The Royal Burgh of Forfar was founded during the reign of King David I and is situated in the flat, fertile plains to the north of the Vale of Strathmore - known as the Howe of Angus. The Fithie Loch is to the eastern boundaries of the town and Forfar Loch to the west. It was here that King Malcolm Canmore's wife Queen Margaret had a castle.
Hector Boece, in his "History of Scotland" of 1527, refers to a strong castle within a loch at Forfar where the kings of the confederate tribes met to consider how resistance might be offered to the Romans, who invaded the district on four occasions between 83AD and 306.
In the ninth century, Alpin, King of Scots, laid siege to Forfar Castle which Feredith, King of the Picts, sought to relieve. Battle was joined at Restenneth, a mile to the east, and the Scots were victorious. Feredith was slain, possibly near "Ferryton", and was buried at Forfar. Forfar Castle was used as a base by Malcolm II for raising an army to repel the Danish invaders under Camus, resulting in victories at Aberlemno and Barry in the year 1012.
It is believed that King Malcolm Canmore held 'parliament' here and conferred surnames and titles to the Scottish nobility. Certainly there was a royal residence here, traces of which can be found just north of the town centre at Castlehill.
The town earned for itself quite a notorious reputation in the 17th century, due to the number of women burned here for witchcraft. These executions took place on a tract of land just north of the town which even to this day is known as "The Witches' Hollow". The town retains some particularly gruesome instruments of that period, in particular the Forfar Bridle. This was a hinged metal collar with a metal prong to the front which entered the mouth as the collar was fastened around the victim's neck, it acting as a gag during the execution.
Find Listings in and around Forfar
