Country Houses in Caithness including Stirkoke 

 by Donald Sinclair

    There are three very lovely country houses in the far north of Scotland
that are tied to some of the famous families of Caithness, The Sinclairs,
Dunbars, and Sutherlands have passed these houses through kinship and
marriage. The Sinclairs of Stirkoke House, went on to own all three at one
time in history and maybe soon will own one of the others again.

    George Sinclair, 5th Earl Caithness, known as the "Wicked Earl." had two
sons, one of which was, Francis Sinclair of Northfield (b. abt. 1610). His
grandson, also a Francis Sinclair, was born about 1640 and became the first
Sinclair of Stirkoke. The house was built at that time and therefore dates to
the middle 1600s. Francis Sinclair of Stirkoke had sons, Patrick, John of
Stirkoke, George of Sibster, Charles of Bilbster, and one daughter, Jean.
John Sinclair of Stirkoke married Margaret Sinclair of Mey and had two sons.
Francis of Stirkoke and George of Stirkoke.

    Stirkoke is a 559-acre estate and farm currently owned by Alexander
William Sinclair, Alistair Fraser Sinclair and a grandson, who collectively
have also acquired Munsary and Housequoy Farms, parts of the original estate.
The old house though has unfortunately burned down. The Battle of Altimarlach
was fought just 200 meters north of the estate and is readily accessible.
When Campbell of Glenorchy came north to take over the earldom, the defending
force of Caithnessians near Stirkoke confronted him. The day being far spent
and his men tired by their forced march from Braemore, Campbell wisely
retreated to a safe encampment in the Yarrows hills, the Caithness men
retired to Wick for a night of drinking and merriment. An early start the
next morning saw Glenorchy make an unopposed crossing of the river Wick. From
his position on the north bank he would see the local men advancing from the
town and no doubt selected the steep sided spit of land at the junction of
the burn of Altimarlach and the river, as the best defensive position. In a
complete reversal of the previous evening, it was the Caithness troops who
arrived exhausted by their dash from Wick. It can be seen that Glenorchy had
been traveling north, the crossroad just behind the defensive sweep of the
Haster burn was a natural assembly point for local troops arriving from all
parts of the County. This was also the point where it would become obvious
whether Glenorchy intended to attack Wick, via the Newtown road, or whether
he would bypass the town and head straight for Girnigoe, seat of the Sinclair
Earls of Caithness. It would seem that Campbell had been pursuing the latter
course when the enemy in a good position confronted him. The road system
shows why the two encounters took place at Stirkoke and Altimarlach. The
battle was finally won the by Campbell’s forces, but still to this day, the
Sinclairs and Campbells have a open ended rivalry.

    Stirkoke is again mentioned in the History of Oldwick. The castles of
Oldwick and Berriedale fell to separate owners. The Earls of Caithness
retained Oldwick but as it was situated within a few miles of their chief
stronghold of Girnigoe it fell into disuse. Berriedale was acquired by a
junior branch of the Sutherlands of Forse, also descended from the ancient
Earls of Sutherland. Afterwards it became the property of the Sinclairs of
Ulbster and later still it passed to the Horne family of Langwell and
Stirkoke, who descended from the Sinclairs. With the building of the splendid
new mansion of Langwell House, the old castle fell to ruin and decay. After
the death of the weak sixth Earl of Caithness and the usurping of his estates
and titles by his creditor Campbell of Glenorchy about 1680. Oldwick
eventually passed by sale to the Dunbars of Hempriggs who had built Hempriggs
House nearby. They were a branch of the Sutherlands of Duffus who had changed
their name to Dunbar on inheriting the baronetcy of Hempriggs of that family.


