Ross-shire, or the
County of Ross, (
Siorrachd Rois in Scottish Gaelic) is a former
countyThe counties of Scotland were the principal divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them.-Origin:...
of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The county bordered on
SutherlandSutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'Ic Aoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
,
CromartyshireCromartyshire was a county in the Highlands of Scotland, consisting of a main portion between Sutherland and Ross-shire and a series of exclaves within Ross-shire. Ross-shire and Cromartyshire were combined as the single county of Ross and Cromarty by the Local Government Act 1889, and this...
(of which it contained many exclaves),
Inverness-shireInverness was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland region was a region of eight...
and an exclave of Nairnshire. It included most of
RossRoss is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...
as well as
LewisLewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
in the
Outer HebridesThe Outer Hebrides, comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland...
.
DingwallDingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It formerly functioned as an east-coast port, but now lies inland...
was the traditional
county townA county town is the 'capital' of a county in Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
.
Ross-shire and Cromartyshire were combined in the single
local governmentLocal government in Scotland is organised through 32 unitary authorities consisting of councillors elected every four years by registered voters in each of the council areas....
county of
Ross and CromartyRoss and Cromarty is a vaguely or variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...
under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland...
.
Ross-shire, or the
County of Ross, (
Siorrachd Rois in Scottish Gaelic) is a former
countyThe counties of Scotland were the principal divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them.-Origin:...
of
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The county bordered on
SutherlandSutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'Ic Aoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
,
CromartyshireCromartyshire was a county in the Highlands of Scotland, consisting of a main portion between Sutherland and Ross-shire and a series of exclaves within Ross-shire. Ross-shire and Cromartyshire were combined as the single county of Ross and Cromarty by the Local Government Act 1889, and this...
(of which it contained many exclaves),
Inverness-shireInverness was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland region was a region of eight...
and an exclave of Nairnshire. It included most of
RossRoss is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...
as well as
LewisLewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
in the
Outer HebridesThe Outer Hebrides, comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland...
.
DingwallDingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It formerly functioned as an east-coast port, but now lies inland...
was the traditional
county townA county town is the 'capital' of a county in Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom. County towns are usually the location of administrative or judicial functions, or established over time as the de facto main town of a county. The concept of a county town eventually became detached from its...
.
Ross-shire and Cromartyshire were combined in the single
local governmentLocal government in Scotland is organised through 32 unitary authorities consisting of councillors elected every four years by registered voters in each of the council areas....
county of
Ross and CromartyRoss and Cromarty is a vaguely or variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...
under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889The Local Government Act 1889 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed on 26 August 1889. The main effect of the act was to establish elected county councils in Scotland...
. In 1975, Ross and Cromarty was itself replaced by the
HighlandThe Highland Council area is a local government area in the Scottish Highlands and the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute...
regionThe local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....
and the Western Isles, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973The Local Government Act 1973 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that reformed local government in Scotland, on May 16, 1975....
. The region became a unitary council area in 1996, under the
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994The Local Government etc. Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland....
.
The
Ross-shire Journal covers, approximately, the area of the former county.
Constituency
There was a
Ross-shire constituencyRoss-shire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
of the
Parliament of Great BritainThe Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
from 1708 to 1801, and of the
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
from 1801 to 1832. In 1832 it was merged with the Cromartyshire constituency to form the
Ross and Cromarty constituencyRoss and Cromarty was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1983. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament ....
.
Clans
The main four ancient
Scottish clanScottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs officially registered with the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls the heraldry and Coat of Arms...
s in mainland Ross-shire were the
Clan RossClan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan. The original chiefs of the clan were the original Earls of Ross.-Origins:Clan Ross is a Highland Scottish clan first named as such by King Malcolm IV of Scotland in 1160...
whose chiefs once held the title
Earl of RossThe Mormaer or Earl of Ross refers to the leader of a medieval Gaelic lordship in northern Scotland, roughly between the River Oykel and the River Beauly....
and also the
Clan Munro-Origins:The main theory as to the origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
and
Clan MacKenzieClan Mackenzie is a Highland Scottish clan, traditionally associated with Kintail and lands in Ross-shire.-Origins:The Mackenzies were of Celtic stock and were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestors. They are believed to be related to Clan Matheson and Clan Anrias, all three...
and the
Clan ChisholmClan Chisholm is a Scottish clan. The clan had its origin outside Scotland. The first Chisholm to appear in the records of Scotland was Alexander de Chesholme, who witnessed a charter in 1248/49.-Origins of the Clan:...
.
See also
- Ross
Ross is a region of Scotland and a former mormaerdom, earldom, sheriffdom and county. The name Ross allegedly derives from a Gaelic word meaning a headland - perhaps a reference to the Black Isle. The Norse word for Orkney - Hrossay meaning horse island - is another possible origin. The area...
- Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty is a vaguely or variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...
- Earl of Ross
The Mormaer or Earl of Ross refers to the leader of a medieval Gaelic lordship in northern Scotland, roughly between the River Oykel and the River Beauly....
- Mormaer of Ross
- Bishop of Ross
The Bishop of Ross was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Ross, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first recorded bishop appears in the late 7th century as a witness to Adomnán of Iona's Cáin Adomnáin. The bishopric was based at the settlement of Rosemarkie until the mid-13th...
- James McKenzie