Forfar bridies

While the mutton pie was an everyday hand-held meal, the bridie was a treat. A flat, horseshoe-shaped meaty pastry, not filled with minced mutton, but the very best, finely chopped steak. They have become associated with Forfar though they are widely made today throughout Angus and Aberdeenshire by both bakers and butchers. So why Forfar? And why ‘bridie’? Was it from a woman named Bridie, who hawked them about the town in the late 19th century? Or did they take their name from the fact that their lucky horseshoe shape made them popular fare at the bride’s meal? Opinions differ.