Our History
Attribution: RCHS
The Aims
The Ross and Cromarty Heritage Society was established as a registered charity in July 1973. they held our first AGM being held at Dingwall in 1974.
Our aim is to promote and promote and care for the history, beauty and character of the Ross and Cromarty communities. Undoubtably, achievable through research, collecting and collating of pictorial and literary records from the 36 communities of Ross and Cromarty.
The society emphatically believes that to produce a heritage record of worth and interest to future generations. It is essential for the effort to come from within each community.
Unquestionably, the society needs people with the time and knowledge to help add to the existing archive.
The Name
The Society is named after the Ross and Cromarty local government county created in 1890.
Publications
Firstly, the society was responsible for re-publishing a number older books and publishing newer articles provided by its members.
Publications include:
Gairloch and Guide to Loch Maree by J.H. Dixon in 1974,
The Ferindonald Papers by Frank Maclennan in 1976
Tarbat, Easter Ross: A historical sketch by Alexander Fraser in 1988.
Attribution: unknown
The Wayfarer Project
Following on, an oral history project, using video technology for interviews and films was introduced in the 1990’s, producing an illustrated account of the places and people of Ross and Cromarty. The innovative concept was the idea of by Dr Kerr Yule, Secretary at the time and became known as “Wayfarer”.
Links with the past
Inspired by the Statistical Inquiry of Sir John Sinclair, Baronet of Ulbster, Caithness, in 1790. The Wayfarers project set out to replicate the Old and New Statistical Accounts to reflect the modern day.
Both the Old and New Statistical Accounts for Ross & Cromarty are published on this website.
Additionally, the Statistical Accounts for the whole of Scotland are also available online at the University of Edinburgh Library.
The Wayfarers website - The move online
With the dawn of the world wide web in the 1990’s the Heritage Society ventured online. Subsequently, our online multi-media website account from each of the 36 Ross and Cromarty communities was created. We were assisted in this venture by the UHI Millennium Institute, (forerunner of the University of the Highlands and Islands) providing server web space for the archive.
Attribution: not recorded or unknown
The Next Website
Our next website https://www.rossandcromartyheritage.org was launched in 2014 containing extensive archive of records and images.
Publications continue online
Maintaining our core values and aim of preserving articles and books that were at risk, we could now publish online.
Contribution from our guests and web users is undeniably the best source of information.
Attribution: Unknown
Books and research articles amongst our collection include:
“Records of the Men of Lochbroom who fell in the European War 1914 – 1918” – Mrs Edith Fraser of Leckmelm.
“Coigach’s Sacrifice in the Great War”, “Coigach’s Sacrifice in the Second World War” and “Lochbroom’s Sacrifice in the Second World War”- all works by Clare Church.
Also detailed information on the servicemen of Gairloch Parish who served in World War Two from Mr Donald Mackenzie of Aultbea.
The Society is indebted to all those named above for their dedication to their research in in allowing us to publish on our website.
Additionally, we also provide many stories from several local clubs, each with a story to tell, adding to the diversity of our area. Local schools have also provided articles from various school projects.
The "New" website
A new updated website was created during the Covid-19 pandemic by two dedicated members, to ensure our users could access from any device.
Significant reorganisation of our pages has created, an improved menu system, increased use of book formats, new photo albums, and a new library section for each community.
Additionally, our vast War records section can now also be accessed on each community page as well as the Pan Ross homepage.
Moreover, we now provide a facility for online comments to be added to the corresponding entry.
We also accept feedback and information which is subsequently much easier for our readers to provide and benefits of the work of the society.
The “new” website on a mobile phone Attribution: S Fraser
The Future
The Ross and Cromarty Heritage Society has nearly 50 years of recording the history, environment, folk, places events, work and social activities across the Ross and Cromarty area. To continue with this work in the future we need people from the area to help. Maybe you have memories from the past or old photos of local people or places, then please get in touch. We also need volunteers to work on the website, raise much needed funds or contribute to our social networking pages. As an Editor of the “Ross-shire Journal” said when he first heard of the Project: “Whatever else, taking part in this Project should be fun”.
Attribution: unknown
