Cromartyshire ( gd, Siorrachd Chromba) is a
historic county in the
Highlands of
Scotland, comprising the medieval "old shire" around the
county town
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...
of
Cromarty and 22
enclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
s and
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
s transferred from
Ross-shire in the late 17th century. The largest part, six times the size of the old shire, is
Coigach
Coigach () is a peninsula north of Ullapool, in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The area consists of a traditional crofting and fishing community of a couple of hundred houses located between mountain and shore on a peninsula ...
, northwest from
Ullapool. In 1890, Cromartyshire was merged with Ross-shire into the administrative county of
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...
, which in 1975 was merged into the new council area of
Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...
.
History
The medieval
sheriffdom
A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a ...
of Cromarty encompassed a single tract on the north of the
Black Isle peninsula. The
sheriffdom was hereditary in
Clan Urquhart
Urquhart () is a Highland Scottish clan. The clan dates to the 13th–century and is most associated with the area of Cromarty. In modern times there are two parishes in Scotland named Urquhart, one in Elgin and one on the Black Isle. There is ...
.
It comprised the
parish of
Cromarty; most of the adjacent parish of Kirkmichael, excluding a portion at
Balblair
Balblair distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Edderton, Ross-shire, Scotland.
Founded in 1790, the distillery was rebuilt in 1895 by the designer Charles C Doig to be closer to the Edderton Edderton railway station, Railway Statio ...
where a ferry crossed the
Cromarty Firth to
Invergordon; and a single farm in
Cullicudden
Cullicudden ( gd, Cùl a' Chudainn) is an ancient village located close to the southeast shore of the Cromarty Firth, 2 miles northeast of Dingwall, on the west shore of the Black Isle in Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottis ...
parish.
As late as the mid-nineteenth century, ownership of the moor of
Mulbuie was uncertain between Cromartyshire and
Ross-shire.
Cromartyshire originally bordered
Inverness-shire, but in 1504 Ross-shire was formed out of the nearest parts of Inverness-shire, and its boundaries were fixed in 1661.
[Mackenzie 1810]
pp.11–13
/ref> In 1662, Kirkmichael and Cullicudden parishes merged to form the parish of Resolis
Resolis (from the Scottish Gaelic Ruigh Sholais meaning ''Bright Slope'') is a village and parish on the B9163 road, in the Black Isle in Scotland. It is part of the Presbytery of Ross. In 2011 it had a population of 362.
At the 2011 census, th ...
.
The feudal barony of Cromarty, whose appurtenant land was coterminous with the county, was purchased from the Urquharts in 1682 by the Mackenzies of Tarbat
Tarbat (Gaelic , meaning 'a crossing or isthmus'Place-names of Ross and Cromarty, by W J Watson, publ. The Northern Counties Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., Inverness 1904; p.45) is a civil parish in Highland, Scotland, in the north-east corner ...
. They owned scattered lands in Ross-shire, including the barony of Tarbat on the Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
north of the Black Isle. In 1685 Sir George Mackenzie George Mackenzie may refer to:
People
*George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh (1636–1691), Scottish lawyer
*George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie (1630–1714), Scottish Secretary of State
*George Mackenzie, 2nd Earl of Seaforth (died 1651), Highland cl ...
, recently made Viscount of Tarbat
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
and later elevated to Earl of Cromartie, secured two Acts of the Parliament of Scotland transferring his lands in Easter Ross
Easter Ross ( gd, Ros an Ear) is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.
The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituenc ...
from Ross-shire to Cromartyshire.[Mackenzie 1810]
pp.15–16
/ref> These were enumerated as:
:the barony of Tarbat and all therein incorporated, ... also Little Farness and others his lands within the barony of Delny, together with the lands of Wester St Martins, Easter Balblair and the ferry belonging to George Dallas of St Martins
And:
:his lands of Pittonachie, Beneckfield, Avoch, Castleton, Auchterflow, Hauldoks, Killen, Raddery, Balmeechy, Little Suddey and his lands about Chanonry and Rosemarkie
Although this was repealed in 1686 on the grounds that some lands not belonging to Viscount Tarbat had been included, it was re-enacted in 1690 to include only "the said barony of Tarbat and all other lands in Ross-shire belonging in property to the said viscount". The transfers increased the area and rateable value
Rates are a type of property tax system in the United Kingdom, and in places with systems deriving from the British one, the proceeds of which are used to fund local government. Some other countries have taxes with a more or less comparable role ...
of Cromartyshire by respective factors of fifteen and three.
Cromartyshire was the smallest constituency in the Parliament of Scotland, with only five freeholders electing its two Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
s in 1703. After the Act of Union 1707
The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...
, Cromartyshire sent one MP to Westminster alternately with Nairnshire, a nearby small county. Only six of 19 votes on the register at the last election, in 1831, were found to be genuine freeholders.
