Creich ( gd, Craoich, ) is a substantial parish on the north side of the

Dornoch Firth The Dornoch Firth ( gd, Caolas Dhòrnaich, ) is a firth on the east coast of Highland, in northern Scotland. It forms part of the boundary between Ross and Cromarty, to the south, and Sutherland, to the north. The firth is designated as a nationa ...

the largest settlement being

Bonar Bridge Bonar Bridge ( gd, Drochaid a' Bhanna, ) is a village on the north bank of the Kyle of Sutherland to the west and the Dornoch Firth to the east in the Parish of Creich in the Highland council area of Scotland. The Kyle of Sutherland ("the K ...

. It lies in

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire ( ...

, Scotland. There is a church (now in ruins) and graveyard for the Parish of Creich. Creich Mains farm is located here. Beside the old (walled) graveyard in a field there is a standing stone engraved with a faint Celtic-style Christian cross. This is associated with a battle between locals and Norsemen/Vikings. There is a rocky hill forming a peninsula into the

Kyle of Sutherland The Kyle of Sutherland ( gd, An Caol Catach) is a river estuary that separates Sutherland from Ross-shire. It flows into the Dornoch Firth at Bonar Bridge, and is fed by the rivers Oykel, Shin, River Cassley and Carron. The downstream extent o ...

called Dun Creich (the "hill of Creich"), which has the ruins of a

vitrified fort Vitrified forts are stone enclosures whose walls have been subjected to vitrification through heat. It was long thought that these structures were unique to Scotland, but they have since been identified in several other parts of western and northe ...

on its summit.

Notable residents

Unusually for such a tiny parish, it has created two church leaders: Very Rev Gustavus Aird (1813-1898) minister of Creich, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1888, active campaigner against the

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase resul ...

Very Rev Archibald Donald Cameron was minister of Creich from 1908 to 1946 and

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

of the Free Church of Scotland 1928/29.

References

External links

Creich photo gallery
Populated places in Sutherland {{Highland-geo-stub