County Offices, Wick

County Offices was a municipal structure at the corner of High Street and Market Place in Wick, Caithness, Scotland.

A new building called Caithness House was built on the site to serve as an area office for the Highland Council, opening in 2015.

On stylistic grounds the building has been dated by Historic Environment Scotland to c. 1820,[1] but land ownership records suggest that it may not have been built until sometime between 1833 and 1835.

[1] A modern plaque on Stafford Place commemorates Alexander Bain, inventor of the electric telegraph, who served as an apprentice to a watchmaker called John Sellar there between 1829 and 1830.

[9] Wright (2009) argues that Bain probably served his apprenticeship in the previous building on the site rather than in Stafford Place itself, contrary to the wording on the plaque.

[10] However, in the mid-19th century, the left-hand section of the ground floor was taken over by the bookseller and stationer, William Rae & Son, who also became the proprietor of a newspaper known as the Northern Ensign, first published in 1850.

It has wings to the rear projecting towards Market Street and the river, and also incorporates office space within the renovated Stafford Place building.