Cromarty

Cromarty, comprises a seaport in the county of Ross and Cromarty[?], Scotland. Population: (1901) 1242. It is situated on the southern shore of the mouth of Cromarty Firth, 5 miles East-by-South of Invergordon on the opposite coast, and 9 miles Northeast of Fortrose, the most convenient railway station. Before the union of the shires of Ross and Cromarty, it was the county town of Cromartyshire, and one of the Wick district group of parliamentary burghs.

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 principal buildings are the town hall and the Hugh Miller Institute. The harbour, enclosed by two piers, accommodates the herring fleet, but the fisheries, the staple industry, have declined. The town, however, is in growing repute as a midsummer resort. 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.

Originally from http://1911encyclopedia.org (http://1911encyclopedia.org) -- needs updating.