Series 1 > Tours in Scotland 1747, 1750, 1760

168
TOUR THROUGH SCOTLAND, 1760.
Kyle of Dornock, near which I went to Rosehall in my way to
Lord Reay’s. There is very little trade in this town, and no
manufacture but spinning of linnen yarn. The church here is
the body of the old cathedral1 which belonged to the Bishop of
Cathness.2 It seems to be pretty near a Greek cross, tho1 in
the eastern part, now uncovered, there are four arches on each
side supported by round pillars, with a kind of a Gothic Doric
capital. In the body or nave are only three plain Gothic
windows on each side; but what is most remarkable is a round
tower within jiyning to the south-west angle3 of the middle
part. It is built for a staircase, and is about ten feet in
diameter, with geometrical stairs. The bishop’s house4 is a
solid high building, consisting of four floors above the arched
offices on which it was built. They show also the dean’s house,
and it is probable several other houses now standing near the
church did belong to the members of the chapter. These were
granted with other parts of the church estate to the Earl of
Sutherland. This is a royal burgh, of which they made me a
burgess.5
In two miles we passed by Siderhall,6 a fine situation, now
belonging to Lord Sutherland, but was an apenage from the
1 The Cathedral, as probably seen by Bishop Pococke, is engraved in Hen¬
derson’s Agric. of Sutherland, 1812. The imprint describes it: ‘ East end of
Dornoch Cathedral, erected by St. Bar Bishop of Caithness in the nth
Century and enlarged by Gilbert Murray, Bishop of Caithness in 1280; burnt
by John Sinclair, Master of Caithness in 1570, and repaired by Sir Robert
Gordon, Tutor of Sutherland Anno. 1630. The west end was since repaired,
and is now the Parish Church Anno. 1808.’ See note 4, p. 12. Vide Sir
Robert Gordon’s Earldom of Sutherland.
2 See ‘ Two Ancient Records of the Bishopric of Caithness from the Charter-
room at Dunrobin,’ Bannatyne Club Miscellany, contributed by the Duke of
Sutherland, 1848.
3 The staircase is in the north-east angle.
4 For view of the Palace of Dornoch, see MacGibbon and Ross’s Castel.
Arch. Scot., 1887, vol. ii. p. 337.
5 Mr. Donald Taylor, Town-Clerk, has been unable to find any Burgess Roll;
the Council minutes, which date from 1729, contain no reference to such matters.
The Magistrates for the time being were—Provost, the Earl of Sutherland (the
‘good Colonel,’ father of the Duchess-Countess); Bailies, Kenneth Sutherland,
‘ Ensign; ’ Wm. Sutherland, yr. of Sciberscross (wadsetter, grandfather of the
present Provost, Wm. Sutherland Fraser, Esq.); Kenneth Sutherland, jr.; David
Sutherland of Cambusavie, wadsetter.
6 Now written Cyderhall, formerly Siddera, Sytheraw, from Siward’s Hoch
(Sigurd’s haug).