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Dewars Corner Archery Butts and Amphitheatre

An interesting plaque is attached to the railings of Roslin House at Dewars Corner (the junction of Glasgow Road and Glover Street). It sets out the believed location for both the archery butts and the amphitheatre where James V watched plays in 1539. The actual site of the amphitheatre is believed to be in the area now occupied by the industrial park opposite. In 2023 the owners had the railings re-painted and the lettering was made much clearer.

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21/10/2023

War Memorials

North Inch Garden of Remembrance

The garden contains a number of memorials. Just outside the North Inch flood gate is a garden containing a statue and series of plaques devoted to the 51st Highland Division of which the Black Watch was an important part.

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21/10/2023

War Memorials

St John’s Kirk War Memorials

Robert Lorimer carried out a restoration to transform the Kirk into the War Memorial to the dead of Perth and Perthshire following the Great War 1914 – 1918. In addition to the concept of the whole building being a War Memorial, within the church are a series of individual plaques to specific regiments and groupings. The Parachute Regiment The Burma Star Association The Royal Army Service Corps. The Black Watch in the Boer War Members of the Congregation of St. John’s A shrine to all from Perth and County who fell in the two World Wars. The Scottish Area Women’s…

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21/10/2023

War Memorials

Association of Perth Veterans War Memorial

Perth's most recent war memorial is in St John Street at the east end of St Johns Kirk. It was erected by the Association of Perth Veterans (APV) during 2020 and dedicated on June 26, 2021 after delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “The APV was formed in 2018 as a pressure group to ensure that those men and women who served in the forces from the Perth area, as well as those who gave their lives for our country – and the memorials erected to honour them – aren’t forgotten,” retired Colonel Bert Macrae, association secretary, explained to the…

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21/10/2023

Religious / War Memorials

St Andrews Church War Memorials

St Andrews Church at 19 Atholl Street is a former church building completed in 1885. The architects were Andrew Heiton and Andrew Grainger Heiton. At one point around 2020 it was scheduled for demolition but it has now been renovated and repurposed as the new YMCA Centre for Perth. A new plaque commemorates the opening of the Y Centre by Princess Anne on November 13th 2024. Two war memorials were photographed by PCT when they were under threat due to deterioration of the building. One is a record of the members of the congregation who fell in the war. It…

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20/10/2023

Religious

Whitefriars Monastery

A plaque on a pillar in the boundary wall of Jeanfield Cemetery on Jeanfield Road near the corner of Feus Road relates to the lands across the road where once stood the Monastery of Tullylumb, founded by Alexander III c 1155 and occupied by Carmelite Friars. The Carmelites, are known as the “White Friars” The Carmelites, when founded were as a purely contemplative order, but became mendicants in 1245. Mendicants were Christian religious orders who adopted a lifestyle of poverty, travelling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preaching, evangelisation, and ministry, especially to the poor. At their foundation these orders rejected all…

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17/10/2023

1000-1603 AD / Religious

St John’s Kirk

On the East Wall in St John Street is a plaque recording that King David granted the Church of St. John the Baptist in Perth to Dunfermline Abbey in 1126 under whose auspices Perth fell at that time. In 2020 the Association of Perth Veterans War Memorial was placed in front of this plaque. Outside the Kirk are two modern information boards. Earlier versions pictured here were initiated and funded by Perth Partnership, but these were replaced in 2021 by Panels 7 and 8 of the new Perth Medieval Trail created by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust in conjunction with…

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16/10/2023

1000-1603 AD / Commerce

Hammerman Incorporation in High Street

A plaque in High Street just west of the entrance to Perth Theatre is a plaque marking where the Hammerman Incorporation met until 1895. They were one of the craft guilds of Perth which date back to the 15th century. All metal workers in Perth were required to join the Guild which was first incorporated in 1518.

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16/10/2023

Commerce

New Mercat Cross in King Edward Street

The New Mercat Cross which was erected in 1913 in memory of Edward VII, was said to be an exact copy of Old Mercat Cross. It is embellished with the crests of 13 town guilds, but there is no information to say which guild each of the crests represent. The Cross stands in King Edward Street which was created in 1901-1902. (Duncan. J., Perth, A City Again, 2012, p299)

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16/10/2023

Commerce

Mathew Gloag Building in Kinnoull Street

This building at the corner of Kinnoull Street and Mill Street is currently occupied by the Bothy Restaurant. An ornate inscription above the upper floor establishes the date of construction as 1907. This is yet another example of the considerable building taking place in Perth at the turn of the century. The business of William B. Gloag actually began in 1814. (Hunter, T., Perth Weaving and Weavers, 1936) The inscription bears a bunch of grapes confirming that Gloag was a wine merchant, which must reflect on the wealth of the city at that time. Gloags later became famous for Grouse Whisky.

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13/10/2023