Datestone 66 Princes Street
Dated 1898.
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02/12/2023
Early Modern period
Inscription on 50 Princes Street
At the top of the building at 50 Princes Street, currently housing the Cullach Brewing Company, is a faded inscription containing the letters STA***SRED*****. Can you shed any light on this mystery?
02/12/2023
Datestone Pillars at 19-23 Kinnoull Street
At either side of the building currently housing the Kilt Company and The British Red Cross charity shop are dated pillars which spell out the date 1895.
02/12/2023
Bridgend Toll House
This is one of three toll houses in Perth still remaining, although there used to be more. The others still existing are on the Edinburgh Road and on the Dundee Road. There used to be one on the Crieff Road, Balhousie Toll House, opposite Unity Terrace. It was still there in the late 1970’s and had been converted into a house. It was later demolished along with an arcade of shops to make way for Toll House Gardens, part of the Fairfield redevelopment of Hunter’s Crescent. There was also one at the end of New Row to catch incoming Glasgow Road traffic. It is long gone. There was also one as part of the old Tollbooth at the bottom of the High Street, before Smeaton’s Bridge, to catch river traffic. There may well have been others. Now vacant, Bridgend Toll House contained J S Lees greengrocers for many years. It is now on the Buildings at Risk register with Historic Environment Scotland: J. S. Lees Grocers (Former), 1, West Bridge Street, Perth | Buildings at Risk Register The Bye Law on the notice board on the toll house sets out the rules for a locomotive (traction engine) crossing the bridge by…
02/12/2023
Former Council Offices, Police Station and Tolbooth
This historic site occupies the corner of the High Street and Tay Street. The entrance doorway of the old Perth Town Council Administrative Offices is on Tay Street. There is no plaque there at present, though doubtlessly one will appear in due course. The old police station, on Tay Street, was built in 1879 as part of the Perth Town Council Administrative Offices on the site of the Old Tolbooth. Above the doorway is the inscription setting out what would now be described as the mission statement of a police force. The text was originally on the medieval tolbooth.
02/12/2023
Statue of Prince Albert on the North Inch
Following the death of Prince Albert on December 14th, 1861, Perth Town Council were examining possible memorials. A bust in the council offices was rejected because “none but the privileged few would see it” and similarly a reading room was not considered to be sufficiently permanent. They decided on a statue at the southern tip of the North Inch adjacent to the corner of Charlotte Street and Charlotte Place. The statue is dressed in the robes of a Knight of the Thistle, the highest award of chivalry in Scotland. In his hand he holds the design of the Great Exhibition of 1851. During the construction of the statue Prince Alfred, the Queen’s eldest son paid regular visits to the sculptor, Brodie of Edinburgh, to comment on the design of Albert’s face and dress. Queen Victoria was shown a photograph of the statue and after amendments, approved it. She agreed to inaugurate the memorial on her way to Balmoral.Queen Victoria was making one of her rare visits to Perth. Her royal train arrived in Perth Station at 8:40am on 30th August 1864. She alighted and was escorted in procession along Marshall Place and on to the site at the North Inch. Following…
02/12/2023
Former Hospital Lodge in York Place
This B-listed building on York Place, originally the lodge for the 1836 Perth County and City Infirmary was built in 1840 to a design by William Donald Mackenzie, a Perth City Architect, who was responsible for a number of impressive public and domestic buildings within the city. The Infirmary is now the A K Bell Library. The Lodge was was built in a neo-classical style to harmonise with the main hospital building. It was moved and rebuilt on its present site on York Place in 1867. After being derelict for many years it was purchased and restored by the Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust work for which PKHT was given a Civic Trust Award in 2003, for an outstanding improvement to the built heritage of Perth. The lodge served as the offices of PKHT until 2019 when they moved to the City Mills. It now houses the Rejuvenate Clinic.
28/11/2023
Building at 25 St John Street
According to a plaque beside the left entrance, the building at 25 St John Street, erected between 1846-1847 in the style of an Italian Renaissance palazzi, was designed by David Rhind, (1808-1883), a pupil of Pugin. Pugin worked with Barry on the design, construction and internal furnishings of the Palace of Westminster. It was originally the local headquarters of the Central Bank, then the main Perth branch of the Bank of Scotland and most recently Lakeland. Rhind is responsible for a building of a similar design on the corner of South Street and Princes Street. The building currently houses a restaurant.
28/11/2023
Parmelia Court
This plaque records the 150th anniversary of the sailing to Australia in 1829 of the ship Parmelia to found the City of Perth, Capital of Western Australia. The Parmelia was the flagship of Captain James Stirling who founded and later was Governor of the new colony. The City of Perth, Australia, was named in honour of Sir George Murray of Ochtertyre, by Crieff who was Secretary of the Colonies at that time.
28/11/2023
Green House in High Street
This green-painted building bearing a multi-coloured coat-of-arms is at 28-30 High Street and is on the corner of High Street and Watergate. Pevsner describes this building as late 18th century. He considered it possible that much of the embellishment of the façade might be attributed to early 19th century. (Griffith, J. Perth And Kinross, After Pevsner 2001 p619).
28/11/2023