CROMARTY, a parish and sea-port and burgh of barony,
in the county of Ross-and-Cromarty, 175 miles
(N. by W.) from Edinburgh; containing 2662 inhabitants,
of whom 1938 are in the burgh. This place, whose
Gaelic name, Crom Ba, signifying the crooked bay, is
derived from the winding shore of the Firth of Cromarty,
appears to have attained to some importance at an early
period, though few details of its ancient history are recorded.
It is identified in some degree with the usurper
Macbeth, to whom it gave his earliest title of Thane of
Cromarty. It also seems to have been tlie scene of various
disastrous battles, in commemoration of which are numerous
tumuli in liifTorent parts of the parish, raised over the
bodies of the slain. Tiie hill behind the town is distinguished
by tradition as the site of one of the victories
gained by William Wallace over the Enghsh, during the
disputed succession to the Scottish throne in the reign
of Edward I. of England; and the opinion is confirmed
by some artificial hillocks still discernible among the
trees which crown that eminence. The district appears
ti> have been originally inhabited by the Lowland Scots.
Prior to the reign of Robert II., the town, which carried
on a considerable trade in the exportation of wool and
salmon to Flanders and France, was erected into a royal
burgh, and united with that of Inverness.
The inhabitants were constantly subject to the predatory
incursions of the Highlanders of the surrounding
district; and in the reign of James IV., a combination
of the Highland clans assaulted the town, and carried
off nearly the whole of the property, even to the household
furniture, for the restitution of which a decree was
enacted by the lords of the council. Nearly the whole
of the lands in tlie old county of Cromarty belonged to
Sir John Urquhart, who was hereditary sheriff; and on
his petition, the town was disfranchised as a royal burgh,
and erected into a burgh of barony under his own jurisdiction.
The prosperity of the place was subject to
great fluctuation prior to the Reformation; but at that
time it began to revive, and in the reign of Anne it had
regained much of its previous importance, and had five
vessels engaged in the herring-fishery. At the period
of the Union it experienced considerable depression, and
in 1730 had so far declined that scarcely a single shopkeeper
was to be found in the town. In 1/6.5, however,
the lands of Cromarty were purchased by George Ross,
Esq., who, at his own cost, added greatly to the revival
and prosperity of the town by the construction of a pier,
the introduction of an extensive manufacture of hempencloth,
the erection of a public brewery, and the establishment
of a lucrative trade in pork for the English market.
Among his other beneficent measures, was the erection
and endowment of a Gaelic chapel for the accommodation
of Highland inhabitants.
The TOWN is pleasantly situated in the eastern part of
the parish, upon a low promontory between the Moray
Firth on the east, and the Firth of Cromarty on the
west. It consists of several streets of irregularly-built
houses, which, notwithstanding the antique appearance
of the more ancient, have an air of cheerful neatness.
The herring-fishery, which was formerly carried on to a
great extent, and, within the last twenty years, produced
annually not less than '20,000 barrels that were shipped
from the port, has lately been almost discontinued. The
manufacture of hempen-cloth introduced by Mr. Ross is,
however, still carried on in an extensive factory, in which
about 1.50 persons are employed, in addition to nearly
half that number in collateral branches; the brewery is
a ruin. The principal trade of the port is, the exportation
of pork for the supply of the English market, of
which the average quantity annually shipped is valued
at from £1,5,000 to £20,000; and the importation of
coal from Sunderland, and other produce from different
parts of the coast. The harbour has a commodious pier,
and is accessible to vessels of 400 tons, which can come
up to the quay; and should the population and the trade
of the district require it, this might be made one of the
best harbours on the coast.
