Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a
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
Highland council area of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast
harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
that now lies inland.
Dingwall Castle was once the biggest
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
north of
Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies
Tulloch Castle, parts of which may date back to the 12th century. In 1411 the
Battle of Dingwall
The Battle of Dingwall was a Scottish clan battle said to have taken place in the year 1411, in Dingwall in the Scottish Highlands. It was fought between the Clan Mackay and the Clan Donald.
Accounts of the Battle Sir Robert Gordon (c. 1630)
Si ...
is said to have taken place between the
Clan Mackay and the
Clan Donald
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...
.
History
Its name, derived from the Scandinavian (field or meeting-place of the ''
thing'', or local assembly; compare
Tynwald
Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of ...
,
Tingwall,
Thingwall in 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, ...
alone, plus many others across northern Europe), preserves the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
connections of the town; Gaels call it (), meaning "the mouth of the Peffery" or meaning "cabbage town".
The site of the , and of the medieval Moothill, thought to have been established by the Vikings after they invaded in the 8th century, lies beneath the Cromartie memorial.
In the early Middle Ages Dingwall Castle, which was established in the 11th century, was reputed to have the largest castle north of Stirling.
King
Alexander II created Dingwall a
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 1226, the burgh becoming the seat of the Earls of Ross.
James IV
James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was 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 III, at the Battle of Sauchi ...
renewed its royal burgh charter in 1497. On the top of
Knockfarrel ( gd, Cnoc Fhearghalaigh, links=no), a hill about to the west, stands a large and very complete
vitrified fort
Vitrified forts are stone enclosures whose walls have been subjected to vitrification through heat. It was long thought that these structures were unique to Scotland, but they have since been identified in several other parts of western and norther ...
with ramparts.
An
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
, high, was erected over the grave of
George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie, near the parish church of St Clement after he died in 1717. It was affected by subsidence, becoming known as the "Leaning Tower", and was later replaced by a much smaller replica.
Dingwall Town Hall, which dates back to 1745, still survives.
James Gillanders of Highfield Cottage near Dingwall, was the
Factor for the estate of Major Charles Robertson of
Kincardine Kincardine may refer to:
Places Scotland
*Kincardine, Fife, a town on the River Forth, Scotland
**Kincardine Bridge, a bridge which spans the Firth of Forth
*Kincardineshire, a historic county
**Kincardine, Aberdeenshire, now abandoned
**Kincardi ...
and, as his employer was then serving with the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, Gillanders was the person most responsible for the
mass evictions staged at Glencalvie,
Ross-shire
Ross-shire (; gd, Siorrachd Rois) is a historic county in the Scottish Highlands. The county borders Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire – a county consisting of ...
in 1845. A Gaelic-language poem denouncing Gillanders for the brutality of the evictions was later submitted anonymously to Pàdraig MacNeacail, the editor of the
Canadian Gaelic
Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig Chanada, or ), often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.
Scottish Gaels were settled in Nova Scot ...
column in which the poem was later published in the
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
newspaper ''The Casket''. The poem, which is believed either to be or to draw upon eyewitness accounts, is believed to be the only Gaelic language source of information relating to the evictions in Glencalvie.
Dingwall formerly served as the county town of
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...
: the headquarters of Ross and Cromarty County Council, established in 1889, was
County Buildings in Dingwall.
The
Ferry Road drill hall was completed in 1910.
[ (The 1:2500, 2nd edition, Ordnance Survey Plan no. 88.03 (Ross and Cromarty), published in 1906, does not show the drill hall)]
As a result of storms in late October 2006, Dingwall was subject to widespread flooding the aftermath of which left the town and much of the Highlands north of Inverness, including the
A9 and
Far North Line, cut off for a time In August 2019 the town was once again flooded.
Dingwall's Post Office was named the UK's most improved delivery office of the year in Royal Mail’s 2021 Awards.
Geography
Dingwall lies near the head of the
Cromarty Firth where the valley of the Peffery unites with the alluvial lands at the mouth of the Conon, northwest of
Inverness
Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
. The town contains a particularly short canal, the
Dingwall Canal, also known locally as the River Peffery.
Sport
Dingwall is the home of
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team
Ross County, who won promotion to the
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
in 2012 and finished the 2012/13 season in fifth place. Despite the town's small population, Ross County attract sizeable crowds to
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to:
Places Australia
* Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales
* Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse
* Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
from across the whole surrounding area. The team reached the
2010 Scottish Cup Final
The 2010 Scottish Cup Final was the 125th final of the Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition, the Scottish Cup. The match took place on 15 May 2010, at Hampden Park, Glasgow and was contested by first time finalists Ross Coun ...
, having knocked out
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
in the previous round.
Ross County won their first piece of major silverware in 2016, winning the
Scottish League Cup
The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...
by beating
Hibernian 2–1 in the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
.
