Helmsdale 1890

Helmsdale was built in 1815 by the Sutherland landowners, to provide employment opportunities in the developing Scottish fishing industry, for tenant farmers removed from Kildonan, during the Highland Clearances. The village included a harbour, curing yards, bridge, inn, and ice house, built of local stone and to a modern design. A grid system was adopted and the streets were named after the landowners' estates in Sutherland and Staffordshire. This virtual reconstruction depicts Helmsdale at the height of the herring boom with the ruins of the old castle sitting above the south bank of the river.