What is recorded here

Forres Castle stood at the west end of High Street, repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt from an early medieval castle into a strengthened fourteenth-century fortress with thick walls and flanking towers. King David II stayed there in 1367, the Wolf of Badenoch burnt it in 1390, and the Dunbars of Westfield held it until decay took it in the seventeenth century. A story also places the murder of King Duffus by Governor Donald there in 966, while Norsemen are alleged to have destroyed it as early as 850. Provost Dawson began a house on the ruins in 1712 but never finished it, leaving the castle to vanish beneath Forres until a nineteenth-century obelisk marked the lost place.

Scotland's National Record of the Historic Environment records Forres Castle as Castle (medieval), Motte (medieval)(possible). The official map says its point is accurate as follows: NGR given to the nearest 10m. The record does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

Forres Castle was built in the 13th century, likely by the MacWilliams, a powerful Scottish noble family. It is remembered for its strategic importance in the defense of northern Scotland and its association with the medieval Scottish Wars of Independence.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.