Fortrose Cathedral was the

episcopal seat A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

(''cathedra'') of the medieval Scottish diocese of Ross in the Highland region of Scotland. It is probable that the original site of the diocese was at

Rosemarkie Rosemarkie ( sco, Rossmartnie, from gd, Ros Mhaircnidh meaning "promontory of the horse stream") is a village on the south coast of the Black Isle peninsula in Ross-shire ( Ross and Cromarty), northern Scotland. Geography Rosemarkie lies a qu ...

, but by the 13th century the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

s had relocated a short distance to the south-west, to the site known as

Fortrose Fortrose (; gd, A' Chananaich, sco, Chainry) is a town and former royal burgh in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is on the Moray Firth, about north-east of Inverness. The burgh is a popular location for trying to spot bottlenose dolp ...

Chanonry Chanonry Point (Scottish Gaelic: ''Gob na Cananaich'') lies at the end of Chanonry Ness, a spit of land extending into the Moray Firth between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, Scotland. Lighthouse An active lighthouse situated at the ...

. According to

Gervase of Canterbury Gervase of Canterbury (; Latin: Gervasus Cantuariensis or Gervasius Dorobornensis) (c. 1141 – c. 1210) was an English chronicler. Life If Gervase's brother Thomas, who like himself was a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury, was Thomas of Ma ...

, in the early 13th century the cathedral of Ross was manned by '' Céli Dé'' (culdees).

Chapter and prebends

The cathedral had twenty-one prebends involving the income of thirty-one churches. After the reconstruction of the cathedral chapter in the 1250s, the bishop of Ross held Nigg and

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 ...

, the archdeacon of Ross

Fodderty Fodderty ( gd, Fodhraitidh) is a small hamlet, close to Dingwall, Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. The small hamlet of Bottacks is located 1 mile to the west, and just to the east is Brae o ...

and Killearnan (previously holding Lemlair and Logie Bride too), the

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

Ardersier Ardersier ( gd, Àird nan Saor) is a small former fishing village in the Scottish Highlands on the Moray Firth near Fort George, between Inverness and Nairn. Its name may be an anglicisation of the Gaelic "Àird nan Saor", or "Headland of th ...

and Kilmuir, the chanter Kinnnettes and Suddy, the treasurer Urquhart and Logiebride ("Logie Wester"), the sub-dean Edderton and Tain (later going to the provost of the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

at Tain), and the sub-chanter Inverferan and Bron (merged later as Urray). The chancellor of Ross, appearing to hold no fixed prebend in the 13th century, later acquired Kilmorack; he exchanged it with the chanter in the 16th century for Kinnnettes and Suddy. The wealthy parishes of

and

Cromarty Cromarty (; gd, Cromba, ) is a town, civil parish and former royal burgh in Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland. Situated at the tip of the Black Isle on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, it is seaward from ...

were quartered between the dean, chanter, chancellor and treasurer. Likewise, was quartered between the dean, chancellor, chanter and treasurer. The western churches of

Applecross Applecross ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which ...

Gairloch Gairloch ( ; gd, Geàrrloch , meaning "Short Loch") is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. A tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a go ...

Kintail Kintail ( gd, Cinn Tàile) is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, located in the Highland Council area. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch ...

, Lochalsh, Lochbroom and

Lochcarron Lochcarron ( gd, Loch Carrann) is a village, community and civil parish in the Wester Ross area of Highland, Scotland. It has a population of 923. Locality The name Lochcarron is also applied to the collection of small settlements strung out al ...

were held by the chapter in common.

Alness Alness (, ; gd, Alanais) is a town and civil parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It lies near the mouth of the River Averon, near the Cromarty Firth, with the town of Invergordon 3 miles (5 km) to the east, and the village of Evanton ...

Contin Contin (Gaelic: Cunndainn) is a Ross-shire village, and a civil parish and community council area between Strathpeffer and Garve in the Highland council area of Scotland. The parish has a population of 675.Cullicudden,

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cas ...

