Forres (; ) 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 Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

coast, approximately northeast of

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

and west of

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

. 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 () 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 estuary, estuaries in Scotland. The river is c.

, and there are also classical, historical artifacts and monuments within the town itself, such as

Forres Tolbooth The Forres Tolbooth is a municipal building on the High Street in Forres in Scotland. The building, which is used as a visitor attraction, is a Category A listed building. History The first tolbooth in Forres was completed in the mid-16th centu ...

and Nelson's Tower.

Brodie Castle Brodie Castle is a well-preserved Z-plan tower house located about west of Forres, in Moray, Scotland. The castle is a Category A listed building, and the grounds are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland. ...

, the home of the Brodie Clan, lies to the west of the town, close to the A96.

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 historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

settlement and evidence that people lived in the area from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

(

radiocarbon dates Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon. The method was de ...

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 ', meaning "subterrain", 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 northwards from Gaul d ...

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 Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine, Islamic, and ...

. The town is the location of

Sueno's Stone Sueno's Stone is a Picts, Picto-Scottish pictish stone, 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 situat ...

, an enormous carved stone probably created by

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

to commemorate a battle against Norse invaders. The

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

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, Kenneth I MacAlpin () was the founder and first King of the Kingdom of Scotland (although he never held the title historically, being King of th ...

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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

was plundered by the

Wolf of Badenoch Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, called the Wolf of Badenoch (1343 – July 1394), was a Scottish royal prince, the third son of King Robert II of Scotland by his first wife Elizabeth Mure. He was Justiciar of Scotia and held large territories ...

in 1390.

On 23 June 1496 King

James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...

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 ...

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.

, which was commissioned by Brodie family in 1567, lies to the west of the town.

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

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

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

meet on

moorland Moorland or moor is a type of Habitat (ecology), habitat found in upland (geology), upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and the biomes of montane grasslands and shrublands, characterised by low-growing vegetation on So ...

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) () 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 merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

Benromach Distillery Benromach distillery is a Speyside distillery founded by Duncan McCallum and F.W. Brickman in 1898 and currently owned and run by Gordon and Macphail of Elgin. It is situated near Forres in Morayshire and is fed with spring water from the Chapelt ...

, 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 O ...

, an

intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community designed to foster a high degree of group cohesiveness, social cohesion and teamwork. Such communities typically promote shared values or beliefs, or pursue a common vision, wh ...

, 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 between Mundole Estate and Forres, Moray, Scotland. The station was controlled by RAF Lossiemouth. RAF Forres also had a training strip located ...

, established during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, is located nearby. In January 2016,

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) 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, and design. These are all awa ...

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. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

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.

Parliamentary burgh

Forres was a

parliamentary burgh In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called "constituenc ...

, combined with

Fortrose Fortrose is a town and former royal burgh on the Black Isle in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland, about northeast of Inverness. The town is known for its ruined 13th-century Fortrose Cathedral, cathedral, and as ...

and

Nairn Nairn (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland Council council areas of Scotland, area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nair ...

, in the Inverness Burghs

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

from 1708 to 1801 and of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

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 Forres Town Hall is a municipal structure in the High Street, Forres, Moray, Scotland. The structure, which was the meeting place of Forres Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building. History The first municipal building in the town was t ...

, originally built as a masonic hall and later used as a

mechanics institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...

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 Fraser ...

(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 island ...

(1808–1865), Scottish geologist, botanist, palaeontologist, and paleoanthropologist * John Gordon (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 was managing director of McVitie's, McVitie and Price Ltd., developed the recipe of the McVitie's digestive ...

(1864 - 1937), a Scottish businessman, biscuit manufacturer and philanthropist, known as creator of Mcvities Digestive Biscuits. *

Charles Lumley Charles Henry Lumley VC (1824 – 17 October 1858) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Detail ...

(1824–1858), recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* 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 a ...

(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. For example, while the political systems ...

politician. *

Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, (6 August 182021 January 1914), known as Sir Donald A. Smith between May 1886 and August 1897, was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman who became one of the British Empire's for ...

(1820–1914), Scottish-born Canadian businessman and philanthropist *

James Taylor (neurologist) James Taylor, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Royal College of Physicians, FRCP (1859 – 6 June 1946) was a British neurologist. Taylor was born in Forres, Morayshire, the son of Peter Taylor. He was educated at Forres Academy and the Univ ...

(1859-1946), British neurologist who studied diseases of the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

. *

Roy Williamson Roy Murdoch Buchanan Williamson (25June 193612August 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 anthem o ...

(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 contin ...

, who wrote "

Flower of Scotland "Flower of Scotland" (Scottish Gaelic: ''Flùr na h-Alba'', Scots: ''Flouer o Scotland'') is a Scottish patriotic song commonly used as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland. Written in the mid-1960s by the folk musician Roy Williamson, ...

Climate

As with the rest of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, 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 Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

and Scotland, Forres experiences a

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

with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official

Met Office The Met Office, until November 2000 officially the Meteorological Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather and climate service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and ...

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 ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

. The

was originally crossed by fording near Waterford Farm. A

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

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 is situated just outside the town and is operated by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of las ...

. The town of Forres was once a triangular junction in the

Highland Railway The Highland Railway (HR) was one of the two smallest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping, operating north of Perth railway station, Scotland, Perth railway station in Scotland and serving the farthest north o ...

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, 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. As in other Scottish schools, pupils are able to leave after the fourth year of schooling; therefore, the fifth an ...

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

Applegrove Primary School Apple Grove may refer to: *An orchard * Apple Grove, Kentucky * Apple Grove, Ohio *Apple Grove, Mason County, West Virginia Apple Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, on the Ohio River located a ...

, Orchard Road (state primary school) * Pilmuir Primary School, Pilmuir Road (state primary school)

Religion

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

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

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

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

* St John's Church, Victoria Road

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

* 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 north of the M8 in the Port Dundas areas of Glasgow. History From the 1650s to 1869 Baptists f ...

* 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 Mechanics Football Club play in the Highland League at

Mosset Park Mosset Park is a football ground in the town of Forres in the north-east of Scotland, which is the home ground of Highland Football League side Forres Mechanics F.C. It is located on Lea Road in the north of the town and has a capacity of 2,700, ...

. They are the oldest association football club in the North of Scotland and one of only two original teams to play in the Highland League since its first season in 1893, the other being Clachnacuddin. 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 (9 June 1926 – 13 May 2012) was an Australian who intervened in many suicide attempts. He officially suicide prevention, rescued at least 180 people who had intended to attempt suicide at The Gap (Sydney), The Gap ...

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 (often abbreviated as WOC) is an international orienteering competition which has been organized by the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) since 1966. The World Orienteering Championships is considere ...

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

Forres is twinned with: * Mount Dora,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States *

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

Pre-history and archaeology

History

Demography

Geography and economy

Parliamentary burgh

Notable residents

Climate

Transport

Education

Religion

Sport

Town twinning

References

External links