FORTROSE, royal burgh and seaport, county of Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. Pop. (1931) 875. It is on the south-east coast of the peninsula of the Black Isle, 8 m. due N.N.E. of In verness, 264 m. by rail. It is the terminus of the Black Isle branch of the L.M.S.R. ; there is communication with Fort George, 2 m. distant, by ferry from Chanonry Ness. Fortrose consists of the two towns of Rosemarkie and Chanonry, about 1 m. apart, which were united into a free burgh by James II. in and created a royal burgh in 159o.
It had a monastery founded in the 6th century by St. Moluag, a friend of Columba's, and St. Peter's church built in the 8th century. In 1124 David I. instituted the bishopric of Ross, with its seat here, and the town acquired some fame for its school of theology and law. The cathedral is believed to have been founded in 133o by the countess of Ross (her canopied tomb, against the chancel wall, still exists) and finished in 1485 by Abbot Fraser, whose previous residence at Melrose is said to account for the Perpendicular features of his portion of the work. It was Early Decorated in style, cruciform in plan, and built of red sandstone, but all that is left are the south aisles of the nave and the chancel, with the chapter-house, a two-storeyed structure, standing apart near the north-eastern corner. The cathedral and bishop's palace were destroyed by order of Cromwell, who used the stones for his fort at Inverness. Another relic survives in the bell of 1460. The academy is also an ancient foundation. The town is an agri cultural centre and has a fishing harbour. Rosemarkie, in the churchyard of which is an ancient Celtic cross, is a resort for sea bathing.