36-594: Cromarty Castle was a castle in Cromarty , Scotland. Cromarty, then known as Crumbathyn, was created a royal burgh in the reign of King Alexander I of Scotland . Cromarty overlooks the entrance to the Cromarty Firth and was strategically important. A motte-and-bailey castle was built in the 12th–13th century. The castle was held by Sir William de Monte Alto during the Scottish wars of independence for both
72-591: A Scottish castle is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cromarty Cromarty ( / ˈ k r ɒ m ər t i / ; Scottish Gaelic : Cromba , IPA: [ˈkʰɾɔumpə] ) 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
108-467: A booklet of traditional words and phrases. In addition, the Highland Council had produced a digital booklet on the dialect. This states that the thou forms were still in common use in the first half of the 20th century and remained in occasional use at the time of publication. Thomas Urquhart Sir Thomas Urquhart (1611–1660) was a Scottish aristocrat, writer, and translator. He
144-482: A circlet richly chased from which are issuant four thistle leaves (one and two halves visible) and four pine cones (two visible) Or, and in an Escrol below the Shield this Motto "Meane Well, Speak Weil, and Doe Weil". Cromarty is architecturally important for its Georgian merchant houses, such as Forsyth House, built by William Forsyth , that stand within a townscape of Georgian and Victorian fisherman's cottages in
180-595: A mathematical treatise. In 1648, Urquhart participated in the Royalist uprising at Inverness . He was declared a traitor by Parliament, though he doesn't seem to have suffered any other consequences. Two years later he marched with Charles II and fought in the Battle of Worcester . The Royalist forces were decisively defeated and Urquhart was taken prisoner. He lost all his manuscripts, which he had brought with him for safekeeping, and he had to forfeit all his property. He
216-650: A new chapel just outside the town to hold services in Gaelic for the many Gaelic-speaking workers who moved to Cromarty in the period, later used by Polish soldiers during the Second World War . While the Gaelic chapel is now ruined, its graveyard is still active as Cromarty's cemetery, and the town's war memorial and a monument to Hugh Miller are situated next to it. Other buildings of note in Cromarty include
252-597: A small cinema. The Cromarty Arts Trust, which restored several buildings in the town, including the Brewery and the Stables, organises a programme of arts and music events, including concerts and gigs, an annual Crime and Thrillers weekend, a Harp Weekend and stone letter carving and silver working courses, while the Cromarty Group of artists hold an annual exhibition of their work. Other local community groups include
288-453: Is 5 miles (8 km) seaward from Invergordon on the opposite coast. In the 2001 census, it had a population of 719. The name Cromarty variously derives from the Gaelic crom (crooked), and from bati (bay), or from àrd (height), meaning either the "crooked bay", or the "bend between the heights" (referring to the high rocks, or Sutors, which guard the entrance to the Firth ), and gave
324-495: Is an outstanding natural harbour, and was an important British naval base during the First World War and the Second World War . HMS Natal blew up close by on 30 December 1915 with a substantial loss of life. On the 26th of January 1940, HMS (Previously RMS) Durham Castle , while being towed to Scapa Flow hit a mine layed by U-Boat U-57 11 nautical miles to the east of the town. Cromarty gives its name to one of
360-465: Is best known for his translation of the works of French Renaissance writer François Rabelais to English. Urquhart was born to Thomas Urquhart of Cromarty and Christian Elphinstone, daughter of Alexander Elphinstone, 4th Lord Elphinstone . At the age of eleven he attended King's College , University of Aberdeen . Afterwards he toured the Continent, returning in 1636. In 1639, he participated in
396-657: Is within the Highland council area, the successor to the Highland region which superseded the local government county of Ross and Cromarty in 1975. Since the local elections in 2017 , its councillors, for the Black Isle ward, have been Craig Fraser (SNP), Gordon Adam (Liberal Democrats) and Jennifer Barclay (Independent). Community Council The Cromarty and District Community Council consists of seven members, elected for four-year terms. Three of these members are elected annually to serve as chairman, Secretary and Treasurer. Its coat of arms, granted in 1988, are based on
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#1732772000795432-526: The Renfrew Rose running from June to September, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily, once again offering a direct route North from the Black Isle. Cromarty has a small primary school named Cromarty Primary School with around 50 students. The University of Aberdeen Department of Zoology Lighthouse Field Station is based in Cromarty. The small community is also known for being a hub of creative activity, with several arts venues, local artists and
