Forres
The
Royal Burgh of
Forres (
Gaelic: Farrais), an ancient
burgh, is situated in the north of
Scotland on the
Moray coast.
Forres is thought to be the "Varris" shown on maps by
Ptolemy almost 2,000 years ago. There was a royal castle here from at least
900 AD and in around
1140 AD it became a royal burgh. Royal burghs were founded by the
Kings of Scots of the
12th century to encourage trade and economic improvement. The local
abbey which was a powerhouse of growth soon took a hit as the infamous local warlord the
Wolf of Badenoch plundered it.
On
23 June 1496 King
James IV of Scotland issued a
Royal Charter laying down the rights and privileges which the town's people are believed to have held by an earlier charter since the reign of King
David I some 300 years earlier.
Forres has grown much in recent years and now has over 9,000 inhabitants. Sitting between the floodplain of the River Findhorn and the wooded slopes of Cluny and Sanquhar Hills, Forres is well known for its award winning floral sculptures and is steeped in local history and traditions.
The town is the location of
Sueno's Stone, an enormous carved stone, probably created by
Picts to commemorate a battle against
Norse invaders.
Brodie Castle lies near the town.
Shakespeare's play
Macbeth locates Macbeth's castle here, although there is little historical evidence of him living in the town.
The town of Forres was a very important junction in the
Highland Railway network, travelling through Forres was once the quickest route to reach Inverness from the south.
The town has a network of footpaths that have been established and waymarked by the
Forres Footpaths Trust in recent years.
Forres was a
parliamentary burgh, combined with
Inverness,
Fortrose and
Nairn, in the
Inverness Burghs constituency of the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. The constituency was abolished in 1918 and the Forres and Nairn components were merged into the then new constituency of
Moray and Nairn.
*
Mount Dora,
Florida* Vienenburg, Germany
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Census data*
Local Website
