Avoch harbour Avoch ( ; from the – meaning mouth of the stream) is a harbour-village located on the south-east coast of the Black Isle, on the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; , or ) is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of the north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncans ...

History

Origins

Ormond Castle or ''Avoch Castle'' was a stronghold built on the site and served as a royal castle to

William the Lion William the Lion (), sometimes styled William I (; ) and also known by the nickname ; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Alba from 1165 to 1214. His almost 49 ...

; passed on to the Morays of Petty then Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway, upon his marriage to Joanna de Moravia in 1362. Descendants of Archibald, were to take the title of Earl of Ormonde from the castle. Legend has it that the village was founded by survivors of the

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval ...

in 1588.

Estate owners

Pittonachy, Rosehaugh and Scatwell

Avoch was in the control of David Chalmers, Lord Ormond from 1560/61 but he forfeited his castle and control of Avoch in 1568 when he was exiled due to his part in assisting the escape of

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

. The castle and village then passed to Andrew Munro of Milntown. In the late 16th century the Munro of Pittonachy family held the estate of Pittonachy in the parish until Hugh Munro, III of Pittonachy (d.1670) sold it. It then became a property of the Mackenzies who renamed it Rosehaugh. George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh was the first of his family to hold the estate. He was succeeded by his son, also called George Mackenzie, who left an only daughter who died without issue and thus the Mackenzie of Rosehaugh branch became extinct in the male line. In 1688, the estate was purchased from Mackenzie of Rosehaugh by Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, IV of Scatwell, a family originally from the parish of Contin. Kenneth's son, Roderick Mackenzie, built a new mansion called Rosehaugh House, although in Alexander Mackenzie's 19th century history it was still referred to by the old Munro name of "Pittonachty" (Pittonachy). This mansion was demolished in 1959. Mackenzie of Scatwell who owned the estate during the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

refused to raise his men for the Jacobite cause despite being threatened with military execution by the Jacobite George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie. Scatwell was apparently happy that Cromartie therefore did not return from his expedition to Sutherland.

Royston

The other estate in the parish of Avoch was the Royston Estate which was owned by James Mackenzie, Lord Royston (died 1744) who was the fourth son of George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie (died 1714). James Mackenzie, Lord Royston married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh but their only son, George, predeceased him. When James Mackenzie, Lord Royston died in 1744 he was survived by two daughters, Anne who married but without issue and Elizabeth who married Sir John Stewart of Grandtully with issue. According to contemporary documents, the Royston estate rental records of Avoch, in 1747 the estate was then held by Lord Royston's grandson, John Stewart. In 1826, the dormant male Baronetcy of Royston was assumed by a descendant of the Mackenzies of Cromarty and Tarbat, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Mackenzie. He died in 1841 without issue and so was succeeded by his younger brother, Sir James Sutherland Mackenzie, who also died unmarried in 1858 and the Baronetcy of Royston became dormant again. Upon his death the baronetcy should have gone to his cousin John Mackenzie, but he did not assume the title.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie

Intrepid

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

explorer in Canada

Sir Alexander Mackenzie Sir Alexander Mackenzie ( – 12 March 1820) was a Scottish explorer and fur trader known for accomplishing the first crossing of North America north of Mexico by a European in 1793. The Mackenzie River and Mount Sir Alexander are named afte ...

, the first

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an to explore the great Canadian river now known as the

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

, crossing

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

twice, to the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

in 1789 and

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

in 1793, retired to Avoch in 1812 where he died in 1820 and was buried in the old Avoch Parish churchyard.

Culture

Industry

Much of Avoch's wealth has come from its fishing industry, and it remains a significant contributor to the village economy, with several large fishing boats owned or crewed from Avoch and an active fishermen's co-operative based there. The harbour is no longer used by the larger boats for landing but is used by leisure craft and boats taking visitors to see the

dolphins A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

in the inner Moray Firth at

Chanonry Point Chanonry Point (Scottish Gaelic: ''Rubha na Cananaich'') lies at the end of Chanonry Ness, a Spit (landform), spit of land extending into the Moray Firth between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, Scotland. Lighthouse An active lightho ...

. In addition to the fishing industry, commuting to Inverness and tourism provide income to the village. Lazy Corner, named for the youngsters who gathered there to pass the time, has been moved by the road widening in the Eighties, and spruced up by a sculpture intended to add character to the village. It is still a gathering place.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Populated places on the Black Isle Ports and harbours of Scotland Parishes in Ross and Cromarty