Introduction
- Wick Harbour Trust Records
The following is intended to give
an idea of what is available in the Harbour Trust
archives, as well as a brief background to the institution
itself.
It is an extensive collection, and
many sections date right back to the inception of
the Trust. The original draft survey list which has
been in use has now been corrected and superceded.
Although the material arrived in two separate deposits,
in 1996 and 1999, the catalogue which will shortly
be available is an amalgamation of the two. It does
not contain shipping registers, which are held
here in the Customs and Excise collection (qv[1]).[2]
Overall, the WHT material is administrative and
ranges from correspondence and staff diaries to legal
documents and financial accounts.
The Wick and Pulteneytown Harbour
Trust took over responsibility for Pulteneytown estates,
harbours and works from the British Fisheries Society
in 1879, with activity commencing in earnest in early
1880. Only a small amount of material survives from
the BFS administration.[3] As the WHT expanded,
three separate areas of responsibility emerge and
are reflected in the records: Harbour Secretary, Treasurer
and Engineer, with their respective departments. All
reported directly to the Trustees. Despite the recent
decline in maritime activity in Wick, the Trust continues
its work. Further deposits might be expected in the
future.
[1] Shipping registers have now been transcribed by
a volunteer (Peter Bruce) to make available a file
giving vessel names, vessel numbers, owners, masters,
harbours and dates of operation.
[2]
However, individual ship
or boat owners sometimes wrote to the Trust over
payment of rent on their house or dues on their
vessels. If an accident took place in or near the
harbour letters were often exchanged if one party
was seeking damages.
[3] British Fisheries
Society archives are in Edinburgh: split between
the Edinburgh City Library and the National Archives
of Scotland.
This original
volume of minutes contained 681 pages but only the
first 100 pages are available for viewing here. You
are therefore advised to start with page
1 and then page through the images. Please
note that these images are large (between 150k and
220k) and could take some considerable time to download
depending on the speed of your Internet connection.
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