Culrain Hall audience ‘enthralled’ by historian’s Battle of Carbisdale talk
Culrain Hall was packed last Saturday as 90 people turned out to hear historian and author Dr Andrew Lind deliver a lecture on the Battle of Carbisdale and the beleaguered campaign of the 1st Marquis of Montrose in support of Charles II’s royalist cause.
The audience was enthralled as Dr Lind, a lecturer at the UHI Institute for Northern Studies and an honorary council member of the 1st Marquis of Montrose Society, recounted the events that took place from the recruitment and deployment of forces and the role played by Charles' European allies to the march to Culrain, the ensuing battle on April 27, 1650, and the aftermath which ended with the execution of Montrose in Edinburgh.
Of particular interest to many was the application of these events to the landscape of today. The consolidation of forces in Orkney, the landing at John O'Groats, the capture of Thurso and Dunbeath Castle and the advance of the army along a route that is now the A9 trunk road.
Dr Lind's enthusiasm for the subject was most evident, and the lecture was much appreciated by all present.
The lecture highlighted the hundreds of men recruited by Montrose in Orkney who marched south and took part in the battle. Many of these men died on the fields of Culrain or drowned in the waters of the Kyle of Sutherland, a somewhat sad connection between the village of Culrain and the island of Orkney.
The Culrain Hall Committee provided refreshments and had a "Guess the Weight of the Cannonball" competition and a raffle.
A surprising piece of good luck saw Mr Malcolm Hamilton winning both, and he generously donated his winnings to the Culrain Hall funds. Overall, the event raised £501 for the hall.
Hall chairman Graham Charge said: “We were very privileged to have an expert in Dr Lind, who gave us a very knowledgeable interpretation of the events that took place in our village 375 years ago"
