News

Thousands of visitors have flocked to two prominent tourist attractions over the spring and summer months with the organisation behind the buildings increasing its income which is vital to its future.

Nelson’s Tower and a new tour at the Tolbooth which are both operated by the Forres Heritage Trust attracted over 3300 visitors, many coming from overseas including from Russia, Turkey, Malaysia and China.

Footfall to the Tolbooth on Forres High Street was also boosted with the return of a four-day photographic exhibition which ran for the first time since the covid pandemic. The show held in September raised nearly £1100 for the Trust.

George Alexander, chairman of the Forres Heritage Trust said he and other Trustees were happy with the season: “This is our first full season of operating with no restrictions and it was the first time that the tours at the Tolbooth ran and we are very pleased with the uptake. It was great to see both Nelson’s Tower and the Tolbooth busy again and we know that the volunteers enjoyed talking to both locals and visitors alike.”

George added that the installation of card payment machines helped with donations and payments at both venues: “This is the first time that we have been able to take card payments and this has made a huge difference to how people can donate and pay. Nelson’s Tower is entry by donation and the Tolbooth tour was a set price and having the card readers definitely helped secure more monies for the Trust. The Trust is a registered charity and we rely on the donations as well as seeking funding and grants for the upkeep of the buildings, particularly the Tolbooth which we own.”

However, whilst it was a buoyant season, Peter Haworth a Trustee who co-ordinates the volunteers issued a stark warning: “Going into next season we need more volunteers. The Forres Heritage Trust is now operating two very good tourist attractions between April and the end of September and to ensure that they run successfully we need more helpers. We have 29 active volunteers, but going forward as our offering grows, in particular the tours at the Tolbooth, we are going to need more support. We simply cannot sustain what we want to do with the numbers that we have.”

Whilst the key tourist season is now over, work continues at the Forres Heritage Trust with events planned almost all year round.

George said: “We are very keen to grow what we offer at the Forres Heritage Trust and we want to get more involved in local events. Our popular winter talks will make a return in the early part of 2023, however, as Peter says, we need more people to lend a hand to make all of this sustainable.”

A plan to light up three historic Forres monuments has taken a step forward with the project receiving planning permission and securing £50,000 of funding.

Permission has been granted to light up Nelson’s Tower, The Tolbooth and the Mercat Cross.

The planning application was submitted by the Forres Heritage Trust who own the Tolbooth and look after Nelson’s Tower on behalf of Moray Council.

The Trust has also secured £30,000 funding from Berry Burn Community Fund, £15,000 from Forres Features Limited, the company who staged Colours of Cluny and The Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation has agreed to give £5,000.

Leading on the project on behalf of the Forres Heritage Trust are trustees Bob James and Bill Budge.

Bob James explained: “We are delighted with both the news that we have received planning permission and the funding and we are very grateful to the organisations who took our applications, considered them and have taken the decision to grant money to us so generously. This is certainly a step in the right direction, although there is still a long way to go.

“To complete the project we will need around £111,000 in total, so whilst these donations are significant, the Trust is still exploring ways to secure the rest of the money required to make this happen.”

He added: “These buildings are part of Forres’ rich history and lighting them up will make them a beacon and encourage interest and tourism for the buildings themselves but also create a feature for the people of Forres to enjoy.”

The Trust has appointed RYBKA, an international firm who specialise in lighting design and have an established history of delivering heritage building lighting schemes. They are also working with award-winning Forres based LDN Architects who have a recognised track history of being involved in projects which have strong heritage connections. Both companies are offering their services at substantially reduced rates recognising that Forres Heritage Trust is a registered charity.

Bill Budge said: “This project has been in the planning for a number of years and was part of a public consultation which was part of Moray Council’s strategic plan.

“With the support of RYBKA and LDN we were able to create a robust proposal and Moray Council has granted planning permission. The only conditions they have imposed are that we submit detailed drawings of our cable runs and that we restore any disturbance we may create to its previous condition.

