Editing Cromarty (section)

==History==
The name ''Cromarty'' variously derives from the Gaelic ''crom'' (crooked), and from ''bati'' (bay), or from ''àrd'' (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 Cromartie]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Cromarty|volume=7|page=483}}</ref> In 1264, its name was ''Crumbathyn''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names|author=AD Mills|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991|pages=140}}</ref>

Cromarty is a [[sea port]], and its economy was closely linked to the sea for most of its history. Fishing was the major industry, with salmon stations around the surrounding coast, and boats going out to catch herring. Other trade was also by boat: Cromarty's connections to surrounding towns were largely by ferry, while Cromarty boats exported locally-grown [[Hemp#Fiber|hemp fibre]], and brought goods such as coal. The [[Cromarty Firth]] is an outstanding natural harbour, and was an important British naval base during the [[First World War]] and the [[Second World War]]. [[HMS Natal (1905)|HMS ''Natal'']] blew up close by on 30 December 1915 with a substantial loss of life. {{efn|From 1890 (under terms of the [[Local Government (Scotland) Act 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 [[Local government areas of Scotland 1973 to 1996|region]] (1975 to 1996), and is today an [[area committee]] of the modern Highland [[unitary authority]].}}  On the 26th of January 1940, HMS (Previously RMS) ''[[RMS Durham Castle|Durham Castle]]'', while being towed to [[Scapa Flow]] hit a mine laid by U-Boat ''[[German submarine U-57 (1938)|U-57]]'' 11 nautical miles to the east of the town.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-12-10 |title=Durham Castle |url=https://www.scottishshipwrecks.com/durham-castle/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=Scottish Shipwrecks |language=en-GB}}</ref> Cromarty gives its name to one of the sea areas of the British [[Shipping Forecast]].

Cromarty Castle was the seat of the Urquharts, who were the hereditary sheriffs of Cromarty. The town was a royal burgh, and the ferry to [[Nigg, Highland|Nigg]] was on the royal pilgrimage route north to [[Tain]]. In 1513 [[James IV of Scotland]] went on a pilgrimage<ref>//www.tainmuseum.org.uk/article.php?id=51 </ref> and stayed in Cromarty Castle for 1 night.  Until 1890, it served as the [[county town]] of [[Cromartyshire]].

[[File:Scotia Depicta - Cromarty -Plate-.jpg|300px|thumb|Etching of Cromarty from Scotia Depicta by [[James Fittler]]]]
The site of the town's mediaeval burgh dating to at least the 12th century was identified by local archaeologists after winter storms in 2012 eroded sections of the shoreline. A community archaeology project, which began in 2013, is investigated the remains of roads and buildings at the site on the eastern edge of the present town.<ref>{{cite web|website=Ross and Cromarty Heritage|url=https://www.rossandcromartyheritage.org/home/black-isle-communities/cromarty/cromarty-history/cromarty-medieval-cromarty/|title=Medieval Cromarty|access-date=2025-01-01}}</ref>

Cromarty was the birthplace of Sir [[Thomas Urquhart]], the polymath Royalist most famous as the first translator of [[Rabelais]] into English.<ref name="EB1911"/>

In the nineteenth century, Cromarty was the birthplace and home of [[Hugh Miller]], a geologist, writer, journalist and participant in the [[Disruption of 1843|Disruptions]] in the Church of Scotland. Among his works was a collection of local folklore, such as the legend, dating from around 1740, that a Cromarty man named John Reid was granted three wishes from a [[mermaid]], and that he used one of the wishes to marry a woman named Helen Stuart.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ash |first=Russell |date=1973 |title=Folklore, Myths and Legends of Britain |publisher=Reader's Digest Association Limited |page=436 |isbn=9780340165973 }}</ref>