Dornoch
Highland

Tourist Information Office (Old Post Office), Dornoch
©2011 Gazetteer for Scotland

The former county town of Sutherland, Dornoch lies at the mouth of the Dornoch Firth, 22 miles (35 km) north of Dingwall. Thought to have been home to a community of the early Celtic Church, its church was first recorded in 1140 during the reign of David I. St Gilbert of Moray, elected Bishop of Caithness in 1222, moved the seat of the Diocese of Caithness to Dornoch for safety in 1224 and built a cathedral prior to his death in 1245. Gilbert was the last Scotsman to be canonised before the Reformation. Destroyed during a clan feud in 1570, the Cathedral, now the parish church, was restored by Elizabeth, Countess of Sutherland, in 1835-7. There is a memorial to philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1918) who lived nearby at Skibo Castle. Noted for its fine beaches and golf links, Dornoch developed as a tourist resort after the arrival of the Dornoch Light Railway in 1902. This linked the town with the Highland Railway station at The Mound, a distance of 7 miles (11 km), until 1960. Buildings of note include The Deanery (c.1840), Dornoch Castle Hotel, Dornoch Academy (1964), The Carnegie Building (1902) and County Buildings and Court House (1850-60).

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