The exclaves were for many purposes administered as part of Ross-shire rather than Cromartyshire.[Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland]
Vol.2 p.310–1, Cromartyshire
/ref>
After the Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747
The Sheriffs (Scotland) Act 1747 (21 Geo.II c.19) was an Act of the Parliament of Great BritainThe Act was actually passed in 1748, but is listed under 1747 because under the common law Acts of Parliament took effect retrospectively from the b ...
, Ross and Cromarty had a common sheriff.
The 1801 census report listed "Shire of Cromarty" and "Shire of Ross" separately, the former including only the old shire and the latter the exclaves. The 1811 census report listed "Ross and Cromarty" together on the ground that it was impractical to separate them. In 1805, responsibility for maintenance of roads in Ross-shire and Cromartyshire was merged. In 1810, the militia was for Ross-shire in some exclaves and Cromartyshire in others.[Mackenzie 1810]
p.19
/ref>
The Scottish Reform Act 1832
The Scottish Reform Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Scotland. The act was passed at approximately the same time as the Reform Act 1832, which applied to England and Wales. The chief a ...
merged Cromartyshire's constituency with Ross-shire's to form Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...
, returning one MP to Parliament. Police and ratings administration were merged similarly in the Victorian period.
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 provided that "the counties of Ross and Cromarty shall cease to be separate counties, and shall be united for all purposes whatsoever, under the name of the county of Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...
." (Ross and Cromarty also absorbed an exclave of Nairnshire and a near-exclave of Inverness-shire; the former was the barony of Ferintosh and the latter an exclave of Kilmorack parish around Muir of Ord railway station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Muir of Ord railway station, Highland (geograph 4413654).jpg
, caption = The view south from the station in 2015
, borough = Muir of Ord, Highland
, country = Scotland
, coordinates =
, g ...
.)
Geography
Given the scattered nature of the county it is difficult to generalise. The original shire consisted of a portion of the Black Isle peninsula bordering on Cromarty Firth, across which lay the Tarbat peninsula, of which several portions belonged to Cromartyshire, including Tarbat Ness
Tarbat Ness (Scottish Gaelic: ''Rubha Thairbeirt'') is headland that lies at the end of the Tarbat peninsula in Easter Ross, Scotland. The name is from the Gaelic ''tairbeart'' meaning "isthmus" and the Old Norse ''ness'', meaning "headland". It li ...
. The interior sections consist of several enclaves within Ross-shire which are mountainous, remote and sparsely populated. To the west are various sections around Little Loch Broom, including the southern tip of Gruinard Island. North of Loch Broom lies the largest single section of the county, which takes in Ullapool, the Coigach
Coigach () is a peninsula north of Ullapool, in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The area consists of a traditional crofting and fishing community of a couple of hundred houses located between mountain and shore on a peninsula ...
peninsula and a number of small islands in Enard Bay
Enard Bay is a large remote tidal coastal embayment, located 10.5 miles northwest of Ullapool, in northwestern Ross and Cromarty, Scottish Highlands in the west coast of Scotland. The mouth of the bay is about 4.5 miles across running from the h ...
(most notably Sgeir Mhòr, Fraoachlan, Eilean Mòr
Eilean Mòr, literally meaning "large island" in Scottish Gaelic, is the name of several Scottish islands. In some areas, the term merely refers to the large island of a group, and may be used in place of the actual name:
Saltwater
* Eilean Mòr, ...
, Eilean Mòineseach and Green Island) and also the Summer Isles
The Summer Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Samhraidh, ) are an archipelago lying in the mouth of Loch Broom, in the Highland region of Scotland.
Geography
Tanera Mòr is the largest island and was the last one to remain inhabited.Kane, Jenny (20 Nov ...
where Loch Broom meets The Minch. This section also contains a number of lochs, most notably Loch na Totaig
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...
, Loch Osgaig
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...
, Loch Raa
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...
, Loch Vatachan, Fionn Loch
Fionn (, ) is a masculine given name in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. In English, it is pronounced "Finn" ( ) or "Fee-on" ( ). It is derived from a byname meaning "white" or "fair-haired". It is the modern variant of Old and Middle Irish: Find and Fin ...
, Loch Veyatie
Loch Veyatie (Gaelic: Loch Mheathadaidh) is a large freshwater loch in north-west Scotland. It stretches for 6 km north-westwards from the settlement of Elphin, and lies between Suilven and Cùl Mòr. The loch is located in an area known as ...
, Loch Lurgainn
Loch Lurgainn is a large remote and deep freshwater loch with a crescent shape with its concave side turned to the south. It is located in the Coigach area in Lochbroom, Wester Ross.Loch Lurgainn is located 8 miles south of Ullapool and two miles ...
, Loch Bad a' Ghaill, Loch Sionascaig
Loch Sionascaig is a large irregular shaped, freshwater loch in the remote Coigach area of northern Wester Ross. It is located 5.5 miles southeast of the village of Lochinver and is situated within the Inverpolly Forest.
