Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/459

Rh CAISTOE. 449 CAITHNESS. Moor ;>nd C'lixby annexed, of 215, in the patron, of the bishop. The church, dedicated to SS. Peter and Paul, n recently restored, under the direction of Mr. Butterfield. It stands on Castle Hill, the site of an old fortress, of the materials of which it was partly built. It is chiefly in the early English style, with a fine tower in the Norman .style, and contains several ancient monu- ments, including a brass of the year 1460. There are chapels belonging to the Vesleyan, Free, and Primitive Methodists ; a free grammar school, founded in 1630 by Francis Rawlinson, which has an income from endow- ment of about 300 per annum, and one exhibition at Jr<us College, Cambridge ; and a ne%v parochial school, culled the Dixon Testimonial School, founded in 1859. The other charities are of trifling value. There is a savings-bank in the town. Caistor church was formerly the scene of a curious ceremony on Palm Sunday, con- stituting the tenure by which an estate at Broughtou 1. The holder, or his agent, had to crack a whip 'i the porch, and then to hold it over the vicar's ring the reading of the second lesson ; affixed to ihe stock was a purse containing some pieces of silver. v is the market day. Large and important fairs
 * re held on the Fridays and Saturdays before Palm

j.-junday and Whit Sunday, and on Old Michaelmas Day. CAlSTOR, or CASTOR, ST. EDMUND'S, a par. m rhfl S. of Norwich, and 2 from Swainthorpe railway station. It is situated on the small river Tees, or Tasc, a Jiranch of the Yare, near the Eastern Union railway. It of very great antiquity, having been a chief city among the ancient Britons, and the site of the important Human station Vtttta Iccnorwn. Its antiquity and early ji-eatni'Sd are asserted in an old rhyme, which also affinns that the city of Norwich was built of its ruins. The Roman camp contained an area of 30 acres. Traces of the walls and part of a tower still remain. Numerous roads ran from Caistor to other important towns and stations, among which were London, Colchester, Bury, Brancaster, &c. Many Homan coins, chiefly of the Emperor Constantino, have been dug up within and near the camp. In 1844 a pure gold coin, bearing a fine im- pression of Nero, was picked up in a turnip field, and fen years previously a bronze figure of a satyr, and .mother resembling a foot, were found near the same spot. The living is a rect.* in the dioc. of Norwich, ,al. -nith the perpet. cur. O f Markshall annexed, 447, u the patron, of Mrs. II. Dashwood, of Caistor Hall, who is also lady of the manor. The church, which ppears to have been built of the materials of the Ko- um rampart, stands within the area of the camp. The fgistcr dates from the year 1565. The charitable ndowmenta produce about 40 a year. CAISTRON, a tnshp. in the par. of Eothbury, ward ->f Coquetdale, in the co. of Northumberland, 4 miles to .he W. of Rothbury. It is in a moorland district on the .iver Coquet. CAITHNESS, a maritime co. of Scotland, situated it the north-eastern extremity of Great Britain, and niunded on the N. and E. by the North Sea, and on the and W. by Sutherlandshire. It is of irregular form, md extends in length from Duncansby Head in the N. to the Ord of Caithness in the S., about 40 miles ; md in breadth from E. to W., at the widest part, about iO miles. It is in circuit about 150 miles, including a oast-line of above 100 miles, and comprises an area ihich is variously estimated at 600 or 700 square miles, the county lies between 58 5' and 58 40' N. lat., and .'ctween 3" 0' and 3 53' V. long. In the earliest ages ( liis district appears to have been occupied by the tribes pilled Loy!, Cornahii, anil Catini, which were probably L'eltic ; and it has been suggested that the present name, aithness, may contain a relic of the name of the last- nentioned tribe. The county was part of the Roman [ivision of Britain called Vespasiana, or Caledonia. At n early period the original inhabitants were attacked id subdued by the northern pirates ; and the Scandi- navian Jarls of Orkney, in the 10th century, reduced .aithness and Sutherland under their dominion. Tn
 * the hund. of Henstead, in the co. of Norfolk, 4 miles to