    During the False Coin Scandal between the Sutherlands and Sinclairs,
there was a warrant for the arrest of the accused forger Smith. Donald.
MacKay and Robert Gordon, acting on the wishes of Earl Sutherland,
accordingly rushed to the street; and shortly after, John Sinclair, younger
of Stirkoke, James Sinclair of Durran, James Sinclair, brother of the Laird
of Dunn, and other relatives of Lord Caithness who happened to be in town on
a visit to Lady Berriedale, made their appearance. Mackay and Gordon showed
their commission and endeavored to satisfy them that they were acting under
the King’s authority; but Sinclair of Stirkoke, in a defiant tone, swore that
he would not allow his uncle’s servant to be apprehended without his
knowledge, and in his absence. The commissioners replied sharply that they
were determined to do their duty, and not suffer the Royal warrant to be
resisted. High words were exchanged, and a serious scuffle ensued, which was
maintained for some time with great obstinacy on both sides. The party that
guarded Smith, hearing a great noise in the town, killed him in order to
prevent his escape, and hurried in to assist their countrymen. The
inhabitants, who were not so well armed as their opponents, finally gave way,
and retreated to their houses. John Sinclair of Stirkoke was killed, and
James Sinclair of Dunn severely wounded. James Sinclair of Durran saved
himself by flight. None of the Sutherland men were killed, but many of them
were badly wounded. Sir John Sinclair of Greenland, who then lived at Ormlie
and the Laird of Dunn arrived when the fray was concluded. Dunn proposed to
renew the attack, but Sir John Sinclair, considering what had already
happened, would not agree to any hazardous attempt of the kind. The
Sutherland men withdrew from the town, and soon after proceeded homeward,
carrying their wounded along with them. When the Earl of Caithness, who
happened to be in Edinburgh at the time, was informed of the occurrences in
Thurso, he immediately instituted a criminal prosecution against the Earl of
Sutherland, Sir Robert Gordon, and Donald Mackay, for the slaughter of his
nephew, John Sinclair of Stirkoke; while they, on the other hand, raised a
similar process against the Earl of Caithness, his son, Lord Berriedale, and
their coadjutors, for sundry past outrages, and particularly for resisting,
at Thurso, the King’s commissioners, and attacking those employed in its
execution. On the day appointed for their appearance at Edinburgh, the
parties, with the exception of the Earl of Sutherland, met, attended by their
respective friends. The Earl of Caithness and Berriedale were accompanied by
Lord Gray, Sinclair of Roslyn, the Laird of Cowdenknowes, a son of the sister
of the Earl of Caithness, and his two brothers, Sir John Sinclair of
Greenland, and James Sinclair of Murkle. And the Laird of Duffus of Hempriggs
House attended Sir Robert Gordon and Donald Mackay. The Council spent three
days in hearing the parties and deliberating upon the matters brought before
them; but they came to no decision, and adjourned the proceedings until the
King’s pleasure should be known. The King proposed that their differences
should be submitted to arbitration, and after some discussion, the parties
were induced to sign a submission to that effect. Arbiters were accordingly
appointed, but finding the parties obstinate, and determined not to yield a
single point of their respective claims, they declined to act any further in
the matter, and remitted the whole case back to the Privy Council. At a
meeting of the Council, the Earl of Caithness preferred a very serious charge
against Sir Robert Gordon. He said that he had procured the commission solely
with the intention of ruining him and his house, and that previous to the
affair at Thurso he had on one occasion lain in wait to kill him at the
Little Ferry. Sir Robert, of course, indignantly repelled the charge. The
dispute, from all that appears, was never settled; and the Earls of Caithness
and Sutherland continued to maintain the same hostile attitude towards each
other as before.

    George Sinclair was a natural son of David Sinclair of Stirkoke, and
nephew of the Earl of Caithness. Like many other Scotsmen of the period, he
was a soldier of fortune, and had entered the service of Gustavus Adoiphus,
King of Sweden, who was then at war with Denmark and Norway. Having raised a
regiment in his native county, amounting, it is said, to some 900 men,
Sinclair embarked for Norway, and after a favorable passage of four days,
landed on the coast of Romsdal, where he and his party where almost all
killed in an ambush by the Norwegians. There is a memorial for George
Sinclair in the village of Pillarguri, where a festival is held each year and
attended by the Sinclair Clan representing their ancestor.

    Later another famous warrior would start his life in Stirkoke House, WWI
General Horne. Lord Horne was born Henry Sinclair Horne at Stirkoke on 19
February 1861, the third son of Major James Horne and his wife, Constance
Mary. The family was one of the best known in Caithness and had lived at
Stirkoke for several generations. He was educated at Harrow and at the Royal
Military. He went on to a quiet but illustrious career in military history.

