Early history Its name, derived from the Scandinavian (field or meeting-place of the
thing, or local assembly; compare
Tynwald,
Tingwall,
Thingwall in the
British Isles alone, plus many others across northern Europe), preserves the
Viking connections of the town; Gaels call it (), meaning "the mouth of the Peffery" or meaning "cabbage town". The site of the , and of the medieval Moothill, thought to have been established by the Vikings after they invaded in the 8th century, lies beneath the Cromartie memorial.
Early middle ages In the early Middle Ages Dingwall Castle, which was established in the 11th century, was reputed to have been the largest castle north of Stirling. King
Alexander II created Dingwall a
royal burgh in 1226, the burgh becoming the seat of the Earls of Ross.
James IV renewed its royal burgh charter in 1497. On the top of
Knockfarrel (), a hill about to the west, stands a large and very complete
vitrified fort with ramparts. An
obelisk, high, was erected over the grave of
George Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Cromartie, near the parish church of St Clement after he died in 1717. It was affected by subsidence, becoming known as the "Leaning Tower", and was later replaced by a much smaller replica.
Dingwall Town Hall, which dates back to 1745, still survives. On 6 August 1904 a large memorial to the
Seaforth Highlanders killed in the
Boer War was unveiled in Dingwall. It is a high Ionic cross in pale pink granite. Dingwall formerly served as the county town of
Ross and Cromarty: the headquarters of Ross and Cromarty County Council, established in 1889, was
County Buildings in Dingwall. James Gillanders of Highfield Cottage near Dingwall, was the
factor for the estate of Major Charles Robertson of
Kincardine and, as his employer was then serving with the
British Army in
Australia, Gillanders was the person most responsible for the mass evictions staged at Glencalvie,
Ross-shire in 1845, part of the
Highland Clearances. A Gaelic-language poem denouncing Gillanders for the brutality of the evictions was later submitted anonymously to Pàdraig MacNeacail, the editor of the
Canadian Gaelic column in which the poem was later published in the
Nova Scotia newspaper
The Casket. The poem, which is believed either to be or to draw upon eyewitness accounts, is believed to be the only Gaelic language source of information relating to the evictions in Glencalvie.
Recent history As a result of storms in late October 2006, Dingwall was subject to widespread flooding the aftermath of which left the town and much of the Highlands north of Inverness, including the
A9 and
Far North Line, cut off for a time In August 2019 the town was once again flooded. ==Location==