Halkirk

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Halkirk (Scottish Gaelic: Hàcraig) is a small village in Caithness, within the Highland council area of Scotland. It sits on the River Thurso and has about 950 residents (2020). The area covers around 1.12 square kilometers.

The B874 road from Halkirk goes north to Thurso and east to Georgemas. The village is in the parish of Halkirk and locals say it is Scotland’s first planned village.

History highlights: In 1222, Jon Haraldsson, the last native Scandinavian Jarl of Orkney, was tied to the burning of Adam of Melrose at Halkirk. This helped King Alexander II press his claims to the mainland part of the Orkney jarldom. Halkirk once hosted a cathedral for the Diocese of Caithness, but after a revolt against a bishop’s tithe, the seat moved to Dornoch and no remains of the Halkirk cathedral remain.

Two whisky distilleries operated in Halkirk on the River Thurso near Gerston Farm: Gerston (1796–1885) and Ben Morven, also known as Gerston II (1886–c. 1911). Gerston was started by Francis Swanson and expanded by his sons in 1825; Sir Robert Peel is said to have enjoyed the whisky. The original distillery closed after a sale in 1872, and a new distillery was built and later renamed Ben Morven when bought by Northern Distilleries in 1897. It closed around 1911, but the stillhouse still stands.

Fairview House is a former poorhouse from 1856 that is now a residential complex.

Notable people from Halkirk include Alexander Keith (1795–1873), who moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and became a respected politician and brewer known for Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale; and Professor John Malcolm FRSE (1873–1954), who was born and raised in Halkirk.