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Castletown, Caithness

 

 
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Castletown, Caithness
 
 
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Castletown is a village on the north coast of the Highland
Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east....
 council area of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It is within the historic parish
Parish

A parish is a local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Methodist, and Presbyterianism churches....
 of Olrig
Olrig

Olrig is a parish in Caithness, Scotland and the main settlement in the parish is Castletown, Caithness.Prior to 19th century agricultural improvements the parish was sub-divided into ten townland s or 'fermlands'....
, where it is the main settlement, and within the historic county
Counties of Scotland

The counties of Scotland were the principal subdivisions of Scotland of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and registration counties are largely based on them....
 of Caithness
Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and historic Local government in Scotland of Scotland. The name was used also for the Earl of Caithness and the Caithness of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ....
. The A836
A836 road

The A836 road is entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, and 129 miles long.It branches from the A9 road near Tain and runs generally north through Bonar Bridge and Lairg, until Tongue, Highland....
 links the village with Thurso
Thurso

Thurso is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. Historically, the town is one of two burghs within the Counties of Scotland of Caithness....
 and Tongue
Tongue, Highland

Tongue is a coastal village in northwest Highland , Scotland The area was an historic crossroad for Gaels, Picts and Vikings, and it was the last group who named it....
 in the west and with John o' Groats
John o' Groats

John o' Groats is a village in the Highland Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. Once a part of the Counties of Scotland of Caithness, John o' Groats is popular with tourists because it is usually regarded as the most northerly settlement of mainland Great Britain....
 in the east. The B876-A99
A99 road

The A99 road is entirely within the former county of Caithness in the Highland of Scotland. It runs generally north/northeast from the A9 road at Latheron to Wick, Caithness and to the A836 road at John o' Groats....
 links the village with Wick in the southeast. Much of the village is built on the old townland (or fermland) of Stanergill.






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Encyclopedia


Castletown is a village on the north coast of the Highland
Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands include the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east....
 council area of Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
. It is within the historic parish
Parish

A parish is a local church; it is an administrative unit typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Methodist, and Presbyterianism churches....
 of Olrig
Olrig

Olrig is a parish in Caithness, Scotland and the main settlement in the parish is Castletown, Caithness.Prior to 19th century agricultural improvements the parish was sub-divided into ten townland s or 'fermlands'....
, where it is the main settlement, and within the historic county
Counties of Scotland

The counties of Scotland were the principal subdivisions of Scotland of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and registration counties are largely based on them....
 of Caithness
Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, Lieutenancy areas of Scotland and historic Local government in Scotland of Scotland. The name was used also for the Earl of Caithness and the Caithness of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ....
. The A836
A836 road

The A836 road is entirely within the Highland area of Scotland, and 129 miles long.It branches from the A9 road near Tain and runs generally north through Bonar Bridge and Lairg, until Tongue, Highland....
 links the village with Thurso
Thurso

Thurso is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. Historically, the town is one of two burghs within the Counties of Scotland of Caithness....
 and Tongue
Tongue, Highland

Tongue is a coastal village in northwest Highland , Scotland The area was an historic crossroad for Gaels, Picts and Vikings, and it was the last group who named it....
 in the west and with John o' Groats
John o' Groats

John o' Groats is a village in the Highland Council areas of Scotland of Scotland. Once a part of the Counties of Scotland of Caithness, John o' Groats is popular with tourists because it is usually regarded as the most northerly settlement of mainland Great Britain....
 in the east. The B876-A99
A99 road

The A99 road is entirely within the former county of Caithness in the Highland of Scotland. It runs generally north/northeast from the A9 road at Latheron to Wick, Caithness and to the A836 road at John o' Groats....
 links the village with Wick in the southeast. Much of the village is built on the old townland (or fermland) of Stanergill. The Stanergill Burn was the eastern boundary of the townland. It flows now through the eastern end of the village and so into Dunnet Bay and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
.

The name Stanergill can be read as meaning Stone Valley and much of Castletown was built during the 19th century boom years of Caithness as a source of flagstone
Flagstone

Flagstone, or flag, is a type of flat Rock , usually used for Sidewalk slabs, but also for making fences or roofing. It may also be used for making memorials or headstones in a cemetery....
. Much of the stone was processed in the harbour area of the village, known as Castlehill, and many of the streets of London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
, Sydney, Edinburgh & the financial district of New York City are paved with it. The harbour was built by James Bremner
James Bremner

James Bremner was a notable Scotland naval architect and harbour builder.James, the youngest of the nine children of Janet and James Bremner, was born in Stain, near Keiss, in the parish of Wick, Highland, Caithness, in Scotland....
. Castletown's main building is the 'Drill Hall'. This is mainly used for parties, discos and small clubs such as the indoor bowls. The building that was used for these functions was the 'Traill Hall', a gift to the Village by the Traill family, owners of the flagstone quarry at Castlehill. Traill House, a large & imposing country home was the home of the Traill family, it was located in the woods at Castlehill, in later years it was owned by the Crumb-Ewing family, it became delelict after WW2 & burned down in the late 50's. The remains of the gatehouse can be seen on the side of the A836 at Castlehill plantation.

More modern industry
Industry

An industry is the manufacturing of a Good or Service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products....
 in the village includes manufacture of domestic food storage freezer
Refrigerator

A refrigerator is a cooling appliance comprising a thermal insulation compartment and a heat pump - a mechanism to transfer heat from it to the external environment, cooling the contents to a temperature below ambient....
s, the firm used to be known as Norfrost Ltd but is now called IceTech Ltd, employing local people & many Polish workers.

Local government


Castletown is in the Landward Caithness ward of the Highland Council. The ward elects four councillor
Councillor

A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council. Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman....
s by the single transferable vote
Single transferable vote

The Single transferable vote is a voting system of preferential voting designed to minimize wasted votes and provide proportional representation while ensuring that votes are explicitly expressed for individual candidates rather than for party lists....
 system of election, which produces a form of proportional representation
Proportional representation

Proportional representation , sometimes referred to as full representation, is a category of voting systems aimed at a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive ....
. It is one of seven wards within the council's Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross corporate management area and one of 22 wards within the council area.

Sport

Castletown has a football team, Castletown FC. The pitch is regarded as the best in Caithness and Sutherland, and many Highland finals are held at the venue.

Facilities

Castletown has a small hotel (The St Clair), a guest house (Greenland House), a well-stocked licensed grocers, an Indian takeaway, a fish & chip shop, a Chinese takeaway, a garden centre, a garage with petrol pumps, a hairdressers, a craft shop, a primary school with nursery and a branch of the RBS, which is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 2pm. Most businesses are located on the main street, the A836.

External links