Post Medieval period
Water Vennel runs from the Watergate down to Tay Street. A small plaque near its junction with Tay Street tells of its importance and gives some history of the Gowrie House whose northern boundary was formed by Water Vennel. This was an important access to the river when Gowrie House and its gardens blocked so much of the river frontage.
There is a modern information board just around the corner in nearby Baxter’s Vennel which gives a detailed account of the Watergate, one of the most important streets in historic Perth. For centuries it was the nearest road parallel to the River Tay. The board recounts the layout of vennels dating from medieval times including Water Vennel and Fountain Close. It also lists various buildings which existed here in the Medieval and Post Medieval periods. These included the Lord Chancellors House, the Bishop of Dunkeld's Palace and Gowrie House. The present buildings in Watergate were largely built in the 18th…
A stone tablet in the Tay Street flood defence wall near the viewing platform at the eastern end of High Street indicates the site of the bridge destroyed by floods in 1621.
A modern notice board on Tay Street outlines the history of the Bridges of Perth. It is Panel 3 of the Perth Medieval Trail entitled Crossing the Tay and replaces an earlier board (also pictured). A little further south along Tay Street is another board (Panel 2) entitled Soggy Feet which explains changes in the ground level of Tay Street over history.
At the gateway to the Memorial Garden, on the North Inch, there are two plaques, one on each side of the entrance. The left -hand side shows present Perth Bridge, the right-hand side shows the Old Perth Bridge. By comparison the new bridge has fewer arches each of which is higher and wider than in the Old Bridge. The Old Bridge being lower and the arches narrower it is clear there was a greater possibility of debris brought down by the river in flood could form a dam, which would cause the bridge to collapse.
A plaque on the bridge itself at its western end states that the building of Perth Bridge was started in 1766, following a proposal tabled in 1760, by the 9th Earl of Kinnoull in his capacity as Lord Provost William Stewart. John Smeaton an accomplished architect was appointed. Smeaton had built a varied number of projects including harbours and lighthouses such as the Eddystone Lighthouse. The bridge is often called Smeaton's Bridge. The bridge opened in 1771. In 1869 pavements were added, outside the main supports of the bridge. On the north side of the westmost pillar are flood level…
This marks the date of the construction of the building as1774. George Street was first conceived in 1769. The Street opened in 1771 to provide access from the new Perth Bridge to the High Street. Although the street is one of the architecturally most interesting in Perth, this particular building was not considered worthy of special comment in Griffith’s review. (Griffith, J. Perth And Kinross, After Pevsner 2001 p619)
A plaque on this building (now 15-19 North Port) claims this the site of Lord John Murray’s Town House, occupied by him from 1758 - 1787. It is now the headquarters of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. An earlier information board (now replaced by Panel 4 of the Medieval Trail) gave more information and reported that it was actually the stable block for the town house. Some modern histories suggest the building may in fact have been an arcade of shops at one time. Lord John Murray was the second son of Duke of Atholl and brother of Lord George…
The initials LR and MB and the date 1766 surrounding a crest are sited high above the west facing gable in Fleshers’ Vennel. These are believed to be the initials of the married couple who either occupied the property, or had it built in 1766. The Vennel, which itself bears no plaque, led from the South Street where fleshers from out of town had to wait with their meat before entering the market near the kirk. Meat and other commodities were traded on prescribed days and rules were strictly enforced.
A series of six metal plaques are set on the top of the riverside flood wall on Tay Street, just north of the viewing platform. The plaques were funded by the Guildry Incorporation and describe various elements of the civic history of Perth. The first plaque records the visit of James VI in April 1601, before he became King of the United Kingdom. It records how much he was made welcome with ‘much wine’ and ‘a banquet’ but this was less than a year since an attempt had been made on his life while he resided at Gowrie House in…