468-701: The Stevenson Lighthouse, built in 1846, and the East Kirk, an important example of a medieval kirk in the Scottish vernacular, restored in the 2000s by the Scottish Redundant Churches Trust. Historically most travel to Cromarty would have been by ship: ferries connected the town with Invergordon , and Cromarty's post continued to arrive by boat into the 20th century. The historic ferry route between Cromarty and Nigg
504-572: The freeholders of Cromartyshire elected one Member of Parliament to one Parliament, while those of Nairnshire elected a Member to the next. In 1832 the town of Cromarty was separated from the county, and became a parliamentary burgh , combined with Dingwall , Dornoch , Kirkwall , Tain and Wick in the Northern Burghs constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of
540-499: The Continent some time after 1653, perhaps as a condition of his release by Cromwell. Little is known of his life after this time. He died no later than 1660, because in that year his younger brother took up his hereditary titles. There is a legend that Urquhart died in a fit of laughter on receiving news of the Restoration of Charles II. Urquhart's prose style is unique. His sentences are long and elaborate, and his love of
576-487: The Cromarty History Society, which holds regular lectures, and the Cromarty and Resolis Film Society, which organises a Film Festival every December. Guests of the 2008 festival included Kirsty Wark , Donald Shaw and Karen Matheson , Janice Forsyth , David Mackenzie and Michael Caton-Jones . Each guest selected five of their favourite films, one of which was shown during the weekend. In addition to
612-556: The English and the Scottish. Permission was given to Sir William Urquhart, the Sheriff of Cromarty , to crenellate the motte of Cromarty in 1470. Sir William's son Thomas built an L-plan tower house . The castle was demolished in 1772, and the stone and timbers used in the construction of Cromarty House. 57°40′40″N 4°01′35″W / 57.6778°N 4.0263°W / 57.6778; -4.0263 This article about
648-557: The Favourite Films, there is an outdoor screening on a Gable End, Scottish Gaelic Short films, Animation workshop, photographic exhibition and late night Pizza and Film screenings. In recent years, as elsewhere in Scotland, coastal rowing has become a major activity, and there are three skiffs based in Cromarty, which take part in competitions across Scotland. The Cromarty Community Rowing Club also hosts its own regatta in
684-760: The Liberal Democrats, and who represented Cromarty until 2015, as the MP for Ross, Cromarty and Skye (1983–1997), Ross, Skye and Inverness West (1997–2005) and then Ross, Skye and Lochaber. In the Scottish Parliament , Cromarty has been represented since 2016 by Kate Forbes , an SNP politician and former Cabinet Secretary for Finance in the Scottish Government , as part of the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituency. Prior to 2011, it
720-491: The Royalist uprising known as the Trot of Turriff ; he was knighted by Charles I at Whitehall for his support. In 1641 he published his first book, a volume of epigrams. Urquhart's father died in 1642, leaving behind a large estate encumbered by larger debts. As the eldest son, Urquhart was from that time on harassed by creditors. He left for the Continent in order to economize, but returned in 1645 and published Trissotetras ,
756-549: The United Kingdom . Known also as Wick Burghs , the constituency was a district of burghs . It was represented by one Member of Parliament. In 1918, the constituency was abolished and the Cromarty component was merged into the county constituency of Ross and Cromarty . Following a boundary change in 1983, the sitting MP, Hamish Gray (Conservative and Unionist Party) was defeated by Charlie Kennedy ( SDP , later Liberal then Liberal Democrats ), who would go on to lead
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#1732772000795792-510: The arms of Urquhart of Cromarty, with a mural coronet placed in the middle of the boars’ heads, signifying a town, and the motto is that of the Urquharts. The official blazon is: Or, three boars' heads erased Gules, armed and langued Azure, in the centre of the shield a mural coronet of the Second. Above the Shield is placed a mural coronet suitable to a statutory Community Council, videlicet:-
828-539: The first translator of Rabelais into English. In the nineteenth century, Cromarty was the birthplace and home of Hugh Miller, a geologist, writer, journalist and participant in the Disruptions in the Church of Scotland. Among his works was a collection of local folklore, such as the legend, dating from around 1740, that a Cromarty man named John Reid was granted three wishes from a mermaid , and that he used one of
864-512: The local vernacular style. It is an outstanding example of an 18th/19th century burgh, "the jewel in the crown of Scottish Vernacular Architecture". The cottage with crow-stepped gables in Church Street, in which the geologist Hugh Miller was born (in 1801), is now the only remaining thatched building in Cromarty, with most houses having switched to slate roofs. To the east of the burgh is Cromarty House, built by George Ross in 1772 on
900-457: The odd and recondite word seems boundless. At its worst his style can descend into almost unintelligible pretension and pedantry ("a pedantry which is gigantesque and almost incredible", in the words of George Saintsbury ), but at its best it can be rich, rapid and vivid, with arresting and original imagery. He coined words constantly, although none of Urquhart's coinages have fared as well as those of his contemporary Browne . Urquhart appears as