“We have also had an ecology survey carried out and this established that we will not disturb the bats, with either their roosts, their foraging routes or the type of lighting we use. Furthermore we will have to have an archaeological watch over any trenches we may need to dig around the Tolbooth and Cross as the town has medieval origins and we need to record any finds.

Mr Budge added: “Forres Heritage Trust consider that the historical importance of Nelson’s Tower, the Tolbooth and Mercat Cross, fully justifies its decision to embark on a course to illuminate each building. The lighting will be controlled by sophisticated technology allowing buildings to be illuminated in appropriate colour schemes to reflect such events as Armistice Day, St Andrews Day, Macmillan Cancer, Christmas Day, to name but a few. The Trust feels that illuminating Nelson’s Tower, the Tolbooth and the Mercat Cross throughout the year will develop them into a beacon, advertising their presence to all and will encourage increased visitor numbers.”

A historic photo exhibition will be dressed to impress at the end of this month with a display of vintage clothes

The outfits have been donated to the Forres Heritage Trust with a number of them currently on display in the Highland Hospice shop on Forres High Street.

But the outfits will be moved to the Tolbooth for the photographic exhibition which will take place from August 31 to September 3.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Trust was given the dresses by Meg and John Mackenzie.

The couple were founder members of Forres Heritage Trust which was set up in 2010 and helped secure the purchase of the Tolbooth which the Trust now owns.

The couple’s hopes are that the clothes will eventually be sold with the proceeds being donated to the organisation.

Meg said: “We are delighted to be donating these vintage clothes to the Forres Heritage Trust. The ultimate aim is for them to be sold, but first we wanted to have them displayed so that the public can enjoy them.

“The flapper dresses were given to John by his godmother Bessie Hodsdon who had a shop in Forres High Street. Some of the items are over 100 years old and we’re hoping that there is someone out there who might be able to help us with more information about them or indeed be able to give us a value.”

Forres Heritage Trust, trustee Ainsley James has been collating the information about the collection and helped Mairi Skivington, manager of the Highland Hospice Shop create the window display.

Ainsley said: “This is such a wonderful donation from Meg and John and we have enjoyed learning a little about the items. The craftmanship in the dresses is impressive. Meg and John are clearly an important part of the Trust’s history so we are delighted to be able to display the items on their behalf. We were even able to find a picture from the early 1960s  of Gordon the Drapers shop window on Forres High Street which shows one of the outfits that we have been given. This is also on display in the Hospice window. A big thank you needs to go to Mairi and her team at the Highland Hospice shop who have helped us create a striking window display before the costumes are then moved to form part of the photographic display.”

Mairi added: “I’ve enjoyed working with Ainsley and the beautiful dresses. So many customers and passers by admire them. It’s been a wonderful project to work on.”

The Historic Photographic Exhibition will take place in the Tolbooth from Wednesday, August 31 to Saturday September 3 between 10am and 4pm.

Entry is £2 and there will be a raffle and tea and coffee available in the court room.

The spotlight is set to be shone on three historic Forres monuments after a planning application was submitted to The Moray Council to illuminate the buildings.

Permission is being sought to light up Nelson’s Tower, The Tolbooth and the Mercat Cross.

The application has been submitted by the Forres Heritage Trust who own the Tolbooth and look after Nelson’s Tower on behalf of the Council.

Leading on the project on behalf of the Forres Heritage Trust are trustees Bob James and Bill Budge.

Bob James explained: “We are very excited to be exploring this project which will see these three beautiful buildings being highlighted. These buildings are part of Forres’ rich history and lighting them up will make them a beacon and encourage interest and tourism for the buildings themselves but also create a feature for the people of Forres to enjoy.”

Experts

The Trust has appointed RYBKA, an international firm who specialise in lighting design and have an established history of delivering heritage building lighting schemes. They are also working with award-winning LDN Architects who have a recognised track history of being involved in projects which have strong heritage connections. Both companies are offering their services at substantially reduced rates recognising that Forres Heritage Trust is a registered charity.

