Forfar. 
—_—— 
478 
FORF borough, the capital of the coun- 
wage oo stands a eeagihat ot 
writin ge respecting a parte gs tithes, &c, the pa- 
rish is designed Forfar Restenet, The latter is the name 
of a priory, two distant from the town, and for- 
merly surrounded by a lake, which is now drained ; 
to be expressive of the 
for which it was built, viz. as a safe repository 
charters of the of Jedburgh. 
In ancient times, Forfar was honoured with the resi- 
. The ruins of a palace, or castle, are 
on the top of'a mount, which rises about 
50 feet above the level of the plain. Here Malcolm 
Canmore held his first parliament, in the year 1057, 
immediately after the recovery of his kingdom from the 
usurpation of Macbeth of the castle, cut in 
the name of which is su 
miles eae the at A 
ice, whi ve Way under them, and’ shed, 
Their die were biterwatds fut and ig ascer- 
tained that they were the murderers of the king, 
were hung Git ptbets by the highway, "! >” 0 J 
During the usurpation of Cromwell, a detachment 
records. By that wanton deed, pate written memo- 
rial of its antiquities perished. The oe Premed which 
the year 1650 and 1662. The witch-bridle, as it is cal- 
i da npn. peg at di Aly. gh eh par: pd 
served. ep a Et ae og’s 
; e pikes were 
story of this borough, is, that it obtained 
an act of the Scottish bg re in the reign of James 
VI. changing the weekly market-day from Sunday to 
Friday. At what time it was changed from Friday to 
peg yi not known, 7 
ugh is governed by a provost, two baili 
twelve coe lors, aad four Ri Bell sete: Poe who rs 
present their respective mp All chosen 
annually, and the council mart pr 
nineteen members. In order to the election of tliese 
office- bearers for the year, some days before Michaels 
FORFAR. 
mas each magistrate names five 
four new deacons of craft elect, 
nineteen additional electors ; and by these — 
the new magistrates and council are chosen, It - 
of and often does happen, that the number of-electors falls 
short of thirty-eight, or twice nineteen ; because, if any 
of the old members die before the end of the year, and 
if one or more of the old deacons be re-elected, there 
are no substitutes for them on the new list. _ But if all 
the old nineteen be alive, and if four new deacons be 
elected, the number of electors must, by what is called 
the set of the borough, amount to thirty-eight, The 
twelve councillors may be annually re-elected ; th 
ost and bailies too may thus be members of coun- 
cil for life. None of them, however, can be elected to 
the office of magistracy oftener than three successive 
years in one series. But, after having been one year 
out of office, and returning to the rank” of common 
councillor, or private citizen, each may be re-elected 
aaa man he : wswaryt pekte oh 
. The coun the pri in conju with 
the town bre of Dundee, erth, pg ue and 
Cupar in Fife, of electing a representative in parli 
Went.” The vevente af ‘iosogiita from £ ye 
£1000, It is the seat of a presb , and of the 
eo ee lace where pa 
and cornmissioners ’ meet for transacting the 
business (of the county. — ‘On-a ite sadhana ee the 
town, several fairs are held throughout the year, which 
are well frequented ; the custom’ of which was many 
to Candlemas, a week 
free of custom, is held on the street every 
Wednesday, for the sale of fat cattle; and during the 
seed Wess coat ciel nite Ae tae ae the 
These tend to inc 
Eeveey:" Abdi the’ fear Thks, the ale uiieaes 
ee ety a 
ears pit ar tibet aftatly co Boeaiehe EE 
increase of the population o ; 
tory of the introduction of this manufacture phage) 
It was brought to Forfar by a ; who ' 
to market, made it into a 
web, and offered it to his merchant as a piece on which 
he was willing to lose. The merchant, who had been’ 
in Germany, “ag or, Sa the:similarity betwixt 
it and the fabric of aburg, and with difficulty pre- 
vailed upon the weaver to attempt other pieces of the 
samekind. The experiment, however, succeeded to his 
wish ; and a company was soon afterwards established 
at Arbroath, for the purpose of conducting the new 
from whence the discovery was brought 
late years, Osnaburgs, of the best qua- 
lity, denominated Strelitz, have been manu ed for 
the London market, with sheetings of all breadths, Bri- 
tish duck, Germans, &c.. The wee 2,500,000. 
yards annually, the average value of which may be es~ 
timated considerably above £100,000. 
Forfar has been long celebrated for brewing good. 
beer. About twelve years ago, one establishment was, 
formed, and afterwards another; for brewing porter, 
, who, with the — Forfi. 
e up the number of “VY” 
al 
a 
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a ~ nae 
Dette: ae 
Bram Woon 
