Excerpt from Caithness and Sutherland

The first Earl of Caithness of the Sinclair line received in 1455, besides his earldom, a grant of the justiciary and sheriffdom of Caithness. In 1503 the Scots Parlia ment enacted that, owing to the distance of the northern parts of the sheriffdom from Inverness, courts might be held at Dornoch and Wik, but the jurisdiction of the sheriff of Inverness was expressly reserved.

Important cases, such as the infeftment or service of the leading nobles were still taken at Inverness. Sir Robert Gordon s success in getting Sutherland made a shire in 1631 seems to have stimulated the Earl of Caithness to secure similar privileges for his own county. In 1641 Parliament granted a Ratification to the town of Wick, declaring it to be the head burgh of the sheriff dom of Caithness. The Earl of Caithness was nominated sheriff of the new shire, and towards the end of the seventeenth century this heritable jurisdiction was sold to Sinclair of Ulbster. At the date of the abolition of these jurisdictions in 1747 a sum of £5000 was paid to Sinclair of Ulbster in compensation for the loss of the heritable jurisdiction of Caithness. The sheriff depute (known after 1829 as the sheriff principal) was formerly appointed by the heritable sheriff, but the appointment now belongs to the crown.

In 1853 the counties of Sutherland and Caithness were united into one sheriffdom. In 1870 Caithness was detached from Sutherland and joined to Orkney and Shetland, while Sutherland was united with Ross and Cromarty.

In the administration of public health and education it would seem that ancient relations between Caithness and Sutherland bid fair to be revived, and the two counties were in 1918 united into one parliamentary constituency.

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