This plaque in High Street records the site of the Groom’s Tavern in which Burns stayed during his visit to Perth in 1787. The plaque has been moved, having previously been further down the High Street in the close leading to the Scott Street car park.
Sir Walter Scott’s Statue on the South Inch was erected as a token of appreciation for his setting a novel in Perth. The Statue was originally at the foot of the High Street before being moved to its current position. Sir Walter made a series of visits to Perth and Perthshire where he derived his inspiration to write the novel “The Fair Maid of Perth”. The story is based on events involving the “Battle of the Clans”. To give the tale an air of authenticity he then nominated particular dwellings as the homes of the principal characters. There was an…
The house was chosen by Sir Walter Scott as the home of Catherine Glover, the heroine in his 1828 novel “The Fair Maid of Perth”. Scott had been shown round the oldest parts of Perth in his search for an authentic setting for his novel. In a similar fashion to his choice of the Hal O The Wynd house the story pre-dates the buildings. Some of the walls date from 1475 but most are from 1629 and the whole building was extensively renovated in 1893-4. For 150 years it was the meeting place of the Glovers Incorporation of Perth. It now…
The naming of this building is entirely due to Sir Walter Scott. He named the house in Mill Wynd on a visit to Perth to find material to provide an apparently authentic background for his novel ”Fair Maid of Perth”. The building dates from 1774, so clearly did not exist in the time of Hal O the Wynd. It was originally used as a warehouse and factory. (Hunter, T., Perth Weavers and Weavers, 1936, p91 & p48) Scott similarly attributed the Fair Maid’s House to the Glover Family The legendary figure of Hal O The Wynd, whose actual name was believed…
An excellent information board on the wall outside Kinnoull Burial Ground describes many of the most important headstones and descibes the history of the graveyard and Kinnoull Church. The headstone for George Gray Millias, the son of Sir John Everett Millias Bart. P.R.A. and his wife Effie Chalmers Gray is situated within this graveyard. Effie Gray is also recorded on the headstone. She was the first wife of John Ruskin. See also Bowerswell House - Effie Gray. The graveyard also contains a number of very old gravestones showing various crafts and occupations. There is a particularly large stone depicting a…
Bowerswell House, now part of Bowersell Memorial Homes, was the home of the Gray family whose daughter Effie Gray was married initially to John Ruskin, the influential art critic. Following her divorce, she married the pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millias. There are reproductions of some of Ruskin’s paintings with explanatory text in the dining room which is occasionally open to the public on Doors Open Days. The refurbishment of the House and its surroundings in 1991 are remembered in further plaques and there is a framed award by Perth Civic Trust. See also Bowerswell House War Memorials.
There is a plaque in Rose Terrace recording the home of Mrs. Richardson, an aunt of John Ruskin, the influential art critic. Ruskin describes spending boyhood holidays in Perth. (Praeterita,1885-1889, Ruskin. J. pp53-60. Rupert Hart-Davies, London, 1949).
John Buchan was born in 1875 at 20 York Place in Perth where his father was a minister. He became an author, best known for his novels “The Thirty-Nine Steps” and “Greenmantle”. He was member of Parliament for the Combined Scottish Universities. Later he was created Lord Tweedsmuir when appointed Governor General of Canada.
John Buchan is remembered in two identical plaques created by Kenny Munro supported by ScotRail. There is also a bust of John Buchan.
The Scots Opera Project makes its Perth Festival of the Arts debut with Marjory Kennedy-Fraser’s and Granville Bantock’s Celtic folk opera, The Seal-Woman on May 21st and 22nd. Tickets are still available. LINK: The Seal-Woman - Scots Opera Project Event at Perth Festival Of The Arts