Bob added: “With the support of RYBKA and LDN we have managed to come up with a sound proposal. Great emphasis has been placed on ensuring all equipment used is as energy efficient as possible and being of a standard to last the passage of time. There has also been great consideration taken for the environment. We have already had a meeting with Moray Council’s planning conservation officer at the sites to discuss this further.”

As well as submitting the planning application, the Trust is also now starting to look at how it will fund the project which is expected to cost £111k in total.

Worthwhile investment

Bill Budge said that the Trust believes the investment is worthwhile.

He said: “FHT consider that the historical importance of Nelson’s Tower, the Tolbooth and Mercat Cross, fully justifies its decision to embark on a course to illuminate each building. Over 50 years ago the Town Council of Forres were very keen to floodlight Nelson’s Tower, but sadly this project did not go ahead. The lighting will be controlled by sophisticated technology allowing buildings to be illuminated in appropriate colour schemes to reflect such events as Armistice Day, St Andrews Day, McMillan Cancer, Christmas Day, to name but a few.”

He added: “Nelson’s Tower currently attracts visitors from the local community and many more from near and far. It is a prominent building and tree pruning on Cluny Hill, which is planned to take place in the Spring of 2022, will make the tower even more visible when approaching Forres from Elgin. The Trust feels that illuminating Nelson’s Tower, the Tolbooth and the Mercat Cross throughout the year will develop them into a beacon, advertising their presence to all and will encourage increased visitor numbers.”

Bill also added the Heritage Trust already has an outstanding track record when it comes to preserving and promoting the buildings and the heritage of the town.

“If it wasn’t for the Heritage Trust, the Tolbooth and Nelson’s Tower would not be open,” said Bill, “the Tower itself attracts visitors from all over the world and at Nelson’s Tower, the Trust is soon to launch a new tourist attraction which will help entice visitors to our great town.”

The planning application was submitted in February and the Trust expects to find out if the project can go ahead later this month.  

The Forres Heritage Trust is launching an exciting new tourist attraction and is looking for volunteers to help get the project off the ground.

A new tour at the Tolbooth will show visitors around the old police office and cells, the newly renovated courtroom and provide them with a trip up to the parapet around the clock tower which has never been open to the public.

However, to make the project work, the Forres Heritage Trust which owns the Tolbooth, needs more helpers to act as a tour guides.

Volunteers crucial to success

George Alexander, chairman of the Trust said: “This is a very exciting development however its success is dependent on the help of volunteers. It won’t get off the ground without that support.

“We have had a whole team of people working on this for the best part of two years. We have had one group of Trustees pulling together the police office and cells part of the project, the courtroom has been given a tremendous make over by a team of volunteers, and myself and a couple of other Trustees have worked on the clock tower part of the development. Pulling each of these aspects of the historic Tolbooth altogether into one tour, will provide a really great visitor attraction for Forres.”

Mr Alexander added: “The Trustees had a walkthrough of the tour last week and we expect it will take up to an hour. We are still to work out when and how often the tour will open as this will depend on the support we get.”

The Forres Heritage Trust also looks after Nelson’s Tower and for many years has run successful tours of the monument between April and September.

Peter Haworth, a Trustee and volunteer co-ordinator said: “We have a list of volunteers who have helped make visits to Nelson’s Tower a huge success, however, over the last two years, and partly due to the pandemic, numbers have dwindled. To make sure that we can maintain what we offer at Nelson’s Tower and then successfully launch the new Tolbooth project, we are definitely going to need more volunteers.”

Satisfaction

Mr Haworth added: “Our volunteers get a great deal of satisfaction from meeting visitors, many of whom, pre-Covid, come from all over the world. Not once have I seen a volunteer walk away from a shift without a smile on their face. Using volunteers has always worked successfully at Nelson’s Tower.

“We provide all of the volunteers with packs explaining what is required and they will be given full training in an informal setting and briefed on the Tolbooth and its history. Nobody will be left feeling they don’t know what to do, say or what is expected of them. We are also more than happy to show people around before they commit to anything, so they can see how great the project is. All people have to do is get in touch.”

To find out more about the project and how you can get involved please email Peter at fhtvolunteers@outlook.com or call him 07966 410177.