Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former

royal burgh A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There are many geographical and historical attractions nearby such as the

River Findhorn The River Findhorn (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Fionn Èireann) is one of the longest rivers in Scotland. Located in the north east, it flows into the Moray Firth on the north coast. It has one of the largest non-firth estuaries in Scotland. The riv ...

, and there are also classical, historical artifacts and monuments within the town itself, such as Forres Tolbooth and Nelson's Tower. Brodie Castle, the home of the Brodie Clan, lies to the west of the town, close to the A96. A list of suburbs in the town of Forres contains: Brodie, Dalvey, Mundole and Springdale.

Pre-history and archaeology

Between 2002 and 2013 some 70 hectares of land was investigated by archaeologists in advance of a proposed residential development on the southern fringes of the town. They found an extensive

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

settlement and evidence that people lived in the area from the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several p ...

( radiocarbon dates from the 4th to the mid-3rd millennium BC were found) to the Early Historic period (they found radiocarbon dates from the 9th–12th centuries AD, around the time that historical records began). The Iron Age settlement had a

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought north ...

and metalworking furnaces, and they found Neolithic and Bronze Age ceramics and cup-marked rock art. The excavation of a souterrain in Moray is quite rare; only one other souterrain had been excavated in Moray before this one.

History

The earliest written reference to Forres may be the (', 'Varar Estuary') mentioned in the second century

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importa ...

. The town is the location of

Sueno's Stone Sueno's Stone is a Picto-Scottish Class III standing stone on the north-easterly edge of Forres in Moray and is the largest surviving Pictish style cross-slab stone of its type in Scotland, standing in height. It is situated on a raised bank o ...

, an enormous carved stone probably created by

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from e ...

to commemorate a battle against Norse invaders. The stele is tall and encased in glass structure to protect it from the elements and graffiti. Sueno's Stone translates to Sven's Stone. It dates from AD 850 to AD 950. A royal castle was present in the area from at least 900 AD, and around 1140 AD Forres became a royal burgh.

Royal burghs A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

were founded by the

Kings of Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

of the 12th century to encourage trade and economic improvement. The local

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

was plundered by the Wolf of Badenoch in 1390. Forres sueno

On 23 June 1496 King James IV of Scotland issued a

Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

laying down the rights and privileges that the town's people are believed to have held by an earlier charter since the reign of King

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

some 300 years earlier. Brodie Castle, which was commissioned by Brodie family in 1567, lies to the west of the town.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play '' Macbeth'', first performed in 1606, locates Duncan's castle in Forres, and the

Three Witches The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'' (c. 1603–1607). The witches eventually lead Macbeth to his demise, and they hold a striking resemblance to the ...

meet on moorland near the town in the third scene of the drama. The Dallas Dhu distillery, established in 1898, lies just south of the town; although no longer producing, the distillery is maintained in working order by

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

Benromach Distillery Benromach distillery is a Speyside Single Malts, Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and currently owned and run by Gordon & MacPhail, Gordon and Macphail of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. It is situated near Forres in Mo ...

, also established in 1898, is located just north of the Forres bypass and is an active distillery with a visitors' centre. The

Findhorn Foundation The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain.''The Dictionary of Alternatives: Utopianism and Org ...

, an intentional community, was established in the town in the 1940s. The former

RAF Forres Royal Air Force Forres or more simply RAF Forres is a former Royal Air Force satellite station located near Forres, Moray, Scotland. The station was controlled by RAF Lossiemouth. The following units were here at some point: * Satellite airfield ...

, established during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, is located nearby. In January 2016,

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

established a campus in the town which focuses on design and innovation.

Demography

The population of Forres expanded in the 20th century and was over 12,000 in 2011.

Geography and economy

Sitting between the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

of the

and the wooded slopes of

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

and Sanquhar Hills, Forres is well known for its award-winning floral sculptures. Local bars and pubs include The Newmarket, The Red Lion (known locally as "The Beastie") The Mosset Tavern, and The Carlton Hotel.

Parliamentary burgh

Mechanics' Institute Forres (geograph 5748830)

Forres was a parliamentary burgh, combined with Inverness,

Fortrose Fortrose (; gd, A' Chananaich, sco, Chainry) is a town and former royal burgh in Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is on the Moray Firth, about north-east of Inverness. The burgh is a popular location for trying to spot bottlenose dolp ...

and

Nairn Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradi ...

, in the Inverness Burghs constituency of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

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. Forres Town Hall, originally built as a masonic hall and later used as a mechanics institute before becoming a municipal building, was completed in 1829.

Notable residents

Frank Fraser Darling Sir Frank Fraser Darling FRSE (23 June 1903 – 22 October 1979) was an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author, who is strongly associated with the highlands and islands of Scotland. He gives his name to the Frase ...

(1903 - 1979), an English ecologist, ornithologist, farmer, conservationist and author. He gives his name to the Fraser Darling effect. *

Hugh Falconer Hugh Falconer MD FRS (29 February 1808 – 31 January 1865) was a Scottish geologist, botanist, palaeontologist, and paleoanthropologist. He studied the flora, fauna, and geology of India, Assam,Burma,and most of the Mediterranean islands a ...

(1808–1865), Scottish geologist, botanist, palaeontologist, and paleoanthropologist * John Gordon FRSE (1786–1818) anatomist born in Forres *

Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Baronet Sir Alexander Grant, 1st Baronet (1 October 1864 – 21 May 1937) was a Scottish businessman, biscuit manufacturer and philanthropist. He is best known for being managing director of McVitie's, developing the recipe of the McVitie's digestive bis ...

