Fortingall

Coordinates: 56°35′52″N 4°03′19″W / 56.59789°N 04.05541°W / 56.59789; -04.05541
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Fortingall
  • Scottish Gaelic: Fartairchill
Cottages in Fortingall
Fortingall is located in Perth and Kinross
Fortingall
Fortingall
Location within Perth and Kinross
OS grid referenceNN739470
Council area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townABERFELDY
Postcode districtPH15
Dialling code01887
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
56°35′52″N 4°03′19″W / 56.59789°N 04.05541°W / 56.59789; -04.05541

Fortingall (

Aberfeldy and Kenmore
.

Local legend claims that it was the birthplace of Pontius Pilate, although he was born well before the Roman conquest and became famous in the biblical account of Jesus's death 30 years before the Romans first reached this part of Scotland.[2] A number of other locations, including villages in Spain and Germany, make similar claims. It is also famous for the Fortingall Yew, the village's churchyard yew tree that could be over 5,000 years old, and thus one of the oldest living things in Europe.

Parish church

Fortingall Parish Church

The

harled parish church (built 1901–02), notable for its fine woodwork, is open in summer. Its Arts and Crafts style was designed to harmonise with the rest of the village. A permanent display on the cross-slabs and the early church was recently installed in the building. Fortingall has one of the largest collections of early medieval sculpture in Scotland
.

The yew tree

The Fortingall Yew

The Fortingall Yew is an ancient tree in its own walled enclosure within the village churchyard. Its age has been estimated between 2000 and 9000 years - with the higher estimate putting it in contention of the oldest living tree – perhaps even the oldest living thing – in Europe.[4] Place-name and archaeological evidence hint at an Iron Age cult centre at Fortingall, which may have had this tree as its focus. The site was Christianised during the Dark Ages, perhaps because it was already a sacred place.

Village planning

The attractive village, with its large hotel adjoining the churchyard, was built in 1890-91 by shipowner and Unionist MP, Sir Donald Currie, who bought the Glenlyon Estate - including the village - in 1885. It was designed by the architect James M MacLaren and built by John McNaughton. The thatched cottages are notable examples of a planned village built in vernacular style (here combining both Lowland Scottish and English influences, notably from Devon) and are increasingly appreciated as one of the most important examples of 'arts and crafts' vernacular style in Scotland. Following roof fires in the 1970s and 1980s, several thatched roofs were converted to tiles and remain so today.[5] The Fortingall Hotel, which was restored to its original appearance in 2006–2007, is an important example of Scottish vernacular revival. It is based on the tower-houses and burgh architecture of the 16th and 17th centuries, but in a modern idiom which anticipates the buildings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose work MacLaren influenced.

Glenlyon House, and its adjoining Farm and steading, west of the village, were also designed, or largely rebuilt, to MacLaren's designs.

Archaeology

The area immediately surrounding Fortingall has one of the richest concentrations of prehistoric

standing stones including the Bridge of Lyon, 'four-poster' stone settings, 'ring-forts' (massive Iron Age house enclosures), many cup and ring marked stones (including one dug-up, and preserved, in the churchyard) and an extremely well-preserved medieval homestead moat, thought by early antiquarians to be of Roman
origin because of its regular shape.

Fortingall parish (now linked with Glenlyon) is one of the largest on Scotland, and takes in

Glen Lyon
, notable for its mountain scenery and many archaeological sites, the country's longest enclosed glen or mountain valley.

Gallery

  • Fortingall Hotel
    Fortingall Hotel
  • Stone circles
    Stone circles

References

  1. ^ Dickie, Douglas (19 April 2019). "Yew can't believe in Pontius Pilate myth". dailyrecord. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Celtic hand bell, from 7th Century, stolen from Perthshire church". BBC. 10 September 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  3. OCLC 51965877
    .
  4. ^ Perthshire Advertiser records

Further reading

  • Fraser, D 1973 Highland Perthshire, Standard Press, Montrose.
  • Perth & Kinross Heritage Trust 2003 Fortingall Church and Village, Perth.
  • Robertson, N M 1997 'The Carved Stones of Fortingall' in Henry, D (ed) The worm, the germ and the thorn: Pictish and related studies presented to Isabel Henderson, The Pinkfoot Press, Balgavies, Angus, 133–48.
  • Stewart, Alexander "A Highland Parish or The History of Fortingall", A Maclaren and Co, Glasgow, 1928