Thomas Forret

Who is Thomas Forret?

Thomas Forret, was vicar of Dollar, Clackmannanshire, and a Scottish martyr.

Forret was descended from an old family which possessed the estate of Forret in the parish of Logie, Fifeshire, from the reign of William the Lion till the seventeenth century. The surname is sometimes erroneously given as Forrest. His father had been master stabler to James IV. The Catholic priest, Sir John Forret, for permitting whom to administer the sacrament of baptism at Swinton in 1573 the Bishop of St Andrews was complained against, was probably a near relative. After obtaining a good preliminary education, Forret was, through the "help of a rich lady," sent to study at Cologne. On his return he became a canon regular in the monastery of "Sanct Colmes Inche". The canons having, it is said, begun to manifest their discontent at their daily allowance, the abbot, in order to divert their attention from their personal grievances, gave them the works of Augustine to study instead of the book of their foundation. Its perusal effected a radical change in the thoughts of many of the recluses. "O happy and blessed," afterwards said Forret, "was that book by which I came to the knowledge of the truth!"