502 Andrew Stewart Kings treasurer 1518 Andrew Stewart 1542 Robert Stewart, Earl of Lennox
Post-Reformation Bishops - 1586 Robert Stewart 1600 George Gladstanes 1604 Alexander Forbes 1616 John Abernethy 1638 Robert Hamilton 1662 Patrick Forbes 1680 Andrew Wood	A fire destroyed a large part of the Cathedral in 1570 during a clan feud between the Mackays of Strathnaver and the Murrays of Dornoch. The whole roof was destroyed leaving the chancel and transept walls mainly intact. Sir Robert Gordon helped to re-roof the quire and transepts in 1616. A slate quarry locally was used to re-roof the Cathedral. The church was partitioned to separate the ruined nave from the other part of the church.. The T-shaped church of the quire and transepts was used for the next two hundred years. The church originally catholic became presbyterian in the 16th century and was also for a short time Episcopalian in the 17th century.
Ministers 1569 William Grey 1588 William Paip 1614 John Gray 1639 Alexander Munro 1648 George Gray 1680 John Ross 1690 William Mackay 1702 Archibald bowie 1713 Robert Kirk 1759 John Sutherland 1778 John Bethune 1817 Angus Kennedy 1837 George Rainy Kennedy 1843 Alexander MacIver 1853 William Forsyth 1863 Donald MacLeod 1866 Duncan Stewart 1870 Charles MacGregor 1878 Donald Grant 1906 Charles D Bentinck 1936 John G Levack 1951 William M G Edgar 1958 Frederick H Fulton 1976 James A Simpson 1998 Susan Brown	Elizabeth Duchess-Countess of Sutherland funded the restoration of the nave and repairs to other parts of the cathedral between 1835 -37. The architect was William burn who had jut completed work on St Giles cathedral in Edinburgh. At the time the building was plastered covering most of the stonework. However Rev Charles Bentinck had this removed in 1924 revealing once again the rich local stonework. Nave The nave has four windows in each wall. A stone sarcophagus contains the bones of Sir Richard de Moravia brother of Bishop Gilbert. Around 1240 he was killed in battle during a Danish invasion. Six of the twenty-seven stained glass windows are to be found in the nave. Transepts Between 1247 and 1733 the remains of many of the Earls of Sutherland were placed here. The caps from the original windows have survived although the shafts on which they rested have disappeared. The caps are all different and the workmanship is considered to have been of the highest quality. The windows in the Transept commemorate a range of people connected to the church or the area. Chancel Windows A set of stained glass windows on the north side of the chancel is dedicated to the memory of Andrew Carnegie who although born in Dunfermline and became rich in Pittsburg bought and lived at Skibo castle four miles from Dornoch. There is also a Carengie library in Dornoch - one of over 3000 he founded worldwide. Madonna Madonna was married at Skibo Castle and later used the cathedral for the christening of her son. Pages About Dornoch Cathedral on Am Baile From Hugh F Campbell's book -1908
Source of information - Dornoch Cathedral 750 Year Anniversary Guide 1989 by Rev James A Simpson Pictures - Bill Fernie - 12 April 2002 See Also Stained Glass In Caithness History Of Caithness chapter IV for more on Gilbert and other Bishops