Fortrose Cathedral

The 'Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Boniface' at Fortrose was established by Bishop Robert (1214-49) in the 13th century, after the Bishops of Ross moved there from Rosemarkie although it is probable that a religious centre had existed on this site from even earlier times. Fortrose or 'Chanonrie of Ross' as it was known, grew in importance with the establishment of the cathedral.

The earliest part of the cathedral which can be seen today is the undercroft or crypt of the detached chapter house and sacristy. This dates from the 13^th century. The rest of the remains – the south aisle of the nave and the bell tower – date from the late 14^th or early 15^th century.

The Scottish Wars of Independence (1297-1328) interrupted building work but it was resumed in the late 14^th century. After the Reformation (1560), much of the glorious red sandstone fell into disrepair. Some of it may have been removed by Oliver Cromwell's army to build the fort at Inverness but it is likely that only fallen stones were taken at that time.  The rest may have taken over time by local villagers for their houses.

It is hard today to visualise the true scale of the original building. It was an ambitious project for this part of the Highlands and was much larger than the cathedral at Dornoch. The original ground plan is marked out with stone chippings and if you trace these out you get a better idea of how magnificent the cathedral would have looked in its time.