Inverness: History

Pre-20th-Century History

For a town in the sleepily verdant and moist position of Inverness, it has been enlivened - if not threatened - by an all-too-active history. The first 10 centuries passed with little conflict: the Picts - a clutch of tribes of Northern Scotland - occupied the territory for this time, the comely peace ruffled briefly by the appearance of St Columba in the 6th century. It was in 1040 that one of Inverness' most mythologised events took place on the site of Auld Castlehill: Macbeth is said to have murdered King Duncan there, at the King's castle. Royal conflict visited the town again in 1562 when Queen Mary of Scots was refused entry to the castle. She responded by having the governor - his inaction tied to an insurrection and factional quarrelling - hanged for his intransigence.

In all of Scotland, the Middle Ages wreaked havoc. Parts of Inverness were burned and razed several times: the Abbot of Arbroath's fellows burned the friary and some of the town's wooden buildings; Donald, Lord of the Isles, got the fire bug in 1411 and scorched some more; in 1429, the town was the smouldering plaything in a feud between the King and Alexander MacDonald, then Lord of the Isles. Many of the town's fortifications and ramparts were destroyed as the Restoration pulled the British Isles together. The Jacobites rolled through Inverness in the mid-18th century, capturing the recently erected Fort George. A month later, after their defeat at Culloden, they destroyed the fort with mines.

Less bloody and charred events have also shaped the city of today. A few decades after Macbeth's slaughter, the town was made a royal burgh and King David I celebrated by promptly building a new castle there. Not long after, King William the Lion granted the city four charters, affording it new rights. By the 13th century, fishermen were helping Inverness to flourish. The riverside town - its name meaning 'mouth of the River Ness' - also came to be an important shipbuilding town in the 13th century. Down the centuries, it has been a busy trading and market town. Yet it was the railway, in 1855, which properly connected the town to the outside world. Whisky distilling emerged as an important industry in the final years of the 18th century.

At around the same time, the outlying landed gentry began flocking to the town as the capital of the Highlands. It was the site of the theatre, balls, concerts, plays and general sophistication - the whole thing going off famously in the dark winter months. The circle of mansions and stately homes attests to this, situated on the cusp of where the town once stopped and quieter, more civilised life began.

Modern History

The towering moment in the history of 20th-century Inverness was the emergency UK Cabinet meeting which took place at Inverness Castle. The only cabinet meeting to ever take place outside of London, holidaying Prime Minister David Lloyd George called an emergency meeting to address continuing bloody battles for independence in Ireland. The discussions resulted in the so-called Inverness Formula, the basis for the Anglo-Irish Treaty which concluded the Irish War of Independence - only to then result in the Irish Civil War.

The town's population doubled over the course of the 20th century - a nudge over 21,000 in the early stages and up to 50,000 by the new millennium. For most of the century people were busy with distilling, shipbuilding, engineering and tweed, although this diversified by the end of the century. Oil and timber continue to roll in through its ever-busy port. Tourism, too, emerged as a blooming industry in Inverness.

Recent History

Inverness was officially granted city status in 2000. It was also recognised as the fastest growing city in Western Europe: population is expected to double again over the next 30 years. The influx of new people have helped usher in a more high-tech and service-based economy, eclipsing the distilleries and ports of old. It's recently been a beneficiary of the Scottish push to decentralise parts of administration: the Scottish Natural Heritage was relocated here from Edinburgh. This fitting relocation mirrors the city's proud tradition of honouring its cultural heritage - it is home to Northern Meeting, a prestigious solo bag-piping competition, and the Highland festival.

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