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MHG2474 - Township - Badbea, Latheron

Summary

A deserted, eviction settlement township on the coast at Badbea, Latheron.

Type and Period (1)

Protected Status

Full Description

ND01NE 2 087 197.
Badbea is now a deserted village perched on cliff edge just N of the Ord. It was from Badbea, an eviction settlement, that some of the earliest settlers for New Zealand came.
Sutherland County Museum nd.

ND 087 197. Badbea: The remains of a deserted township consisting of buildings and enclosures in various states of dilapidation. A modern monument, erected in 1911, commemorates the former inhabitants of Badbea.
Visited by OS (W D J) 30 May 1960.

(ND 087 197) Badbea (NAT) OS 6" map, (1964)

Badbea is a deserted township signposted as a historic site and viewpoint. It comprises the ruins of sixteen buildings, several remaining to gable height, which range from 30 by 4.5m to 7 by 4.5m. There are also a number of enclosures, a network of field walls, but no recognisable corn-drying kilns.
A monument at the site, erected in 1911, lists the former inhabitants of Badbea; one person it is stated was born there in 1806, and there was one tenant remaining in 1911. A plaque recently set up at the approach to the township states that it was settled by "twelve families whose homes in Sutherland had been destroyed during the Highland Clearances".
Visited by OS (N K B) 8 November 1982.

A township, comprising 15 roofed buildings, four of which are long buildings, three unroofed buildings, twenty enclosures and field walls, is depicted on 1st edition OS 6-inch map (Caithness 1877, sheet xliv). Twenty four unroofed buildings and eleven enclosures are shown on the current edition of the OS 1:10,560 map (1964).
Info from RCAHMS (AKK) 23 November 1995.

Township site marked from carpark on A9, 3 display boards covering history of the settlement. The monument lies towards the northern end of the village on the site of the founder's grandfather's cottage. A scattering of other buildings are visible to the S, several still to eaves height, others closer to high foundations in the fern cover. Built on an extremely steep hillside (where reputedly stock & children had to be tethered because of the winds), Display boards refer to small fields being developed around the village. The only area of any size for arable lies on a terrace to the NE of the village. A large stone dyke runs above the W side of the village in both directions. The building of this apparently provided essential wages to supplement the income of the village - HAW 8/2003

Sources/Archives (12)

Map

Location

Grid reference	Centred ND 0872 1975 (977m by 1023m) (2 map features)
Map sheet	ND01NE
Civil Parish	LATHERON
Geographical Area	CAITHNESS

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