Before 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 ...

, the

barons Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knigh ...

of the shire of Cromarty elected

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 to represent them in the unicameral

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

and in the Convention of Estates. After 1708,

Cromartyshire Cromartyshire ( gd, Siorrachd Chromba) is a historic county in the Highlands of Scotland, comprising the medieval "old shire" around the county town of Cromarty and 22 enclaves and exclaves transferred from Ross-shire in the late 17th centur ...

and

Nairnshire The County of Nairn (also called Nairnshire) ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Narann) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county was used for local administration until the county council, based at the county t ...

alternated in returning one member to the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

and later to the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

List of shire commissioners

* 1600: John Urquhart of Craigfintray * 1617–1633: Sir Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty *''1639–41, 1643–44, 1644–47, 1648–51: no representation'' During the

Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

, the sheriffdoms of Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty were jointly represented by one Member of Parliament in the

Protectorate Parliament This is a list of parliaments of England from the reign of King Henry III, when the '' Curia Regis'' developed into a body known as Parliament, until the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain in 1707. For later parliaments, see the List ...

at Westminster. After

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, the Parliament of Scotland was again summoned to meet in Edinburgh. *''1661–1663: no representation'' * 1665 convention, 1667 convention, 1669–1674, 1678 convention, 1681–82, 1685–1686: George Dallas of St Martins * 1693–1702, 1702–1707: Sir Kenneth Mackenzie of Cromarty and Grandvale * 1693: John Urquhart of Craighouse (expelled, 1700) * 1700–1701: Roderick Mackenzie of Prestonhall * 1703–1707: Aeneas McLeod of Cadboll

References

* Margaret D. Young, ''The Parliaments of Scotland: Burgh and Shire Commissioners'', volume 2 (Edinburgh, 1993) p. 791.

List of shire commissioners

References

See also