Cromarty
The
Royal Burgh of
Cromarty (
Cromba in
Gaelic) is a
burgh in
Ross and Cromarty,
Highland,
Scotland. It was previously the
county town of the former
county of
Cromartyshire[From 1889 to 1975 Cromartyshire was merged with Ross-shire under the Ross and Cromarty county council. Ross and Cromarty has later usage as the name of a district of the Highland region (1975 to 1996), and is today an area committee of the modern Highland unitary authority.]. The burgh is a
seaport on the southern shore of the mouth of
Cromarty Firth, 5 miles from
Invergordon on the opposite coast.
The name
Cromarty variously derives from the Gaelic
crow (crooked), and from
bati (bay), or from
ard (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 the title to the
earldom of Cromarty.
The town grew around its port, formerly used by
ferries, to export locally-grown
hemp fibre (from
cannabis), and by
trawlers trawling for
herrings. Today, the port is home to the
UK's smallest
vehicle ferry, running across the Firth to
Nigg (home to a large facility formerly used for the manufacture and maintenance of
oil rigs and an oil terminal connected to the
Beatrice oilfield). It runs from June to October, from roughly 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. The vessel is called the
Cromarty Rose.
Cromarty is architecturally important for its
Victorian cottages in the local
vernacular style. The thatched house with crow-stepped gables in Church Street, in which
Hugh Miller the
geologist was born still stands, and a statue has been erected to his memory. To the east of the burgh is
Cromarty House, occupying the site of the old castle of the earls of Ross. It was the birthplace of Sir
Thomas Urquhart, the translator of
Rabelais.
The burgh is also noted as a base for viewing the local offshore
sea life.
Cromarty gives its name to one of the
British Sea Areas used to provide
weather forecasts to shipping.
From 1832 to 1918 Cromarty was a
parliamentary burgh, combined with
Dingwall,
Dornoch,
Kirkwall,
Tain and
Wick in the
Wick Burghs constituency of the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom. Known also as
Northern 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.
Cromarty F.C. play in the local Ross-shire Amateur League, playing against sides from the Black Isle area, and also Mid Lairg of
Daviot, near
Inverness. Cromarty play in black and yellow, and have a decent previous record in the competition, having won it on two occasions in recent years. The 2006 season, their first after a year-long hiatus from the league, has not been a particularly successful one for them, however; they have lost all 7 of their games so far this season and have conceded 49 goals.
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