Bower, a hamlet and an inland parish of NE Caithness. The hamlet lies towards the middle of the parish, just off the Castletown road from Thurso to Wick, 9¾ miles ESE of the former, and 11½ NW of the latter. It has a fair on the third Tuesday of November; and at it are a post office under Halkirk, the manse, and the 17th century parish church (441 sittings), while a Free church stands 1¼ mile SSW, and Thura Inn ¾ mile E by N. The Wick branch of the Sutherland and Caithness railway traverses the SW corner of the parish for 2¾ miles; and on it is Bower station, 4 miles S W of the hamlet, and 2¾ E by S of Georgemas Junction.
The parish is bounded N by Olrig and Dunnet, NE by Canisbay, E by Wick, S by Wick and Watten, SW by Halkirk, and W by Thurso. Irregular in outline, it has an extreme length from E to W of 9¼ miles, a width from N to S of from 21/8 to 37/8 miles, and an area of 19,908½ acres. The Burn of Lyth traces the eastern boundary, and receives some lesser streams from the interior; others flow into or issue from Loch Scarmclate or Stemster, a triangular sheet of water near the station, 7 furlongs long by 4½ wide, and 89 feet above sea-level. Tame and monotonous, the surface has an elevation of 47 feet at Bilster in the SE, thence rising to 104 feet near Barrock House, 128 near Alterwall, 272 on Brabster Moss, 143 near the hamlet, 249 near the Free church, 235 at Stone Lud, 100 near Corsback, and over 400 at Stemster in the NW, the highest point in the parish. The formation is Old Red sandstone, and solid lumps of lead have been discovered on the Barrock property; the soil is variously loam and stiffish clay. During the last half century immense improvements have been carried out on the Barrock, Stemster, and Stanstill estates, the late Sir John Sinclair (1794-1873) having drained the Loch of Alterwall in the NE, and, by straightening and dcepen ing a burn, converted 3000 acres of hitherto worthless land into capital pasture (Trans. Highl. and Ag. Soc-, 1875, pp. 207,218). Antiquities are seven Picts' houses, two forts, and ` Stone Lud,' a standing-stone 8½ feet high. Barrock House (Sir John-Rose-George Sinclair, eighth Bart. since 1631) lies 4¼ miles E by N of the hamlet, Stemster House (Alex. Henderson, Esq.) 2¾ miles NW of the station; and their owners respectively hold 6900 and 4039 acres in the shire, of an annual value of £2355 and £1918. Bower is in the presbytery of Caithness and synod of Caithness and Sutherland; its minister's income is £325. There are four public schools-at the hamlet, Barrock, Stanstill in the SE, and Stemster. With accommodation for 125,98,60, and 120 children, these had (1879) an average attendance of 54,57,39, and 53, and grants of £58,3s., £57,3s. 5d., £42,18s. 6d., and £61,11s. Valuation (1881) £9113. Pop. (1801) 1572, (1811) 1478, (1831) 1615, (1861) 1746, (1871) 1700, (1881) 1608.—Ord. Sur., sh. 116,1878.
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