Applecross Heritage Centre / Ionad Dualchais

The Applecross Heritage Centre is a local museum and research centre run by volunteers from the Applecross Historical Society. We are beautifully situated with a unique Highland heritage.
Come on in – you’ll be very welcome!

’S e Ionad Dualchais na Comraich taigh-tasgaidh agus ionad-rannsachaidh ionadail a th’ air a ruith le saor-thoilich à Comunn Eachdraidh na Comraich. Tha sinn suidhichte ann an àite àlainn le dualchas Gàidhealach air leth. Thigibh ann – gheibh sibh fàilte mhòr!

Heritage Centre

The Applecross Heritage Centre is housed in a sensitively restored nineteenth century outbuilding of the old manse and glebe. It is operated by the Historical Society and its volunteers, and it was opened in 2003. It is a major plank of the Historical Society’s commitment to promoting knowledge of local history and culture.

The Centre contains displays, artefacts and records to interest locals and visitors alike in learning about the history of the area. In doing this it hopes to develop a sense of the unique nature of our community and how the past affects the present in A’Chomraich – the sanctuary.

Historical Society

The Society, established in 1998 and incorporated in 2000, collects and records information about the history of Applecross, arranges public lectures and disseminates information about the local area.

Applecross is a peninsula with many small villages and hamlets spread over approximately 30 miles of coastline. Today, the main tourist facilities are located around the 19th century village known as Shore Street, which visitors sometimes mistakenly think is called Applecross.

The Historical Society and the Heritage Centre are both run entirely by volunteers and depends on membership fees, income from the Heritage Centre and donations to operate. Click here for more information about the Historical Society.

Practical details

The Heritage Centre generally operates from April to October each year, and it is open from 12-4 pm, or by special arrangement. It is run by Volunteers who give their time on a regular basis over the season.

Entry fee a nominal £3 (donations above this much appreciated). All funds from visiting the Centre go towards its running and maintenance costs.

In addition to a wide range of exhibits, we also hold or display a range of pictures, records, books and maps. Volunteers can direct visitors to specific resources. If, following your visit, you wish to follow up on anything please email us at applecrossheritagecentre@btinternet.com and we will endeavour to help you.

We also have a small retail facility. Again all profits go directly into supporting the running of the Centre. You can also make a donation at the desk.

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Applecross Heritage Centre

16 hours ago

A visitor to the Heritage Centre today asked a question we get asked quite a lot, “Why is Applecross called Applecross?”It is in fact an anglicisation of the original name for the area, first recorded around 671 by the Irish chronicles, when Maelrubha of Bangor, County Down in Ireland, established a monastery at “Apor crossan”, around the area of the current graveyard. This part of Scotland was Pictish at this time and Apor crossan is believed to have been the original name in the Pictish language. “Apor” is like the “Aber” in Aberdeen, and means river mouth. The meaning of crossan is unknown. It is thought unlikely to be related to crosses, as the Picts were not Christian at this time, so ‘crossan’ probably had another meaning in Pictish, and would have been the name of the river. There is no known reference to Applecross (or Apor crossan) in written records from about 801, around the time the Vikings started sacking monasteries, until the 1500s. When it was first mentioned in Scottish sources, in the 16th century, it was variously spelled Abilcros, Apilcors, Apilcroce, etc. This was later standardised as Applecross.So nothing to do with apples, and probably nothing to do with crosses!Despite this, in the late 1700s, an apple-related tradition seems to have been invented for the origin of the name. In 1792, the Applecross minister, who spoke Gaelic as well as English, reported that the English-sounding name Applecross was ‘fanciful’ and invented by one of the former proprietors of the area, who had commemorated the name by planting five apple trees ‘cross-wise’ in his garden! Of course in Gaelic, the language of the area for at least 1300 years, it’s not called Applecross at all, but A’ Chomraich, ‘the sanctuary’. This is because, as church land dating back to the days of the monastery, the area was regarded as a sanctuary for those fleeing from the law or from clan disputes. ... See MoreSee Less

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Applecross Heritage Centre

4 days ago

Here's a short video summarising the article we posted about yesterday - in case you didn't have time to read the whole thing! ... See MoreSee Less

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Applecross Heritage Centre

5 days ago

New research shows links between Applecross and other coastal communities in the Iron Age, and gives an insight into funerary practices.Research just published reports that, at Loch Borralie 140 km north of Applecross, “archaeologists have found an Iron Age burial with the brain removed and bones sharpened to points… [and that] after this unfamiliar post-mortem modification, the individual was reassembled and deposited in a low stone cairn…”. DNA analysis showed that this individual was biologically related to skeletal remains of an adult male previously found at Applecross, which dated to the same period as the Loch Borralie skeleton (1st century BC to 1st century AD). ... See MoreSee Less

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