ViewsWatchers |
Reay (Scottish Gaelic: Ràth) is a village which has grown around Sandside Bay on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. It is within the historic Parish of Reay and the traditional county of Caithness. The village is on the A836 road some 12 miles (19 km) west of the town of Thurso and 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Dounreay. Along with Thurso, the village grew dramatically in the mid-20th century with the development of the experimental nuclear power facility at Dounreay, where technologies such as fast breeder reactors were developed.
[edit] HistoryThe parish of Reay was originally partly in the county of Caithness and partly in the county of Sutherland. However in 1891 the parish boundaries changed so that the portion of the parish of Reay that was in Sutherland was disjoined and became part of the parish of Farr in Sutherland. Sandside House on the edge of the village is a mansion house with extensive grounds dating from 1751. It was previously owned by Thomas Pilkington, who founded Reay Village Golf Club. The parish has an area of 187.3 sq. km (72.3 sq. miles). As well as the villages of Reay and Dounreay, it also includes the settlements of Achreamie, Bridge of Forss, Broubster, Buldoo (Reay), Crosskirk Bay, Lybster (Reay), Skiall and Shebster. For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Reay.
[edit] Notes for the Highland Council Area and the Western Isles Council AreaThe local archives are held by The Highland Archive Service which is based in Inverness with branches in Stornoway, Fort William and Caithness. It is "responsible for locating, preserving and making accessible archives relating to all aspects of the history of the geographical area of the Highlands." Family history societies and historical associations covering the Highland Council Area and the Western Isles Council Area are:
These associations publish their aims on their websites as well as a list of publications. In many cases the publications are also available through the Scottish Genealogy Society (see below).
[edit] Transcriptions of Gravestone Inscriptions
[edit] Sources for Emigration Records
|