KIRKMICHAEL-AND-CULLICUDDEN, a parish,
in the county of Ross-and-Cromarty, 7 miles distant
(N. N. W.) from Fortrose; containing, with the village of
Jemimaville, and the hamlets of Balblair and Gordon-
Mills, 1549 inhabitants, of whom 1410 are in the rural
districts of the parish. This place, in some public documents
called Resolis, a term implying " a sunny inclined
plain", derived its name of Kirkmichael from the dedication
of its ancient church to Michael the Archangel.
It includes the parishes of St. Martin and Cullicudden,
which were annexed to the parish of Kirkmichael towards
the close of the seventeenth century, the whole
forming the present parish of Kirkmichael and Cullicudden.
Few particulars of the history of the place are
recorded; but on account of the great number of Druidical
circles to be found here, it must have been of some
importance. On the summit of a precipitous rock near
the shore of Cromarty Firth are the ruins of Castle-
Craig, said to have been originally built by the Urquharts,
barons of Cromarty, one of whose descendants
having incurred the censure of the Pope, the castle and
the lands attached to it fell to the Church, and were
bestowed upon the bishops of Ross. The castle was
the chief residence of the bishops, and the property is
said afterwards to have come into the possession of
the Williamsons, by whom it was probably sold to the
Roses of Kilraveck, owners of a considerable portion of
the Black Isle. It subsequently passed to the Gordons
of Newhall, and now forms part of the estate of J. A.
Shaw McKenzie, Esq., the principal proprietor of the
parish. Of the castle, five stories in height, nearly onehalf
is still entire; the walls are of great strength, and
the various apartments have vaulted roofs of stone. Its
spiral staircase has within the last few years been removed.
The roof is in a perfect state; and the eastern
gable is defended on each side by a bastion crowned with a turret.
The PARISH extends along the southern shore of
Cromarty Firth for about eight miles, from east to
west, and varies from three to four miles in breadth;
comprising, exclusively of an extensive tract of common,
14,000 acres, of which nearly 4000 are arable, 1500
meadow and pasture, 350 woodland and plantations,
and the remainder moor and waste. Its surface rises
gradually from the Firth for almost a mile towards the
south, aud as gradually subsides into a fertile valley including
a great part of the arable land in the parish,
beyond which the ground ascends abruptly to a height
of SOO feet above the level of the sea, terminating in
the summit of Maole-Buidhe, the southern boundary of
the parish. The only stream of any importance is the
burn of Resolis, which, issuing from a small lake near
the western extremity of the parish, flows eastward
through its whole extent, driving several mills, and,
after receiving in its course a few tributaries, falling
into the Firth at the hamlet of Gordon-Mills. There are
several copious springs of excellent water in the southern
district; but scarcely any are found in the northern
p&rts, the inhabitants of which are supplied from wells
dug at their own individual expense. Of a well dug by
the incumbent in 1S36, the water, both in smell and in
taste, resembles the mineral water of Strathpeffer.
In general the soil is a light black loam resting on a
subsoil of clay, easy to work, and fertile. The system
of husbandry among the smaller tenantry has made comparatively
little progress. All the farms, except a few,
are occupied by tenants holding but from forty to fifty
acres; and with the exception of the lands attached to
the housesof the resident proprietors, on which improvements
have been made, there is little either in the agricultural
or pastoral features of the parish deserving of notice.
No natural wood is to be seen, except some patches
of birch, ash, and hazel: the plantations are chiefly
Scotch and larch firs, with a few hard-wood trees; and
the soil appears to be well adapted for both kinds of fir.
On the lands of Newhall and Poyntzfield are some fine
specimens of ash, beech, and elm, of about a hundred
years' growth; and on the Newhall estate, and also on
the lands of Braelangwell, very extensive plantations of
Scotch fir have been cut down within the last few years.
The prevailing substrata are of the old red sandstone
formation. Coal is supposed to exist; and in I7S6 a
vein of lead-ore was found by Mr. Gordon of Newhall,
but none has since been noticed. At Cullicuddeu is a
quarry of freestone varying both in quality and in colour,
from which materials have been taken for numerous
public buildings: the best description is found at a
depth of from nine to twelve feet, all lying above that
level being more or less friable. The annual value of
real property in the parish is £3*00. Newhall House,
the seat of J. A. S. Mc Kcnzie, Esq., is a handsome mansion,
erected about the year 180.5, and situated in a demesne
tastefully laid out. Poyntzfield House, an ancient
mansion with a tower surmounted by a cupola, and
seated on an eminence commanding a very extensive
prospect, is approached by an avenue of fine trees; and
the grounds, like those of Newhall, are ornamented with
plantations of stately growth. Braelangwell House i.s
also a spacious and elegant mansion, recently erected, and
beautifully situated in a higiily-picturesquc demesne.
The village of Jcmimaville is described under its own
head. The hamlet of Gordon-Mills was erected towards
the close of the last century, by Mr. Gordon of Newhall,
from whom it takes its name, and who established
a snufT-mill, which has, however, long been discontinued,
the premises being now occupied as a mill for carding
wool. The small hamlet of Balbluir consists of a few
rustic cottages. Near Braelangwell is a distillery for
whisky. Many of the poorer females in the parisli are
employed in the spinning of linen-yarn for the manufacturers
of Cromarty; and of the males some few are
engaged in the salmon-fishery in the Firth, in which
they use stake-nets. Cockles and muscles are found Iq
abundance; and in August, considerable quantities of
cuddie fish are taken; and sometimes herrings. Fairs
are held annually at the village of Jemimaville; and
facility of communication is maintained by the roads
from Fort-George to Invergordon, and from Cromarty
to Dingwall, both which pass through the parish. Ecclesiastically
the parish is within the limits of the presbytery
of Chanonry and synod of Ross. The minister's stipend
is £219- 6. 7-, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £10
per annum; patron, Mr. Mc Kenzie. The church, erected
in 1764, and enlarged and greatly improved in 1839, is
a neat plain structure in the early English style of architecture,
containing 7OO sittings. The parochial school
is well attended; the master has a salary of £30, with a
house and garden, and the fees average £10 per annum.
Some portions of the ancient churches of St. Martin and
Cullicudden still remain, consisting chiefly of the gables.
In opening a barrow on the farm of Woodhead, about
thirty or forty years since, a sarcophagus of rudelyformed
slabs w as found, containing human bones of large
size, which, when exposed to the air, crumbled into dust
An earthen urn of very antique character has been met
with in a tumulus near Jemimaville. On the glebe was
discovered the foundation of an ancient Picts' house;
and near it, a vessel of stone in the form of a cup, about
four inches in diameter, was found by the incumbent, in
trenching a patch of moorland.