Olrig Observations Castle Hill
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- History
A series of short podcasts by Castletown Heritage Society exploring the social history and heritage of the village of Castletown within the Parish of Olrig in Caithness, the most northerly county in the mainland of Scotland, UK.
Known as 'The Flagstone Village', Castletown is intimately associated with the historical extraction, finishing and export world-wide of Caithness Flagstone paving from Castlehill Harbour. Today it is a thriving community, and there is much to tell about the social, industrial, agricultural, maritime, military and archaeological heritage of our village and parish.
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The wartime photograph
A local war-time wedding photo from 1917 gives substance to the quote "A hero is an ordinary man doing extraordinary things in extraordinary times".
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Daisy's Map
100 years ago Margaret Sinclair (known as Daisy) emigrated to Canada as a twelve year old. Homesick for Castletown she drew a map in pencil of the village. Now the map has returned to Caithness and provides a fascinating insight into life as Daisy saw it.
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Lost in the Post
When Muriel is handed a letter, handwritten by a Caithness businessman in early 1806, the upsetting contents prompt her to find out more. Her investigations reveal that the social consequences arising from the north mail robbery of 1805 stretched far beyond mere financial loss.
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A Load of Old Rope
Rope is a commodity that is perhaps taken for granted - it is readily commercially available with sizes and specifications suitable for a myriad of applications, such as securing loads, hauling fishing nets or towing vehicles. Murial takes us back to a time before the era of industrially manufactured rope, to when rope and string was made from whatever materials were available to hand locally, such as straw, rushes, grasses, and even daffodil leaves!
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Lady Janet's Elusive Daughter
Muriel investigates the curious story of Wilhelmina Barbara Traill, the eldest daughter of Lady Janet Traill and, she reveals, the surrogate daughter of Mary Dehaney, fiance of the lamented Sir John Sinclair, the 11th Earl of Caithness. The story starts with the donation of a heavy circular brass plaque to Castletown Heritage Society.....