Langwell, the Scottish seat of the Duke of Portland, in Latheron parish, S Caithness, on a green eminence between confluent Langwell and Berriedale Waters, ¾ mile W of Berriedale. The estate was purchased by Sir John Sinclair in 1788 for £7000, by James Horne, Esq., in 1813 for £40,000, and by the fifth Duke in 1860 for £90,000, this enormous rise in value being due to the improvements carried out both by Sir John Sinclair and Mr Horne. By the Duke nearly all the property was converted into deer-forest. His cousin, John William Arthur Charles James Cavendish Bentinck, sixth Duke since 1716 (b. 1857; suc. 1879), holds 81, 605 acres in the shire, valued at £7902 per annum. See Latheron.—Ord. Sur., svh. 110, 1877.

(F.H. Groome, Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (1882-4); © 2004 Gazetteer for Scotland)