Laying the Foundation Stone of the Carnegie Public Library, 1908 The building we are lucky to have currently housing the North Coast Visitor Centre has a rather multifaceted history. Many people know it to have been Thurso’s Town Hall in the past, and perhaps more fondly remember it as the town’s Dance Hall. And it… Read more »Read more
Collections Blog
Caithness Glass Paperweights
Glass Paperweights Six beautiful glass paperweights produced in Wick by Caithness Glass. One of them is from a line of paperweights specifically designed to commemorate the shutdown of the Prototype Fast Reactor at Dounreay in 1994. Another is dedicated to the UKAEA, the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Caithness Glass was founded in 1961, its… Read more »Read more
Natural History Mount of a Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
Natural History Mount of a Capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) The Capercaillie is a huge woodland grouse. Also known as the Western/Eurasian capercaillie, wood grouse, heather cock or cock of the wood. The word capercaillie is itself derived from the Scottish Gaelic “capall coille”, meaning “Horse of the wood”. We ask someone more knowledgeable about birds if… Read more »Read more
Silver Plate Jug
A Silver Plate Jug which was presented to the 1st Administrative Brigade of the Caithness Artillery Volunteers by James C Traill, Esquire of Rattar in 1876. The 1st Caithness Artillery Volunteers, like many others of its kind all over Britain, were formed in 1860 due to fears of a French invasion of the British Isles…. Read more »Read more
Ann Henderson Sculptures
Two sculptures made by the Thurso born artist Ann Henderson (1921 – 1976). Born in the Ormlie area of Thurso, Ann Henderson was the daughter of a farming family, whose artistic talents were quickly discovered by teachers at the Miller Academy. Intent on pursuing a career as a sculptor, she attended the Sculpture School of… Read more »Read more