Transport
Dingwall railway station
Dingwall railway station serves Dingwall, Scotland. It is located just south of the junction of the Far North Line and the Kyle of Lochalsh Line, and is managed and served by ScotRail. The station is from Inverness, and is the zero point for the K ...
has been on what is now called the
Far North Line since about 1865. It also serves the
Kyle of Lochalsh Line.
Dingwall is on the former main road route to the north Highlands (
A9). Since the completion of the
Cromarty Bridge
The Cromarty Bridge is a road bridge over the Cromarty Firth in Scotland.
History Design
The bridge joins a junction with the B9163 to the south in Ross and Cromarty with a junction with the A862 to the north at Ardullie Point. It can clearly b ...
in 1979, the main road has bypassed Dingwall. Heading west, the A834 joins the
A835 road which is the main route to the north west Highlands, including Ullapool.
Education
Dingwall Academy is the secondary school serving the town and the wider area.
The
Highland Theological College
The Highland Theological College (HTC; Scottish Gaelic: ''Colaiste Diadhaireachd na Gaidhealtach'') is located in Dingwall, Scotland. It is part of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
In 1994 the Highland Theological Institute was set ...
is located within the town, housed in a former
Scottish Hydro Electric office.
Parliamentary Burgh
Dingwall 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
Dornoch
Dornoch (; gd, Dòrnach ; sco, Dornach) is a town, seaside resort, parish and former royal burgh in the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray ...
,
Kirkwall,
Tain
Tain ( Gaelic: ''Baile Dhubhthaich'') is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Highlands of Scotland.
Etymology
The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The ...
and
Wick in the Northern Burghs
constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...
of the
House of Commons of the
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...
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.
Cromarty was added to the list in 1832. The constituency was a
district of burghs known also as
Tain Burghs
Tain Burghs, was a 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 1832, sometimes known as Northern Burghs. It was represented by one Member of P ...
until 1832, and then as
Wick Burghs
Wick Burghs, sometimes known as Northern Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system.
A similar ...
. It was represented by one
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP). In 1918 the constituency was abolished and the Dingwall component was merged into the
county constituency of
Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latt ...
which was itself abolished in 1983.
Notable people
*
James Fraser of Brea
James Fraser of Brea (1639–1699) was a Covenanter.
Early life
He was born in the parish of Kirkmichael, Ross-shire, on 29 July 1639. His father, Sir James Fraser, was the second son of Simon Fraser, 6th Lord Lovat, by his second wife, Jane ...
theologian and prisoner on the
Bass Rock
*
Prof James Alexander MacDonald FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
FIB (1908–1997) botanist, born and raised in Dingwall.
* Major General
Sir Hector Archibald MacDonald,
KCB,
DSO Son of a local Crofter at Rootfield, Dingwall.
*
John M'Gilligen
John M'Gilligen was a 17th-century Presbyterian minister. He resisted the demands of the Episcopalian authorities and was imprisoned on the Bass Rock. His name is sometimes also spelled as John MacKilligen or John M'Killican or John MacKillican ...
of
Fodderty
Fodderty ( gd, Fodhraitidh) is a small hamlet, close to Dingwall, Ross-shire in the Scottish Highlands and is in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Highland Council area, Highland.
The small hamlet of Bottacks is located 1 mile to the west, ...
who held
conventicles in houses throughout the county
*
John Kennedy of Dingwall
John W. Kennedy (15 August 1819 – 28 April 1884), usually known as John Kennedy of Dingwall or simply Dr Kennedy at the popular level, was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was minister of just one church, in Dingwall, for ...
,
Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to:
* Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical
* Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...
minister
*
Rev Duncan Leitch, Moderator of the General Assembly of the
Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to:
* Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical
* Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...
in 1952
*
Julie Fowlis
Julie Fowlis (born 20 June 1978) is a Scottish folk singer and multi-instrumentalist who sings primarily in Scottish Gaelic.
Early life
Fowlis grew up on North Uist, an island in the Outer Hebrides, in a Gaelic-speaking community. Her mothe ...
, a folk singer and multi-instrumentalist
*
Kate Forbes, member of the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
for
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood) covering part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also o ...
and
Cabinet Secretary for Finance at the
Scottish Government. She was born and went to school in Dingwall.
*
Thomas Simpson (explorer), Arctic explorer and accused murderer (1808–1840)
*
Willie Logan
Willie Logan (born February 16, 1957) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. A former member of the Florida House of Representatives, he campaigned for the United States Senate as an Independent in 2000.
Biography
Born in Nor ...
, civil engineer and founder of aviation company
Loganair
Religion
Churches
*
St Lawrence's Church, opened in 1902.
References
External links
Dingwall Community Council
Dingwall Museum
{{Authority control
County towns in Scotland
Ports and harbours of Scotland
Royal burghs
Populated places in Ross and Cromarty
Thing (assembly)
Towns in Highland (council area)
Parishes in Ross and Cromarty