, Kilchrist, Kilmuir (Easter), Kiltearn, Kincardine, Kirkmichael, Logie Methet ("Logie Easter"), Roskeen (with Nonakiln) also constituted prebends for the cathedral. By the early 14th century, the abbot of Kinloss was a permanent member of the Fortrose cathedral chapter on account of holding in perpetuity the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

ship of the parish of

Avoch Avoch harbour Avoch ( ; from the gd, Abhach – meaning mouth of the stream) is a harbour-village located on the south-east coast of the Black Isle, on the Moray Firth. History Origins Ormond Castle or ''Avoch Castle'' was a stronghold built o ...

Building

The cathedral was constructed primarily of red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

. Two sections, the chapter house and the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

's south

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...

, still stand on location. The outline of the remainder of the cathedral complex was revealed by excavations in 1873. The cathedral building appears to have begun, probably in the early-to-mid-13th century, as an "extended rectangle" with a tower in the north-west, and a chapter house and sacristy north of the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. The south-eastern chapel, aisle and porch were commissioned by

Euphemia I, Countess of Ross Euphemia I (d. 1394 x 1398), also called Euphemia of Ross and Euphemia Ross, and sometimes incorrectly styled ''Euphemia Leslie'' and ''Euphemia Stewart'' (Scottish women in this period did not abandon natal names for married names), was a Countes ...

in the late 14th century, but likely replaced an earlier building. These parts of the cathedral resemble work at

Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland. The cathedral—dedicated to the Holy Trinity—was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II outside the burgh of Elgin and close to the River Lossie. ...

from the same period, something that can be attributed to the fact that its bishop Alexander de Kylwos had earlier been

Dean of Moray The Dean of Moray was the head of the cathedral chapter of the diocese of Moray, north-central Scotland, based at Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral is a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, north-east Scotland. The cathedral—dedicated to the Holy ...

Notable burials

The south aisle, which contains two distinct chapels, has several burials. The eastern chapel is thought to contain burials of Countess Euphemia and Bishop Robert Cairncross. The tomb in the western chapel is, reputedly, Bishop John Fraser. Alexander of Islay,

Earl of Ross The Earl or Mormaer of Ross was the ruler of the province of Ross in northern Scotland. Origins and transfers In the early Middle Ages, Ross was part of the vast earldom of Moray. It seems to have been made a separate earldom in the mid 12 ...

and Lord of the Isles, was buried in the cathedral, but the location is not known. On the ceiling of the western chapel there are two heraldic bosses, representing Earl Alexander and Bishop John Bulloch. According to 19th century historian Alexander Mackenzie, many of the early chiefs of the

Clan Munro Clan Munro (; gd, Clann an Rothaich ) is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically the clan was based in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands. Traditional origins of the clan give its founder as Donald Munro who came from the north of Ireland an ...

were buried in the "Cathedral Church of Chanonry", which was the burial place of the family for over 400 years. Those mentioned by Mackenzie as buried there are Robert Munro, 2nd Baron of Foulis (d.1164), Donald Munro, 3rd Baron of Foulis (d.1192), Robert Munro, 4th Baron of Foulis (d.1239), Hugh Munro, 9th Baron of Foulis (d.1425), John Munro, 11th Baron of Foulis (d.1490), and Hector Munro, 13th Baron of Foulis (d.1541).

Decline

After the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Scotland broke with the Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterian in its outlook. It was part of the wider European Protestant Refor ...

it continued to be used as a church for the town. Lord Ruthven was granted the lead from the roof to sell in June 1572. It began to fall apart in the later 16th and early 17th century, though the sacristy and chapter house were still used for local gatherings of officials in the 18th century. Like other Scottish ex-cathedrals, its grounds remained in use as a graveyard. The government took over responsibility for its care in 1851 and it is now a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * *

External links

{{Former cathedrals in Scotland Archaeological sites in Highland (council area) Buildings and structures in Highland (council area) 13th-century church buildings in Scotland Churches in Highland (council area) Former cathedrals in Scotland History of the Scottish Highlands Medieval cathedrals in Scotland Fortrose Scheduled Ancient Monuments in Highland Tourist attractions in Highland (council area) Culdees