(1864 - 1937), a Scottish businessman, biscuit manufacturer and philanthropist, known as creator of Mcvities Digestive Biscuits. * Charles Lumley (1824–1858), recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

* James McIntyre (1828-1906). Born in Forres, moved to Canada 1841, and to

Ingersoll Ingersoll may refer to: People *Ingersoll (surname) *Ingersoll Lockwood (1841–1918), American lawyer and writer Places Canada * Ingersoll, Ontario United States * Ingersoll, Oklahoma * Ingersoll, Wisconsin * Ingersoll Township, Michigan * ...

, 1854. Cabinetmaker and undertaker, proprietor of furniture factory and poet. *

James Scott (Liberal politician) James Scott (8 March 1876 – 30 October 1939) was a Scottish lawyer and Liberal Party politician. Family and education James Scott was the son of a railway superintendent from Forres, also named James Scott. He was educated at Forres Academy ...

(1876-1939), Scottish lawyer and

Liberal party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician. * Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal (1820–1914), Scottish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist * James Taylor (neurologist) (1859-1946), British neurologist who studied diseases of the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...

. *

Roy Williamson Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson (25 June 1936 – 12 August 1990) was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician, most notably with The Corries. Williamson is best known for writing "Flower of Scotland", which has become the de facto national ant ...

(1936–1990), Scottish songwriter and folk musician, member of

the Corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne continued ...

, who wrote "

Flower of Scotland "Flower of Scotland" is a Scottish song, frequently performed at special occasions and sporting events as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. The song was composed in the mid-1960s by Roy Williamson of the folk group the Corries. It w ...

Climate

As with the rest of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

and Scotland, Forres experiences a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official Met Office weather station for which online records are available is Kinloss, about north east of the town centre. The lowest temperature to be recorded in recent years was during December 2010.

Transport

Forres is situated on the A96 trunk route connecting the cities of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and Inverness. The

was originally crossed by fording near Waterford Farm. A suspension bridge was opened in 1831 to cross the river at the west end of the town. This bridge was replaced by the current bridge in 1938. Due to high volumes of traffic passing through the town centre, a bypass was built in the late 1980s to reduce congestion in the town centre. A new, dual carriageway A96 bypass is planned by the Scottish Government.

Forres railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Forres railway station, Moray (geograph 6260345).jpg , caption = The new station in 2019, looking eastward towards Elgin and Aberdeen , borough ...

is situated just outside the town and is operated by ScotRail. The town of Forres was once a triangular junction in the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the smaller British railways before the Railways Act 1921, operating north of Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north of Britain. Based in Inverness, the company was formed by merger ...

network, travelling through Forres was once the quickest route to reach Inverness from the south. Originally the station had four platforms; two of which were on the north side of the triangle on the route between Inverness and Aberdeen, the third on the south west side of the triangle used by services to Grantown-on-Spey. The fourth was a short platform on the south east side used by through services between Elgin and Aviemore via Grantown. Trains from Grantown towards Nairn or Inverness had to run through the station and then reverse back into the Aberdeen to Inverness platform. The service to Grantown-on-Spey was closed in the 1960s and now forms part of The Dava Way, a scenic footpath connecting the two towns.

Education

Andersons Primary School Andersons Primary School is a state run Primary school serving the town of Forres, Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great ...

, High Street (state primary school) *

Forres Academy Forres Academy is a comprehensive community school serving the town of Forres, Scotland, and its rural catchment area in west Moray. Similar to other Scottish schools pupils are able to leave after the fourth year of schooling, therefore fifth and ...

, Burdsyard Road (state secondary school) *Drumduan School (private school for 5–18-year-olds)

Religion

A number of Christian churches have a presence in Forres, including:

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

* St Laurence Church, High Street * St Leonard's Church, High Street

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

* St John's Church, Victoria Road

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

* St Margaret's Church, High Street

Baptist Union of Scotland The Baptist Union of Scotland is a Baptist Christian denomination in Scotland. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Glasgow. History From the 1650s to 1869 Baptists first arrived in Scotland with the armies o ...

* Forres Baptist Church, Clovenside Road

Sport

Forres has various sporting activities within it including Forres Golf Course, which has held the Scottish Young Professionals championships a number of times. Forres St. Lawrence is the local cricket club. They are full members in both senior and reserve competitions in the area. Forres Harriers is the local running club with around 80 members. The most famous Harrier is

Don Ritchie Donald Taylor Ritchie, OAM (9 June 1926 – 13 May 2012) was an Australian who intervened in many suicide attempts. He officially rescued at least 180 people who had intended to attempt suicide at the Gap. Early life Ritchie went to Vaucl ...

who at one time held 14 world best times for ultra distance running events ranging from 50 km to 200 km. Forres has two swimming clubs - the long established Forres Bluefins, as well as the UK's only specialist sprint swimming club, Free Style SC. Forres hosted the first race of the

World Orienteering Championships The World Orienteering Championships (or WOC for short) is an annual orienteering event organized by the International Orienteering Federation. The first World Championships was held in Fiskars, Finland in 1966. They were held biennially up to 2 ...

2015 on Friday 31 July, when the Sprint Qualification event was held there. Two days later on 2 August it hosted the Sprint Final event."World Orienteering Championships 2015"
''WOC2015.org.uk''

Town twinning

* Mount Dora,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Vienenburg Vienenburg is a borough of Goslar, capital of the Goslar district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The former independent municipality was incorporated in Goslar on 1 January 2014. Geography It is situated in the north of the Harz mountain range and eas ...

, Germany