Thurso letter writer put landlords in their place
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Thurso's Heritage by a Thirsa Loon
Over the years, there have been many regular letter writers to the local press. One was Marwood Sutherland, who was never shy in putting some people in their place when he thought they stepped out of line.
On one occasion, he wrote to the Caithness Courier regarding the local councillors. “Of course every community has the government it deserves to have; but if Thurso is to be socially and economically saved by its citizens, the present representatives have got to walk the plank…”
In 1918, Miss Miller of Scrabster House, acting on behalf of the Red Cross, wanted the cannons gifted to the town for scrap. Marwood advised her by a letter to the press that she should first give the cannons at the front of her own home.
This led to an attack on Marwood from another regular letter writer.
Searchlight complained that had Sir Tollemache Sinclair, who gifted the cannons, been alive, he would have no objection to them being scrapped for the war effort. Undaunted, Marwood replied, “Why should the landlord fraternity hoard their own material, and then come a-begging and a-wooing for community property?”
In the end, the cannons remained for another three decades. Other correspondence included his proposal for the Town Council to widen the Victoria Walk and repair the flagstone fence, the latter of which they carried out.
With interest in local history, he wrote of the visit of Professor Brown, Professor of Fine Art and Mr Dickens, lecturer in English, when they visited the Thurso Museum. Shown around by the librarian, Mr Mackenzie, they spent three hours photographing, examining, measuring, and drawing what Marwood referred to as the Kirk Ebb Runic Stone.
He would later present to the Town Council several objects for the museum, including the Meadow Well pump stone, a relic from the 1860s that he rescued from “no-man’s-land”. And around the same time, an unearthed helmet which was thought to be Cromwellian and found by a workman excavating Market Street.
Perhaps one of the most amusing stories I encountered was Marwood’s eviction. There had been some excitement in Wilson Street when a Sheriff Officer and assistant from Wick arrived at the house of the poet, philosopher and letter writer.
The owners of the house, Thurso Town Council, wanted to take the building back for it to be demolished. The tenant had vacated the house and returned to Orkney, leaving Sutherland, who continued to occupy one room.
Marwood had been out for a walk during the visit by the authorities. A sympathetic young lad ran to find Marwood and breathlessly told him that his furniture was being put out on the street.
Arriving at the scene, Marwood quietly watched with dignity at the removal of his belongings. With a bowed head but a proud spirit, he gathered his household goods and took them to safe custody.
Though he had been offered two rooms elsewhere, it was in a building worse than the condemned one he was already in. There was a fear that Marwood would be left with no place to go on the chilly night.
But unknown to the officials, Marwood still had his key to the house. He picked up his bed, walked back into the property and reported that he had a good night’s rest and slept well!
- To get in touch, contact thursoheritage1@gmail.com
