MHG13688 - Farmstead and settlement - Lower Camster
Summary
No summary available.
Type and Period (2)
Protected Status
- None recorded
Full Description
The place name 'Camster' is believed to be of Norse origin 'kamb-bolstaðr', meaning 'ridge-homestead'. <1>
The settlement is shown on the Mid-C18 Roy Military Survey maps as a group of five buildings surrounded by cultivated fields and labelled 'Kempster'. <2>
On the OS 1st Edition map it is shown as a collection of farmsteads, with most of the buildings unroofed, apart from those of the centralmost farmstead adjacent to which the name 'Camster' is placed. Interestingly the parish boundary between Wick on the east and Latheron on the west runs straight through the middle of the area but from other historic maps that show settlement on both sides of the boundary, the name 'Camster' is applied to both sides. 'Upper Camster' is also shown some distance to the south, and subsequent maps label 'Camster' proper as 'Lower Camster', presumably to distinguish it from the later farmstead. <3>
Remains of the buildings as well as a boundary dyke and areas of rig cultivation are visible in vertical aerial photography. <4> <5>
Sources/Archives (5)
- <1> SHG30019 Text/Publication/Article: Nicolaisen, W.F.H.. 1982. Scandinavians and Celts in Caithness: The Place-Name Evidence. Caithness: A Cultural Crossroads. 75-85. Hardcopy & Digital. p.83.
- <2> SHG2745 Text/Publication/Volume: Roy, W. 1747-55. Military Survey of Scotland.
- <3> SHG23892 Image/Map: Ordnance Survey. 1876-77. Ordnance Survey 1st edition 6 inch map: Caithness (surveyed 1870-73). Digital.
- <4> SHG27491 Image/Photograph(s)/Aerial Photograph/Vertical: Get Mapping. 1999-2001. Get Mapping colour vertical aerial photography 1999-2001 (The Millennium Map).
- <5> SHG27382 Image/Photograph(s)/Aerial Photograph/Vertical: Get Mapping. 2009. Getmapping aerial photography 2009.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred ND 2533 4539 (1218m by 851m) |
|---|---|
| Map sheet | ND24NE |
| Civil Parish | LATHERON |
| Geographical Area | CAITHNESS |
Finds (0)
Related Monuments/Buildings (5)
Related Investigations/Events (0)
External Links (0)
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