ABOUT FORTINGALL

 

Standing next to the hotel is The Fortingall Yew which many believe to be the oldest tree in the world - Modern estimates place its age at 5,000 years. 

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It is said that Pontius Pilate , best remembered as the judge at the trial of Jesus Christ in AD33, was born in Fortingall. The story of Pilate's Scottish origins was set out most fully in an article published in the New York Times on 15 January 1899. Ceasar Augustus dispatched envoys to establish diplomatic relations with some of the important British and Caledonian chieftains. These included a Caledonian chieftain called Metellanus, whose stronghold was at the head of Glen Lyon. A member of the Roman delegation to Metellanus's tribe fathered a child with a Caledonian woman, and this child subsequently returned to Rome and was brought up as Pontius Pilate.

 

Fortingall has a variety of prehistoric archaeological sites including Càrn na Marbh, a Bronze Age burial mound. Archaeological evidence hints at an Iron Age cult centre at Fortingall, which may have had the Fortingall Yew as its focus. Fortingall became  an important Christian Centre the Early Middle Ages, with the yew already full grown, perhaps because it was already a sacred place. 

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ARCHITECTURE

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The village and hotel were bought and developed in 1885 by shipping magnate, politician and philanthropist, Sir Donald Currie.

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The hotel was designed by renowned architect James Maclaren, an Arts and Crafts pioneer, and has been described by architectural historians as “One of the great treasures of British Victorian rural architecture". The thatched cottages in the village are notable examples of a planned village built in vernacular style (here combining both Lowland Scottish and English influences, notably from Devon) and together with the hotel are considered one of the most important examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in Scotland. 

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INTERIORS

 

The interiors at The Fortingall combine contemporary handmade Anbôise furniture and accessories with curated art and antiques, creating a luxury escape with unique character and atmosphere. 

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