    Lastly there is the pipe tune, The Stirkoke Woods. The attractive waltz
tune composed by Robert George Harper. He wrote it many years ago when he
left Stirkoke. The Lily Pond was a beautiful spot in the Stirkoke Woods on
the estate of the late General Lord Horne. During WWII three aircraft where
flying over the vicinity of Stirkoke, when one plane crash-landed near the
cross that marks the spot of the battle of Altimarlach. The two crewmen
scrambled from their plane without much injury.

    The first recorded history of Hempriggs House was on or about 1646. The
Dunbars of Hempriggs House welcomed James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose. He
was at the time, the King’s Lt. General of the North. There are great cliffs
with natural arches and stacks off the coast behind Hempriggs House. There is
also an overgrown path that leads from Hempriggs House past the Castle of
Oldwick and into the town of Wick that is till in rare use today. Nearby, the
Ackergill Tower is now an accommodation for business functions and private
parties. It has two rooms furnished from Hempriggs House. The rooms are aptly
names Hempriggs and Dunbar.

    Anne Dunbar of Hempriggs House married John Sinclair of Stirkoke abt.
1700. My own line comes from William Sinclair, natural son of Donald the
Sailor Sinclair. Donald the Sailor is of the Murkle Sinclairs. William was
born in Hempriggs House in 1793 and came to America in 1805 where he latter
married Henrietta Dunbar Sutherland sometime before 1820. The Dunbars are
credited with creating all the well-built and finely laid out farms one sees
all around the Sinclair bay area. Hempriggs House is no exception. Although
now a Pensioner’s Home, the overgrown gardens cannot hide the sheer beauty of
the house and estate. One can survey the area and see how grande it once was.
Local volunteers try to keep the grounds maintained now, as there is no money
to spend for it. The future of Hempriggs House is now up in the air. The
Matron was notified last Christmas by the owner that the house was for sale,
and the pensioners’ fate yet unknown. Alistair Fraser Sinclair, who currently
owns parts of the Stirkoke estate is trying to purchase Hempriggs House and
the estate, but sorting through almost four hundred years of property titles
and boundary agreements is taking its toll on the whole process. I have
information that if successful, Mr. Sinclair will try to keep the pensioner’s
in place.
   
    Charles of Bilbster Sinclair (b. abt 1680) was the son of Francis
Sinclair of Stirkoke. Charles earned the unenviable moniker of "the Earl of
Hell." Charles married Katherine Dunbar of Hempriggs House and had one son,
Sir George Sinclair of Bilbster and Clythe. Sir George married Jean, Daughter
of William? Charles, Earl of Hell, and Katherine also had one daughter,
Fenella whom married Donald Sinclair of Olric (and now Bilbster).
   
    Bilbster Mains is a working farm, owned by the Messers Miller, straddling
the delightful Wick River in a fertile little valley just to the east of that
famous wild brown trout water Loch Watten. It is an area of green fields and
open spaces yet it is within a fifteen minute drive of either the town of
Thurso or the town of Wick. The estate of Bilbster covers some 1300 acres.
The old estate house is now a beautiful bed and breakfast accommodation and
guests are welcome to walk in the formal gardens. The atmosphere is
exceptionally tranquil and offers the visitor a relaxing and secluded holiday
of a very high standard yet with the freedom to drive quickly and easily to
any of the major salmon rivers or trout lochs within Caithness. Research on
Bilbster House so far has dated it to before the 1690s being the local 'Manor
House' to the estate of Bilbster. Every effort has been made to keep the
character since being bought over by the Stewart family in 1970. Previous
owners include Gore Brown Hendersons, MacLeays and inevitably for any large
estate in Caithness, Sinclairs. As well as the estate of Bilbster, the Gore
Brown Hendersons also owned the local distillery, Pulteney Distillery, that
now has the renowned 'Old Pulteney collection' of Scotch Whisky. The estate
of Bilbster was handed to the son, Hamish, in 1955 and Mrs. Gore Brown
Henderson moved to Malleny house, in Edinburgh that she subsequently left to
the National Trust. The Trust now opens the gardens at Malleny. The donation
of a Telford designed house to the medical profession resulted in a nurse’s
home being set up.

Contributing to the story were;
Alexander William Sinclair of Stirkoke
Ian Stewart of Bilbster
and, Iris Hallam of Hempriggs.

Reference;
J. T. Calder’s History of Caithness
Michael Gunn’s Wick old Parrish Church
and, D.H. Miller’s Families of the North