The
Royal Burgh of (''Inbhir Pheofharain'' in
Gaelic ) is a
Burgh in the
Highlands of
Scotland . It formerly functioned as an east-coast
Port , but now lies inland. The town once boasted a small
Castle , the birthplace of
Macbeth , and on its present-day outskirts lies another - Tulloch Castle, parts of which may date back to the 12th-century building.
Population
As Of 2001 : 5,521
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Dingwall has had a
Railway Station on what is now called the
Far North Line since circa
1865 . It also serves the
Kyle Of Lochalsh Line , with the junction between the two lines being located within the town.
Dingwall formerly served as the county town of the
County of
Ross And Cromarty . It 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, 14 miles northwest of
Inverness .
Its name, derived from the Scandinavian ''Thingvöllr'' (field or meeting-place of the ''
Thing '', or local assembly - compare
Tynwald ,
Tingwall ,
Thingwall in the
British Isles alone, plus many others across northern
Europe ) preserves the
Viking connections of the town; the Gaels knew it as ''Inbhir Pheofharain'' (pronounced, approximately, ''Innirfyawharrin'' and meaning "the mouth of the Peffery"), it was also known to them as Bailechaul (pronounced Balla-hall and meaning "the town of the Kale"). Bailechaul comes from the fact that visitors coming to the town from over the hills would see fields of green crops surrounding the houses.
The 18th-century town house, and some remains of the ancient mansion of the once powerful earls of Ross still exist. An obelisk, 51 feet high, was erected over the grave of Sir George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie, near the parish church of St Clement. It was affected by subsidence, becoming known as the "Leaning Tower", and was replaced by a much smaller replica in the early years of the 20th century. However even this is now marked by signs saying "Keep Out" on the grounds that it is a dangerous structure.
King
Alexander II created Dingwall a royal burgh (pronounced the same as "borough") in 1226, and
James IV renewed its charter. On the top of Knockfarrel (Gaelic, ''cnoc'' (hill); ''faire'' (watch or guard)), a hill about 3 miles to the west, stands a large and very complete
Vitrified Fort with ramparts.
Dingwall is the home of
Football team
Ross County , who currently play in the
Scottish First Division . Despite the town's small population, Ross County are able to attract sizeable crowds to Victoria Park thereby maintaining the UK's most northerly full-time squad.
Dingwall was a
Parliamentary Burgh , combined with
Dornoch ,
Kirkwall ,
Tain and
Wick in the Northern Burghs
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 1918.
Cromarty was added to the list in 1832.
The constituency was a
District Of Burghs known also as
Tain Burghs until 1832, and then as
Wick Burghs . It was represented by one
Member Of Parliament . In 1918 the constituency was abolished and the Dingwall component was merged into the
County Constituency of
Ross And Cromarty .
''Additional information is from the
1911 Encyclopædia Britannica ''.
