Latheron and Dunbeath
Latheron is a parish on the south-eastern and southern border of Caithness-shire. It is bounded by the German Ocean (North Sea), by Sutherlandshire, and by the parishes of Halkirk, Watten, and Wick. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
Achavair, Achnacraig, Ausdale, Balachly, Berriedale, Braemore, Braenaheglish, Bruan, Clyth, Dalbeath, Denbeath or Dunbeath, Forse, Houstray, Latheron or Latheronwheel, Lybster, Mid Clyth, Ramscraigs, Smerly, Strath, Swiney
Forse, Langwell, Swiney House
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The parishes of Latheron and Dunbeath were united in the sixteenth century. Latheron was a prebend of the Cathedral of Dornoch belonging to the Bishop of Caithness. There were chapels at Braemore, Braenaheglish, Balachly near Rangag, Mid Clyth, Dunbeath, and Strath.
Disjoined Quoad Sacra Parishes:
Berriedale. A parliamentary church was built here in 1826. The parish of Berriedale was disjoined from Latheron on 9 December 1846. There is a mission chapel in this parish at Ramscraigs.
Lybster. Of old there was at Lybster a chapel of St Mary, and near it was St Mary's Well. Within the bounds also lies the site of a chapel at Clyth. At Lybster a parliamentary chapel was built in 1836. The parish of Lybster was disjoined from Latheron on 14 March 1887.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
Latheron and Dunbeath (QO)
Berriedale (QO)
Lybster (QO)
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1740-1854 | Latheron | 38 | OPR |
| 1855-1971 | Latheron | 38 | RD |
| 1972-2006 | Latheron | 162 | RD |
| 2009 | Highland | 162 | RD |
| 2026 | Highland Council; Latheron, Lybster & Clyth Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Campbell, Cormack, Forbes, Gunn, Henderson, MacKay, Miller, Munro, Sinclair, Sutherland
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr Robert Gunn, Minister.
"There are in this parish 20 weavers, 15 shoemakers, 16 tailors, 4 wrights, 4 masons, 6 smiths, and 4 shopkeepers. Most of the tradesmen have small tacks of land, in the cultivation of which a good deal of their time is taken up."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 17, p. 19
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 15, Section II, p. 83
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