the 14th century this county had become the seat of an extensive and important trade with the countries on the shores of the Baltic. A striking illustration of this is furnished in the fact that the weights and measures used in Caithness were at that period made the standards for all Scotland. Many ruined forts and names of places attest the presence and dominion of the Danes and Nor- wegians. The Keiths, Sutherlands, and Sinclairs became powerful families here in the middle ages, and the latter family is now represented by the Earl of Caithness. The general aspect of Caithness is dreary and uninterest- ing. A range of hills separates it from Sutherlandshire, but the surface of the county is mostly flat. To the S. are the Morven or Morbhein mountains, and another range running parallel with them to the Ord of Caithness and the sea. The former range contains the Maiden Paps, and its highest summits rise above 2,000 feet. In the valley between these ranges of hills runs Langwell Water. Granite prevails near the Ord, and limestone in the northern range. The Old Ked sandstone underlies the greater part of the county, which is almost entirely moor- land, with scattered low hills. Spittle Hill, near the centre of the county, is the highest of these. There are about 30 lakes of small size and without the charm of beauty, and some rivers, none of which are navigable. Forss Water and Thurso Water, rising in the hills on the W. and S.W., runnorthward tothesea. The latter has acourse of about 30 miles. Wick Water runs eastward from Loch Watten to Wick Bay ; and Dunbeath, Berridalc, and Langwell waters run in the same direction to the sea. Trout, salmon, and eels are found in the principal streams and lakes. The coast-line of Caithness is mostly rocky, with numerous bays, headlands, and caves. The N. coast terminates in two bold promontories that to the W. called Dunnet Head, and that to the E. Dun- cansby Head, called by Ptolemy Berubium. Off the coast, in the Pentland Frith, is the island of Stroma, and near it the Swalchie whirlpool and the so-called " Merry Men of Mey," which are breakers caused, like the vortex, by the strong currents of the Frith. Off Duncansby Head are the Stacks, two detached rocks of freestone, swarming with sea-birds. Near this headland is the traditional site of John o'Groat's House, but of the house itself not a vestige is to be seen. From Houna Inn is the ferry to Stroma and the Orkneys. There are remains of numerous castles along the coast. A harbour was constructed at Wick in 1831, at a cost of 40,000, and its defect of being exposed to easterly winds is now being remedied. There are also convenient harbours at Thurso and Sandside Bay, besides several smaller ones. Dunnet Head, on which there is a lighthouse, is the most northerly point of Scotland and Great Britain. Granite, slate, flagstones, limestone, sandstone, and freestone are quarried at various places, and copper and lead ore have been obtained. The climate is damp and cold, and the soil mostly a heavy clay or marl. Little wheat is grown, the chief crops being oats, beans, turnips, &c. Great advance has been made in the methods of cultiva- tion, and in the condition of the farmers, under the auspices of Sir John Sinclair, who possessed 100,000 acres, being near a sixth of the county. Before his time there were no roads through the estate. He intro- duced Cheviot sheep farming, established fisheries, banks, &c., and improved- the country to such an extent that the estate of Langwell, which he purchased for 8,000, has sold for 40,000. Many of the small fanners are also fishermen. Besides tie native cattle and sheep, there are many of the Argyle and Cheviot Breeds, and Leicester sheep. Farming, fishing, and stone-quarrying form the main occupations of the people. The herring fishery is the most important, anploying about 700 boats (besides a large number from other districts), and about 12,000 persons. Salmon, cod, .ing, and lobsters are also taken. The county contains .arge beds of peat, which is cut in the summer for fuel. Caithness comprises ten parishes, and forms a presbytery m the synod of Sutherland and Caithness. Wick is aorough. Thurso is a burgh of barony and a market 3 K
 * ho county town and the only royal and parliamentary