Thurso Castle: A Victorian Gothic Mansion on a Historic Fortress Site
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 2
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Primary era
- Modern
- Eras represented
- Modern
- Civilizations
- British
- Site type
- Domestic
- Remains
- Castle
On this page12 sections
History
Thurso Castle is a historic castle site in the United Kingdom, near Thurso in Scotland, where a fortress has existed since at least the twelfth century. The present Victorian Gothic building was constructed in 1872 and replaced earlier structures between 1872 and 1878. The estate remains associated with the Viscounts Thurso, a hereditary title held by the later Sinclair owners.
The medieval fortress
An earlier fortress at Thurso East served as a residence of the Earls of Orkney and Caithness. It was probably the earthwork referred to as “Thorsa Castle” in 1157. The date of its destruction is uncertain. It may have been destroyed in the late twelfth century, or it may have been gutted by fire in the early sixteenth century. Archaeological investigation in 1962 found no surviving remains of this earlier fortress.
Sinclair ownership and rebuilding
By 1612, a fortress at the site was held by the Sinclairs of Greenland and Rattar. George Sinclair, 6th Earl of Caithness, later built a structure known as The Arch, or Thurso Castle, in the mid-seventeenth century. Its building contract with the master mason Donald Ross set the price at 600 merks, a historical Scottish unit of money.
Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet, subsequently held the Thurso lairdship, meaning the position and estate of a Scottish landed proprietor. He erected a new building described as a castle or fortress. This structure was restored and enlarged in 1806 and again in 1835. The Sinclair titles connected with the estate included the baronetcy of Ulbster, acquired in 1786, and the viscountcy of Thurso, acquired in 1952.
The Victorian replacement
The present house was built in the Victorian Gothic tradition, a nineteenth-century revival of medieval architectural forms, and is also described as a Scottish baronial mansion. Part of the building was demolished in 1952 after sections became unstable. The demolition followed damage associated with an anti-shipping mine, an explosive naval weapon intended to damage vessels, which came ashore below the castle and exploded during the Second World War.
The site is privately owned, and part of the castle remains habitable as a residence of the Viscounts Thurso. The former gate lodge and gateway retain Category B listed-building status, a Scottish designation for buildings of regional or more than local importance.
Remains
The surviving complex stands in Thurso East, east of the River Thurso, on the Brown Hill estate about 800 metres east of Thurso. It occupies rocky, hilly ground near the Atlantic coast and the Pentland Firth. The ruins are chiefly those of the nineteenth-century Victorian Gothic building, arranged with a gatehouse and lodge on the south side and the remains of a tower and northern wing beside the river.
Southern entrance buildings
Gatehouse
The southern gatehouse forms part of the surviving entrance group. Its fabric remains in reasonably good condition, and the gateway is among the elements that retain Category B listed-building status. During the twentieth century, the entrances and lower windows were closed with brickwork.
Thurso Castle Lodge
Thurso Castle Lodge stands beside the gatehouse on the south side of the complex. The former gate lodge survives in reasonably good condition as part of the entrance arrangement associated with the castle.
Northern ruins and estate features
North tower and northern wing
Beside the River Thurso are the remains of the north or northwestern tower and a roofless northern wing. These structures form the principal northern part of the ruined Victorian Gothic complex. The castle well, associated with the site, is approximately 6.1 metres deep.
Manse
A manse was built on the estate in 1818 using some stones taken from the castle. Its construction reflects the reuse of material from the earlier buildings within the estate.
Harald’s Tower
Harald’s Tower was built in 1780 about 1.6 kilometres northeast of the castle. It served as a burial place for the Sinclairs of Thurso.
The seventeenth-century structure called The Arch was described in 1802 as “the most ornamental piece of architecture in the north.” The surviving ruins preserve a reminder of the castle’s former Gothic appearance.
