Contin
| Contin Gaelic: Cunndainn | |
| Ross-shire | |
|---|---|
 Contin Stores | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NH458560 |
| Location: | 57°34’5"N, 4°34’43"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 675 |
| Post town: | Strathpeffer |
| Postcode: | IV14 |
| Dialling code: | 01997 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Highland |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Ross, Skye and Lochaber |
Contin is a Ross-shire village and parish between Strathpeffer and Garve. The parish also covers a detached part of Cromartyshire (No. 20). It has a population of 675.[1]
The church in Contin is dedicated to St Maelrubha or Máel Ruba and is on Contin Island which lies in the Black Water and is reached from the rest of the village by two bridges, one foot and the other road. The present building dates back to the 18th century but there has probably been a church on this site since the 7th or 8th century.
The parish extends to the north-west of the village itself and contains the villages and hamlets of Achanalt, Corriemoillie, Garve, Gorstan and Lochluichart. The A835/A832 roads and railway from Dingwall to Kyle of Lochalsh link these settlements together, with stations at Garve, Lochluichart and Achanalt.
According to a booklet "Parish of Contin 690 to 1990", based on research by Rev. A. C. Maclean F.S.A., J.P. Minister from 1906 to 1937, published by the Church of Contin "Between 1485 and 1487 the Macdonalds and some of their allies (about 1,000 men) meeting at Contin, on their way to a punitive raid against the Mackenzies of Kinellan, discovered the church was filled with the aged men, women and children trusting to its sanctuary. Alexander Macdonald ordered the door to be shut and the building to be surrounded so that none could escape. He gave orders to set the church on fire, and everyone within - several hundreds - were burnt to death. Vengeance from the Mackenzies and Macreas was swift. After the battle at Pairc, one or two hundred out of 1,800 to 2,000 Macdonalds and their followers, who had eventually gathered at Contin, were left to escape as they might."
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