The entrance into the bay of Cromarty, from the
North Sea, is between two lofty and precipitous promontories
called the North and South Souters, of which
the former is in the county of Ross, and the latter in
that of Cromarty. The passage is about a mile and a
half in width, and the bay is about seven miles in length,
five miles in breadth, and from nine to twelve fathoms in
depth, affording secure shelter to vessels in the severest
gales. Towards the south-west it contracts into a firth
about two miles in breadth, across which is a good ferry
to luvergordon, where no accident has occurred within
the memory of man. The market, which was weekly,
has long been discontinued; and of the several fairs that
were formerly held here only one remains, on the third
Tuesday in November (O. S.). The government of the
burgh, since the late act for municipal reform, has been
vested in a provost, two bailies, and six councillors;
but they have no funds. Cromarty is associated with
Dingwall, Dornoch, Kirkwall, Tain, and Wick, in returning
a member to the imperial parliament. The number
of qualified \ oters is about forty. The town-hall, a neat
substantial building, vvas erected by Mr. Ross, and contains
in the upper story a spacious hall surmounted by
a dome, and on the ground-floor a prison. The internal
intercourse is impeded by the numerous inlets from the
sea with which the parish is indented; but a road has
been formed to Inverness, that passes through Chanonry,
Rosemarkie, and Avoch, and the regular sailing-packets
from London, Leith, and Inverness touch at the port.
The PARISH extends from five to se\ en miles in length,
and from two to three in breadth, comprising about 7100
acres, of which 2047 are arable, 1S50 woodland and
plantations, and the remainder meadow, pasture, and
waste. Its surface is strikingly diversified. Towards
the Moray Firth it is precipitous and abrupt, attaining,
at a small distance from the shore, an elevation 470 feet
above the sea. On the north and west, it declines gently
towards the Firth of Cromarty for some distance, and
then subsides, more abruptly, into a continuous extent of
table-land overhanging the beach. In the eastern portion
of the parish is the hill of Cromarty, having an elevation
of 300 feet, and richly crowned with wood; and
about two miles to the east of the town is a natural arch
in the cliff, affording a passage to a peninsulated rock
rising to the height of 100 feet from the beach. The
small burn of Ethie, which forms the extreme southern
boundary of the parish, flows for nearly two miles through
a deep ravine in a bed of sandstone, the banks of which
rise precipitously to an elevation of 250 feet. In its
course it forms numerous cascades of romantic character,
and in one part, flowing between banks crowned with
flowers and foliage of every hue, falls from a height of
thirty feet into a dark mossy basin, shaded with plantations
of hazel, birch, and hawthorn, intermixed with ivy
and wild honeysuckle. The soil of the arable land is
of a clayey quality, and in other parts are large tracts
of moor and moss. The system of agriculture is in an
improving state; the chief crops are, wheat, which was
first raised about forty or fifty years since, and the various
other kinds of grain. The substrata are mostly sandstone
and granitic gneiss. The annual value of real
property in the parish is £3847. Cromarty House, a
handsome modern mansion, beautifully situated in a
richly-planted demesne, and Udale, are the principal
residences.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Chanonry and synod of Ross.
The minister's stipend is £251. 12., with an allowance in
money in lieu of a manse, and the glebe is valued at £15
per annum: patron, the Crown. Cromarty church is a
plain structure in very bad repair. The Gaelic chapel
erected in 1*83 by Mr. Ross, for the accommodation of
the Highlanders employed in his factory, has an endowment
of £150 per annum from government, for the support
of its minister. To this chapel, containing 580
sittings, of which 300 are free, Gaelic people may come
from all parts of the parish. There is also a place of
worship for members of the Free Church. The parochial
school is well conducted; the master has a salary of
£40, with a sum for house and garden, and the fees
average £10. The poor have bequests producing £"5 per
annum. There are some very slight remains of ancient
( hapels, the most perfect being those of St. Regulus;
and among the ruins of the chapels of St. Duthac and
St. Bennet, are two springs of excellent water. Of the
distinguished persons connected with the place, may be
named, the eccentric Sir Thomas Urquhart, celebrated for
his Genealogy and Universal Language, and the late Dr.
James Robertson, librarian of the university of Edinburgh,
and professor of the Oriental languages; who were
both natives. The town formerly gave the title of earl
to the Mackenzie family; but George, the third earl,
was attainted for his participation in the rebellion of
1745, and the title became e.xtinct.