936-546: The protagonist of Alasdair Gray 's short story "Sir Thomas's Logopandocy" (included in Unlikely Stories, Mostly ), the title taken from Urquhart's Logopandecteision . Urquhart appears in the illustrations throughout Unlikely Stories . Urquhart appears as a major character in the novel A Hand-book of Volapük by Andrew Drummond . Urquhart's language proposal "The Jewel" as well as Volapük , Esperanto , and other constructed languages are prominent plot devices in
972-745: The rocks along the coast. Cromarty is in the UK Parliament constituency of Ross, Skye and Lochaber , represented since 2015 by Ian Blackford , ex-Leader of the SNP group in Westminster. Following the Act of Union in 1707, the British parliamentary constituency of Cromartyshire was created, replacing the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency. also called Cromartyshire . Paired as an alternating constituency with neighbouring Nairnshire ,
1008-565: The sea areas of the British Shipping Forecast . Cromarty Castle was the seat of the Urquharts, who were the hereditary sheriffs of Cromarty. The town was a royal burgh, and the ferry to Nigg was on the royal pilgrimage route north to Tain . In 1513 James IV of Scotland went on a pilgrimage and stayed in Cromarty Castle for 1 night. Until 1890, it served as the county town of Cromartyshire . The site of
1044-512: The site of the former Cromarty Castle, which he demolished. Ross also built several other notable buildings in Cromarty: a seven-bay brewery, at the time the biggest in the Highlands, of which two bays remain (now used as a residential arts and training centre); Cromarty Courthouse , now a museum; a hemp factory, converted into housing in the 1970s; the harbour, designed by John Smeaton ; and
1080-571: The summer. The town made the news in October 2012 when Bobby Hogg, the last speaker of the traditional local North Northern Scots dialect, died. This was referred to on HeraldScotland as a dialect of the Scots language , although a report on BBC Radio 4 said that the dialect had been strongly influenced by the English spoken at the local naval base and that it was one of the few areas in Scotland to exhibit H-dropping . Hogg had previously compiled
1116-559: The title to the Earldom of Cromartie . In 1264, its name was Crumbathyn . Cromarty is a sea port , and its economy was closely linked to the sea for most of its history. Fishing was the major industry, with salmon stations around the surrounding coast, and boats going out to catch herring. Other trade was also by boat: Cromarty's connections to surrounding towns were largely by ferry, while Cromarty boats exported locally-grown hemp fibre , and brought goods such as coal. The Cromarty Firth
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1152-415: The town's mediaeval burgh dating to at least the 12th century was identified by local archaeologists after winter storms in 2012 eroded sections of the shoreline. A community archaeology project, which began in 2013, is investigated the remains of roads and buildings at the site on the eastern edge of the present town. Cromarty was the birthplace of Sir Thomas Urquhart , the polymath Royalist most famous as
1188-574: The wishes to marry a woman named Helen Stuart. The burgh is noted as a base for viewing the local offshore sea life . These include one of the most northerly groups of bottlenose dolphins . Cromarty, along with Chanonry Point just round the coast, is one of the best places in Europe to see these animals close to the shore. The predominant local stone is the Old Red Sandstone about which Hugh Miller wrote. Many fossils can also be found in
1224-513: Was held first at the Tower of London and later at Windsor , but he was given considerable freedom by his captors. The following year he published Pantochronachanon , a work of genealogy, and The Jewel , a defense of Scotland. In 1652, he was paroled by Cromwell and returned to Cromarty. Soon after he published Logopandecteision , his plan for a universal language , and his most celebrated work, his translation of Rabelais. Urquhart returned to
1260-633: Was part of the Ross, Skye and Inverness West Constituency. As well as the constituency MSP, Cromarty is represented by seven additional-member MSPs , elected across the Highlands and Islands Region . Since the 2017 Westminster election (when Douglas Ross resigned to take up a seat at Westminster), these have been John Finnie ( Green ), Maree Todd (SNP), David Stewart and Rhoda Grant ( Labour ), Jamie Halcro Johnston , Edward Mountain and Donald Cameron ( Conservative ). Local Authority Cromarty
1296-546: Was served until 2009 by Britain's smallest vehicle ferry , the Cromarty Rose . The Cromarty Rose was sold in 2009 and replaced for the 2011 season by a new four-car ferry called the Cromarty Queen , which continued the service from 2011 to 2014. After a year with no ferry in 2015, new operators, Highland Ferries, were awarded the ferry contract and re-commenced the regular service between Cromarty and Nigg with
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