Alness

Alness Scottish Gaelic: Alanais
Population
OS grid reference	NH655695
Council area	Highland
Lieutenancy area	Ross and Cromarty
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Alness
Postcode district	IV17
Dialling code	01349
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Scottish Parliament	Ross, Skye and Inverness West

Dalmore Distillery reception house in Alness

Alness is a town in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. The name is pronounced (roughly) Al'-niss by some Ross-shire residents and Oll-ness' by others. Divided by the River Averon, it is in two parishes, Alness in the west and Rosskeen in the east. Historically these were in different presbyteries. Population 4960 (2004)

The Alness we see today was thanks, in part, to Harold Wilson’s government of 1964. His famous phrase ‘the white heat of technological revolution’ could have been written with Easter Ross in mind. At the Labour Party conference in 1967 Wilson announced the building of two aluminium smelters. In November of that year planning permission for 500 council houses at Alness was passed. The census of 1961 put the population at 1,040, but all was about to change, when, in 1968, Trade Secretary, Anthony Crossland, announced in the Commons that British Aluminium were chosen to build the Invergordon Smelter. The other was built by Alcan in Northumberland. Also slightly further East on the North bank of the Cromarty Firt at Nigg Bay the construction of the Oil Fabrication Yard by Highlands Fabricators started in 1971 where large Oil Production Platforms would be built over the next 30 years.

The town saw major expansion and some 2,000 construction workers arrived and Easter Ross was once again providing full employment. Indeed, between 1970 – 73 the locally born had dropped by 7% to 67%. Alness residents born in the central belt rose 157% and other incomers by 138%.

The uprooting of large numbers of people from other areas into housing estates had caused some social problems to become noticeable in the early years, but now the town is known for its friendliness and in recent years for its involvement in the Beautiful Scotland in Bloom and Britain in Bloom competitions which have had a unifying effect and given some civic pride to an area which had become somewhat depressed after the withdrawal of the larger industries.

Famous Past

Charles Rennie MacKintosh

A famous name with Alness connections is Charles Macintosh. In the mid 1700s George Macintosh lived at Newmore near Alness. His son, the aforementioned Charles Macintosh, was born in 1768. He made his name in science and is credited with inventing a revolutionary bleaching powder. His partner Charles Tennant took out the patent in 1899, but it is widely believed that Macintosh was the real creator.

But the most famous link with Alness is the MacKintosh raincoat, for it is believed that it was during a stay in Alness that Charles invented a waterproof material. Macintosh was aiming this at the manufacture of tents, but it was also used in clothing The MacKintosh or Mac. The material was first introduced in 1824 and has been used worldwide ever since.

David Forsyth

David Forsyth was born in Alness in 1854, maybe not a well known name to most but he is famous within the chess playing community as it was he who invented the Forsyth Notation. This is one of a number of systems used for recording on paper the positions of chess pieces, such as can be seen in newspapers today.

Alness at War

Alness has many links with armed services. These began as early as 1715. Sentry Hill, above the present footbridge at the lower end of the High Steet was a watchpoint. The Earl of Sutherland had gathered around 1200 men on the Government side during the first Jacobite rising. On 5th October 1715 he made his Head Quarters at the Crawl Park, occupying a line along the lower reaches of the Averon. Further reinforcements arrived by sea, which helped to reinforce with the military that the Cromarty Firth could be a great asset in time of conflict. Among those highlighting its potential were Daniel Defoe and, much later, Winston Churchill.

During World War One the American Navy took over Dalmore Distillery and used it as a mine base. The so-called ‘Yankee Pier’ still juts out into the firth. In the 1930s the RAF’s presence grew. Alness became a training base for flying boats. In 1938, 228 Squadron with Saro Londons and Stranraers came to the firth from Pembroke Dock and this was followed in October, 1939 by 210 Squadron of Sunderlands and Catalina Flying boats by 1941 4C OUT was fully established and Alness, with the officers based at Dalmore House and the 'tech site' and repair and maintenance area at Alness Point, became a very busy strategic point for training and North Sea surveillance. Short Sunderlands had a crew of 13 and by 1942 the OUT was producing 22 trained crews a month.

It was from Alness that the Duke of Kent, the King’s youngest brother, took off on his ill-fated flight in August, 1942. He was due to visit troops in Iceland. The expected route was to follow the coastline of Sutherland and Caithness, but for some, still unknown, reason the aircraft turned inland and, in heavy mist and rain, crashed on Eagle Rock above the village of Berriedale. All crew were killed except rear gunner Flt/Sgt Andrew Jack

Other Facts about Alness

Alness has a railway station on the Far North Line.

External links

• Alness.com Community website commissioned by the Alness Community Association
• Alness - PastPresent history site
• Alness - entry in Undiscovered Scotland