Border Rovers
Rock Formation Near Souters' Stack
In Scots souter is 'a cobbler or shoemaker'. The feature to which it applies is a conspicuous tall, relatively thin coastal rock-stack. As discussed in the Elements Glossary, it is best known in the name The Souters, 'the two hills enclosing the entrance to the Cromarty Firth on the north and south, and resembling cobblers bent over their work. Cf. The Cobbler in Argyll' (SND). However, there is nothing bent over about the BWK Souter, so it may be that it is reminiscent of a shoemaker's needle. W. J. Watson, in his discussion of The Souters ROS (earliest form 'Craiges callit the Sowteris' 1593 APS), suggests rather Gaelic sùdaire 'a tanner' (1904, 126), but this is unlikely and unhelpful.
There is a Souter Head on the Kincardineshire coast (Nigg parish) south of Aberdeen, described in the OS Name Book as 'A bold rocky headland on the coast, opposite Burnbanks' (OS1/19/17/47). A comparative study of all these features would probably help explain the use of this element in coastal place-names.
Unfortunately the OS Name Book descriptive remarks on Souter and the related Souter Tails are obscured by a separate sheet extending the information on the preceding entry, Fast Castle. The original would have to be looked at, in the hope that the sheet has been attached only by its upper edge, and can therefore be lifted like a flap. All three informants seem to have given the form Suter and Suter Tails respectively, but the o has been added with a caret mark each time, while the approved OS Name Book forms are Souter and Souter Tails (OS1/5/9/17). A related name Souter Brae is described as follows: 'A steep brae bounding the sea shore contiguous to a rock called the Suter
Rock Formation Near Souters' Stack
In Scots souter is 'a cobbler or shoemaker'. The feature to which it applies is a conspicuous tall, relatively thin coastal rock-stack. As discussed in the Elements Glossary, it is best known in the name The Souters, 'the two hills enclosing the entrance to the Cromarty Firth on the north and south, and resembling cobblers bent over their work. Cf. The Cobbler in Argyll' (SND). However, there is nothing bent over about the BWK Souter, so it may be that it is reminiscent of a shoemaker's needle. W. J. Watson, in his discussion of The Souters ROS (earliest form 'Craiges callit the Sowteris' 1593 APS), suggests rather Gaelic sùdaire 'a tanner' (1904, 126), but this is unlikely and unhelpful.
There is a Souter Head on the Kincardineshire coast (Nigg parish) south of Aberdeen, described in the OS Name Book as 'A bold rocky headland on the coast, opposite Burnbanks' (OS1/19/17/47). A comparative study of all these features would probably help explain the use of this element in coastal place-names.
Unfortunately the OS Name Book descriptive remarks on Souter and the related Souter Tails are obscured by a separate sheet extending the information on the preceding entry, Fast Castle. The original would have to be looked at, in the hope that the sheet has been attached only by its upper edge, and can therefore be lifted like a flap. All three informants seem to have given the form Suter and Suter Tails respectively, but the o has been added with a caret mark each time, while the approved OS Name Book forms are Souter and Souter Tails (OS1/5/9/17). A related name Souter Brae is described as follows: 'A steep brae bounding the sea shore contiguous to a rock called the Suter