In Moray’s more distant past, there are links to the Romans, Picts and Vikings.
MacBeth
In 1040, the army of MacBeth – best known as the subject of the Shakespeare tragedy – defeated and killed Duncan I at Pitgaveny, north east of Elgin.
Elgin Cathedral
On 19 July 1224, the foundation stone of Elgin Cathedral was laid. The structure which remains today reflects a building which over centuries was by turns extended, ravaged by fire, renovated and which, ultimately, disintegrated in part due to inferior quality stonework. In spite of this, the cathedral remains a magnificent building, worthy of its description as the “Lantern of the North”.
Bonnie Prince Charlie
No review of Moray history is complete without mention of Prince Charles Edward Stuart. “Bonnie Prince Charlie” stayed for 11 days at Thunderton House – which exists to this day in central Elgin – in March 1746, a few weeks before the defeat of his Jacobite army at Culloden, near Inverness, and his own escape into exile.
Whisky
Moray is “Malt Whisky Country” and has over 50 distilleries. The earliest of the current (legal) distilleries date from the late 18th Century.