Geography
Loch Sionascai ...
, Lochan Tuath
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...
, Loch an Doire Duibh
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...
, Loch Doire na h-Airbhe, Loch a Ghille
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...
, Loch Buine Mhòire, Loch Call an Uidhean
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
, Loch a' Chroisg
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
, Loch Achall
Loch Achall (Gaelic: Loch Ach a' Challa - ''loch of the hazel field'') is a freshwater loch, lying northeast of Ullapool, in Rhidorroch, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland.
Geography
Loch Achall is a long narrow loch, at its widest point. It is dom ...
, Loch an Daimh
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
, Loch na Maoile, Loch Ob an Lochain
''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch.
In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spelling ...
, Clar Lochan Gloor is a family name which may refer to:
* Cyrill Gloor (born 1982), Swiss footballer
* Danny Gloor (born 1952), Canadian former ice hockey player
* Kurt Gloor (1942–1997), Swiss film director, screenwriter and producer
* Mike Gloor (born 1950) ...
and Loch an Eilein
Loch an Eilein is a small irregular shaped, freshwater loch in the Rothiemurchus Forest about south of Aviemore, Scotland in Cairngorms National Park. Loch an Eilein comes from the Scottish Gaelic and means 'Loch of the island'. The loch is cons ...
.
Sources tend to number the tracts added to Cromartyshire at between eight and eleven; however some comprise multiple parcels. In 1807, Alexander Nimmo listed the additions in eight groups with two to six parcels in each.[Mackenzie 1810]
pp.16–18
/ref>
Ordnance Survey list
The 1881 index to the Ordnance Survey's first edition lists 22 detached parts, and the original "old shire", all of whose areas are given on the six-inch map. The total measured area of Cromartyshire was 217321.186 acres, or .[Sum of the areas of the 23 parcels listed in the table.]
Other sources
Some places not included within Cromartyshire in the Ordnance Survey map are stated by earlier sources to have been within it. The 1859 edition of the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' asserts that Royston Park (now Caroline Park) outside Edinburgh, the city residence of the Viscount Tarbat, was also considered part of Cromartyshire. Nimmo's 1807 list includes:
* "the mortified lands of the town of Fortrose", two patches totalling less than 50 acres in Rosemarkie parish, which were bequeathed to the burgh of Cromarty. A 1794 account of Rosemarkie parish states that there are two mortifications, but for the poor of '' Chanonry'', not Cromarty.
* Ussie Mills (between Dingwall and Conon Bridge).
* salmon-fishing rights on the River Conon.
Settlements
*Achiltibuie
Achiltibuie (; gd, Achd Ille Bhuidhe or ''Field of the yellow-haired boy'') is a long linear village in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, on the Coigach coast of northwestern Scotland, overlooking Badentarbet Bay to the west. Loch Broom and the Summ ...
*Altandhu
Altandhu is a small hamlet, overlooking the sea loch, Loch an Alltain Duibh to the west, on the western shore of the Rubha Mor Peninsula, in the Achiltibuie area, in Ullapool, Ross-shire, Scotland, within the Scottish council area of Highland.
...
*Badenscallie
Achiltibuie (; gd, Achd Ille Bhuidhe or ''Field of the yellow-haired boy'') is a long linear village in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, on the Coigach coast of northwestern Scotland, overlooking Badentarbet Bay to the west. Loch Broom and the Summer ...
* Cromarty
* Dundonnel
* Inver
*Jemimaville
Jemimaville is a small village in the Highland region of Scotland. It sits on the northern coast of the Black Isle, overlooking the Cromarty Firth. The village is west of Cromarty and south of Invergordon on the opposite shore of the firth. It ...
* Kildary
*Milton
Milton may refer to:
Names
* Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname)
** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet
* Milton (given name)
** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...
*Polbain
Polbain is a remote crofting township, located on the north Badentarbat Bay on the west coast of Scotland, in western Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. The township lies northwest of the village o ...
*Polglass
Polglass ( gd, Am Poll Glas) is a long crofting township, lying on the north shore of the sea loch, Loch Broom in Ullapool Ross-shire, Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high ...
* Portmahomack
* Rieff
*Strathpeffer
Strathpeffer ( gd, Srath Pheofhair) is a village and spa town in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, with a population of 1,469.
Geography
It lies in a strath west of Dingwall, with the elevation ranging from above sea level. Sheltered on ...
* Ullapool
References
Sources
*
*
Citations
;Areas shown the first-edition 6-inch maps:
;Other citations:
External links
*
Cromartyshire on the interactive map of the counties of Great Britain and Ireland
— Wikishire
Index to the Ordnance Survey of Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ca. 1878-1883
indicates all detached parts of Cromartyshire
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017
Counties of Scotland
Former exclaves
States and territories disestablished in 1890
Counties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)