Fortrose (; gd, A' Chananaich, sco, Chainry) 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 ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

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 Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It is on the Moray Firth, about north-east of Inverness. The burgh is a popular location for trying to spot bottlenose dolphins (see

Chanonry Point Chanonry Point ( Scottish Gaelic: ''Gob na Cananaich'') lies at the end of Chanonry Ness, a spit of land extending into the Moray Firth between Fortrose and Rosemarkie on the Black Isle, Scotland. Lighthouse An active lighthouse situated at ...

) in the Moray Firth. The town is known for its ruined 13th century

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

, and as the home of the Brahan Seer. The correct pronunciation of the town's name in accordance with local usage is with the stress on the first syllable.

Prehistory

Archaeological investigations, by Headland Archaeology, in 2013, as part of a planning condition for the creation of a housing development found domestic activity dating 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 ...

to the

Early Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. There was evidence of cereal production and the gathering of wild resources. The archaeologists also found that funerary practices change on the peninsula during that time from stone cist burials to cremation burials.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

it was the seat of the bishopric of Ross, and formerly called ''Chanonry'', for being the Chanory of Ross. Fortrose owes its origins to the decision by Bishop Robert in the 13th century to build a new Cathedral of Ross there. This was to replace the Church of St Peter in nearby

Rosemarkie Rosemarkie ( sco, Rossmartnie, from gd, Ros Mhaircnidh meaning "promontory of the horse stream") is a village on the south coast of the Black Isle peninsula in Ross-shire ( Ross and Cromarty), northern Scotland. Geography Rosemarkie lies a qu ...

. The cathedral was largely demolished in the mid-seventeenth century by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

to provide building materials for a citadel at Inverness. The vaulted south aisle, with bell-tower, and a detached chapter house (used as the tollbooth of Fortrose after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

) remain. These fragments, though modest in scale, display considerable architectural refinement, and are in the care of

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment ...

(no entrance charge).

Etymology

The name ''Fortrose'' may conserve the ethonym ''

Fortriu Fortriu ( la, Verturiones; sga, *Foirtrinn; ang, Wærteras; xpi, *Uerteru) was a Pictish kingdom that existed between the 4th and 10th centuries. It was traditionally believed to be located in and around Strathearn in central Scotland, but is ...

''.

Parliamentary burgh

Fortrose was a parliamentary burgh, combined with Inverness,

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

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 Fortrose component was merged into the then new constituency of Ross and Cromarty.

Fortrose Academy

Fortrose Academy is the only secondary school on the Black Isle. There are around 640 pupils enrolled. Notable former teachers include Mr A. Tait, who won the Teacher of the Year Award in Scotland, 2006. The rector of the school is Gavin Maclean.

Fortrose Library

Built into the school is Fortrose library, which is part of the Highland Libraries group. The library is regularly used by pupils in Fortrose Academy, for which the younger years take out books to participate in the "power readers" scheme, which involves pupils getting rewards for reading a certain number of books, and passing on to the next level. Due to the library's small size, the stock is always changing.

Black Isle Leisure Centre

Situated next to the school is the Black Isle Leisure Centre. It consists of a gym, and one single indoor court which has space for four badminton courts, four small basketball courts or one full sized basketball court. It also has goals at either end for football. Pupils of Fortrose Academy regularly have PE lessons in the Leisure Centre.

Transport

The A832 runs through the town. There is a bus service from Inverness that runs half-hourly weekdays (with a few gaps for schools traffic). The buses continue hourly to Cromarty. There was a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

at Fortrose, which closed in 1951. The line it was situated on closed in 1960.

People from Fortrose

Eliza Junor Eliza Junor (1804–20 April 1861) was a Scotswoman of mixed race, who was the daughter of a former slave owner, Hugh Junor, and a slave or former slave ("free coloured woman") whose name is not recorded. Life Eliza and her brother William were ...

References

External links

Fortrose & Rosemarkie Golf Club

Chanonry Sailing Club

Fortrose Union Football Club

The Anderson restaurant with rooms

Engraving of Fortrose in 1693
by John Slezer at National Library of Scotland {{Authority control Towns in Highland (council area) Populated places on the Black Isle