CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Loch Shurrery

lake in Highland, Scotland, UK, outflows north to Forss Water

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ19900759 ↗
Source-derived summary

Loch Shurrery (also known as Loch Shurrey) is a small, shallow, lowland freshwater loch lying approximately 8 mi (13 km) south west of Thurso in the Scottish Highlands. The loch has a somewhat elliptical shape with a perimeter of 7.4 km (4.6 mi). It is approximately 1.25 mi (2.01 km) long, has an average depth of 4.5 ft (1.4 m) and is 7 ft (2.1 m) at its deepest. The loch was surveyed on 6 October 1902 by John Parsons and T.R.H. Garrett and later charted as part of Sir John Murray's Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909. A dam lies to the north end of the loch.

Approximately 200 yards (180 m) from the northern end of the loch are the archaeological remains of an Iron Age hut circle with a medium-sized oval house. Some pottery was found at the site. At the southern end of the loch is Lambsdale Leans, a cairn with possible cist or chamber. Two Viking graves lie nearby.

The loch is used for fishing and the Dounreay Fly Fishing Association keeps a boat on the loch for members and visitors.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Loch Shurrery” as lake in Highland, Scotland, UK, outflows north to Forss Water. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Loch, Shurrery and lake.

Editorial reviewMost useful as a place-based finding aid connecting the present description to earlier jurisdictions, maps and built evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1902, 1897, 1909—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Loch, Shurrery and lake providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Loch Shurrery”, the useful work is to connect “lake in Highland, Scotland, UK, outflows north to Forss Water” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q19900759. Authority coordinates are 58.478, -3.642. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1902, 1897 and 1909.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Loch Shurrery”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Loch Shurrery primary sources, Loch Shurrery archive and Loch research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Loch Shurrery”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Loch Shurrery” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.