Tomnacross is a small hamlet and part of the village of
Kiltarlity
Kiltarlity ( gd, Cill Targhlain) is a small village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is west of Inverness and south of Beauly, on the south bank of the Bruiach Burn. It has a population of under 1,000 people, and a local primary sch ...
, about 20 km west of the city of
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
in the
Highland Council area
Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It share ...
of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It is the location of the Kiltarlity village school (Tomnacross Primary), Kiltarlity Church, and a cemetery. There are also several houses in the area. The
Tartan Heart Festival
The Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival is a music and arts festival, held on the Belladrum Estate in Kiltarlity near Inverness, in Scotland. It is normally held at the start of August. Founded in 2004, the festival has rapidly grown in popularit ...
takes place nearby on the Belladrum Estate.
The name "Tomnacross" is a 19th-century anglicisation of "tom na croiche",
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
for "knowe of the gallows". This refers to the
gallows
A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
which were on a stepped hill in the churchyard.
For most of its history, Tomnacross has been little more than a few crofts above the village of Kiltarlity. In 1766 however, the area's ecclesiastical establishment (i.e. manse, glebe, and church) moved from just south of the River Beauly to what is the present-day kirk.
Tomnacross Primary School was built in 1875, though has been extended several times over the years. Originally also a secondary school, it became solely a primary school in about 1970. The current school roll is 90, plus 28 in the nursery. Secondary school pupils travel to
Charleston Academy
Charleston Academy ( Gaelic:''Àrd Sgoil Bhaile Theàrlaich'') is a secondary school established in 1978, in the Kinmylies area of Inverness, Scotland. The present roll is 724 pupils. The catchment area includes Kinmylies, Muirtown, Leachkin a ...
in Inverness.
Kiltarlity Church is part of the
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland.
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
. The modern church was built in 1829, on the site of a previous incarnation built the century before, and is a
Category B listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
.
References
Populated places in Inverness committee area
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nl:Aberarder