Gaelic Chapel & Burial Ground

The Gaelic chapel and associated burial ground in Cromarty.

Now a ruin, the Gaelic Chapel was built as a new church in 1783 by George Ross of Pitkerrie, who had bought the Cromarty Estate in 1767. It is on a prominent position overlooking the town, and was built to house gaelic speaking workers who had moved to work in Cromarty. In the early nineteenth century it had 500 worshippers.
The nave is a plain rectangle, with lofts at either end. The height of the belltower, replacing the more common bellcote, provides emphasis to the east end of the building.
During the First World War the building was used by troops, but afterwards was declared redundant to worship. The church came back into use in the Second World War when it was used by Polish troops as a garrison chapel and was well cared for. But by the late 1950s the roof had collapsed under its own weight, and  the pine pews, the pulpit with a Roman Doric entablature, its’ sounding board and precentor’s desk were all stripped out and the walls of the ruin consolidated.
The porch and the belltower retain their slated roofs, although they are now in poor repair. The arched windows to either side of the pulpit, together with the openings of the porch and the tower, display the characteristic architectural features of keystones and impost blocks.
Now a ruin, the Gaelic Chapel was built as a new church in 1783 by George Ross of Pitkerrie, who had bought the Cromarty Estate in 1767. It is on a prominent position overlooking the town, and was built to house gaelic speaking workers who had moved to work in Cromarty. In the early nineteenth century it had 500 worshippers.