Cromdale ( gd, Cromdhail, from ''crom'' 'crooked' and ''dal'' 'valley, dale') is a village in Strathspey, in the

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 ...

council area of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, and one of the ancient parishes which formed the combined ecclesiastical (later civil) parish of Cromdale,

Inverallan Inverallan is one of the parishes which formed the ecclesiastical (later civil) parish of " Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie" in Morayshire in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the Unite ...

and Advie in Morayshire. The present small, growing village of Cromdale lies on either side of where the A95 road crosses Cromdale Burn, between

Grantown-on-Spey Grantown-on-Spey ( gd, Baile nan Granndach) is a town in the Highland Council Area, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, about ...

and Aberlour; this bridge is about south of the confluence of the

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ma ...

with the

River Spey The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishi ...

The village was within

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Nis) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in popula ...

until 1869, when it was moved by the

Inverness and Elgin County Boundaries Act 1870 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 ...

to the

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It ...

. It remained part of Morayshire until 1975, when the county was divided between the Highland and

Grampian Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

; it is now within 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 shar ...

. The village retained ''

'' as its official postal address for many years after the change in local government boundaries. The parish church and cemetery are located beside the River Spey at the end of Kirk Road beside the bridge which is the latest of three which replaced the nearby ferry. The bridge was financed by local residents, having been obtained as a

War Surplus War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

item from the War Office and erected in 1922 at a cost of £6,889. The remains of an older bridge can be seen a short distance upstream; this (much lighter) bridge was swept away in 1894, the 1922 bridge replaced one that collapsed in 1921.Strathspey Herald, 19 Jan 1922 About halfway along Kirk Road is

Cromdale railway station Cromdale railway station served the village of Cromdale, Highland, in Scotland. History The station was opened by the Strathspey Railway (GNoSR) on 1 July 1863.Quick (2022), page 148 It was absorbed by the Great North of Scotland Railway. Th ...

, which closed in the 1960s but survives in private hands along with some preserved railway paraphernalia. It lies on the route of the now closed Great North of Scotland Railway line from Boat of Garten to Craigellachie. To the south of Cromdale is

Balmenach Distillery Balmenach distillery was established in 1824 by James McGregor, from a family of farmers and illicit distillers who resided in Tomintoul. History Situated in the district of Cromdale on the banks of the River Spey the distillery stands in bene ...

, which was served by a branch line running from Cromdale station that passed under the main road alongside Cromdale Burn. This distillery has had a chequered history in recent years but is again in production. The old school had become the Cromdale Outdoor Education Centre and stands opposite the Haugh Hotel. The Battle of Cromdale took place in 1690 on the Haughs of Cromdale, about east of the village. The village is within the Cairngorms National Park.

Football

Cromdale has two teams, Spey Valley United, who compete in the Scottish Junior Football North Division One (West). The other team is Cromdale F.C., who compete in the local

Strathspey & Badenoch Welfare FA The Strathspey & Badenoch Welfare Football Association is the governing body overseeing amateur Scottish Welfare football in the Badenoch and Strathspey area of Scotland. It is affiliated to Scottish Welfare Football Association and Scottish Footb ...

league. Both clubs use Cromdale's public football ground for all home matches.

Historical references

Censuses In various census and/or derived records the description of Cromdale has been used to describe the entire civil parish of Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie thus often causing an apparent mismatch between different censuses. In the 1841, 1851 and 1861 censuses it will be necessary to determine the actual locality from the descriptions on the census book pages or by the names of known locations. From 1871 onward, a record marked as being within parish number 128/2, 128B/2 or 128B² will not be in Cromdale but in Inverallan (which contains

Grantown Grantown-on-Spey ( gd, Baile nan Granndach) is a town in the Highland Council Area, historically within the county of Moray. It is located on a low plateau at Freuchie beside the river Spey at the northern edge of the Cairngorm mountains, abou ...

); Advie was always enumerated with Cromdale thus requiring the relevant parish to be identified from the address or description. Birth, marriage and death registrations In 1855 one registration district (Cromdale, Inverallan and Advie) included all the combined parishes. From 1856 to 1965 the local registration district was Cromdale and Advie. From 1966 Cromdale has been within the Grantown on Spey registration district. The LDS church and other third parties have failed to distinguish the 1856 separation of records in their indexes thus their descriptions of the registration districts do not match the official descriptions.

References

External links

* {{Scottish provinces, minor Populated places in Badenoch and Strathspey Former church parishes of Scotland