Cromarty, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland

Cromarty # 61

History
The parish is said to owe its name Cromba, meaning crook in the bay, to the windings and indentations of its shores. It is surrounded by a highly picturesque country; and is rich in prospects which combine the softer beauties of the lowlands with the bolder graces peculiar to the alpine district.

The celebrated Macbeth makes his first appearance in history as Thane of Cromarty. In a later age, the hill directly behind the town, was the scene, says tradition, of one of Wallace’s victories of the English; and a few shapeless hillocks which may still be seen among the trees and bushes that now cover the eminence, were raised, it is said to cover the slain.

Sir Thomas Urquhart, famous for his Genealogy and his Universal Language, was a native of Cromarty, and during the reign of Charles I proprietor of nearly the entire shire. He was born in 1613, and died on the continent after an eventful life spent in courts and camps, in prison and in exile, on the eve of the Restoration. Few of his works survive. Nearly a hundred manuscripts, the labours of his studious hours, were lost on the disastrous field of Worcester, where he was taken prisoner by the army of the Commonwealth.

The late Dr. James Robertson, Librarian of the University of Edinburgh, and Professor of the Oriental languages, is also a native of Cromarty parish.

The lands of the parish, with the exception of a few little patches, are divided between two proprietors, Hugh Rose Ross, Esq. of Cromarty, and Captain George Mackay Sutherland of Udale.

Mr. George Middleton, a gentleman from England, erected the first thrashing mill seen in this part of the country, and exported the first wheat.

The population of the parish in 1801 amounted to about 2413, and had increased to 2900 in 1831.

Prior to the Reformation there were no fewer than six chapels in the parish, but a broken wall and a few green mounds now form their only remains, even the very names of three of them have perished. Two of the others were dedicated to St Duthac and St Bennet. Still known is the chapel of St Regulus, and it is said that there once belonged to it a valuable historical record, the work probably of some literary monk or hermit, which at the Reformation was carried away to France by the priest.

The parish church is situated in the eastern part of the town. Its first minister was a Mr. Robert Williamson, whose initials may still be seen on a flat triangular stone, which bears the date 1593.

This account was written September 1836.

Source: New Statistical Account of Scotland, FHL book 941 B4sa, series 2, vol. 14.

Condition of Original Registers—
Index: For an index to these records, see the Scottish Church Records Index on computer at the Family History Library under “Databases on the Network.” Births:There are no entries March 1690–1699 and March 1732–May 1740, except three for 1750, April 1746–December 1751. Marriages: There are no entries May 1690–February 1698 and July 1723–September 1724; one entry for 1728. There are no entries December 1731–January 1752, from which date to 1761 marriages are recorded among the baptisms for the same period. No entries, except one, 1761–November 1771. Source: Key to the Parochial Registers of Scotland, by V. Ben Bloxham, pub. 1970. British Book 941 K23b.

Established Church—Kirk Session Records
Minutes 1678–1690, 1738–1934 Seat Rent Book 1741–1828 Cash Book 1825–1891 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH2/672.

Cromarty Free Church
History— The minister of Cromarty and practically all his congregation "came out" in 1843. They were joined by adherents of the Free Church from the Gaelic chapel in Cromarty, for whom Gaelic services were held in the evenings. The Gaelic and English sections were formally united under a minister, who could preach in both Gaelic and English. Membership: 1848, 94; 1900, 275. Source: Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843–1900, ed. Rev. William Ewing, D.D., 2 vols. pub. 1914. Film #918572. More details may be given in the source, including ministers.

Records— Minutes 1843–1920 Finance Committee Minutes 1844–1849, Deacons’ Court Minutes 1849–1955 Cash Book 1843–1875 Register of Marriages 1843–1847 List of Depositors, Sustentation Fund Accounts 1849–1861 Note: Available at the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh, record CH3/586.