Wick, Caithness : Historical writing

Descriptive gazetteer entries

These other entries in our collection of descriptive gazetteers are also about Wick. You may be able to find further references to Wick in the descriptive gazetteers by doing a full-text search here.

Place Type of entry Source
Wick seaport Bartholomew
Wick a large coast parish containing a royal burgh of the same name, and also a river Groome
Wick a royal burgh, seaport, seat of trade, and the county town of Caithness Groome

This additional information from our descriptive gazetteers is for locations within the parish or parishes associated with Wick.

Place Type of entry Source
Achern a hamlet Groome
Achern hamlet Bartholomew
Ackergill Tower a mansion Groome
Altimarlach a burn Groome
Altimarlach rivulet Bartholomew
Auld Wick Castle old fort Bartholomew
Auld Wick Castle an old baronial fortalice Groome
Bankhead a village Groome
Bilbster an estate Groome
Broadhaven a small bay and a fishing village Groome
Broadhaven fishing village and bay Bartholomew
Castles Girnigoe and Sinclair two neighbouring ruined fortalices Groome
Harland, Hill of Bartholomew
Hauster a burn Groome
Hauster (or Thrumster) Burn Bartholomew
Hempriggs village Bartholomew
Hempriggs an old mansion Groome
Howe a hamlet Groome
Janetstown a village Groome
Janetstown village Bartholomew
Keiss fishing village Bartholomew
Kilminster a hamlet Groome
Kilminster hamlet Bartholomew
Newton a village Groome
Newton village Bartholomew
Nybster coastal hamlet Bartholomew
Nybster a coast village Groome
Papigoe hamlet Bartholomew
Papigoe a coast village Groome
Pulteney part of town Bartholomew
Reiss a village Groome
Reiss village Bartholomew
Rosebank seat Bartholomew
Sarclet a small fishing village Groome
Sarclet fishing village Bartholomew
Staxigoe fishing village Bartholomew
Staxigoe a fishing village Groome
Stirkoke seat Bartholomew
Stirkoke House a mansion Groome
Tannach village Bartholomew
Tannach a village Groome
Thrumster hamlet with school Bartholomew
Thrumster House a mansion Groome
Ulbster coastal hamlet Bartholomew
Ulbster a post office Groome
West Banks school Bartholomew

Travel writing

This website includes the complete texts of books describing journeys around Britain, written between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. Selecting one of the links below will take you to the first reference to Wick within the selected text. This will not always be a description of a visit: travellers often mention places other than where they are, for example as a basis for comparison.

Traveller Section No. of Refs.
Thomas Pennant August 18-29: Sutherland and Caithness 3
Thomas Pennant Appendix V: Of Caithness, Strathnavern, and Sutherland 2
Thomas Pennant Appendix VIII: Itinerary 2
William Camden Scotland: North of the Antonine Wall 1

This website includes two large libraries, of historical travel writing and of entries from nineteenth century gazetteers describing places. We have text from these sources available for these places near your location:

Place Mentioned in Travel Writing Mentioned in Historical Gazetteer
Pulteneytown 0 1
Auld Wick 2 2
Staxigoe 1 2
Hempriggs 2 2
Altimarlach 1 2
Ackergill 2 2
Sinclair 7 3
Noss 1 1
Thrumster 3 2
Sarclet 0 2
Killimster 1 2
Wester 1 1
Ulbster 5 2
Whaligoe 1 1
Keiss 2 2
Bruan 0 2
East Clyth 2 0
Watten 5 2
Mid Clyth 1 2
Bucholly 3 2

Names from historical writing

The following appear as names for Wick. Follow the links for what the author actually said:

Name Author Source
VIK F.H. Groome Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (Edinburgh: T.C. Jack, 1882-4).
WICK John Bartholomew Gazetteer of the British Isles (Edinburgh: Bartholomew, 1887).
F.H. Groome Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (Edinburgh: T.C. Jack, 1882-4).
F.H. Groome Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland (Edinburgh: T.C. Jack, 1882-4).
WIK William Camden Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland (London: George Bishop and John Norton, 1610).

NB: These variant names come from our collections of historical travel writing and descriptive gazetteers:

  • The above links take you to the first reference to this particular version of the name within a book of travel writing, or to the relevant gazetteer entry.
  • Some names may derive from research by antiquarian writers such as William Camden and Thomas Pennant into the Roman, Saxon and medieval names of places. Their claims are not always supported by modern place-name researchers.
  • References by travel writers to the place using its "normal" name are not included. Descriptive gazetteer entries are included only if the name does not appear anywhere else.