Dingwall

Dingwall is a royal burgh in the Scottish Highlands. It formerly functioned as a port, but now lies inland. The town boasts a small castle, the birthplace of Macbeth.

Population as of 2001: 5,521

Dingwall traditionally served as the county town of the shire of Ross and Cromarty. It lies near the head of Cromarty Firth where the valley of the Peffery unites with the alluvial lands at the mouth of the Conon, 18 miles northwest of Inverness.

Its name, derived from the Scandinavian Thingvollr (field or meeting-place of the thing, or local assembly) preserves the Viking connections of the town; the Gaels knew it as Inverpefferon (the mouth of the Peffery).

The 18th-century town house, and some remains of the ancient mansion of the once powerful earls of Ross still exist. An obelisk, 5l feet high, stands over the grave of Sir George Mackenzie, 1st earl of Cromarty.

King Alexander II created Dingwall a royal 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.

Additional information from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica