St Ann’s Lane and Chapel

A small green plaque at the South Street entrance to St. Anne’s Lane which runs north to St John’s Kirk tells the history of this ancient Kirk Vennel. It passed in part through the medieval graveyard next to the Chapel of St. Ann, which held a number of altars dedicated to the Mother of the Virgin. The chapel acted as a hospital for travellers and the poor. The chapel was in existence in 1514 when prayers were said every Tuesday for the soul of James IV who fell at Flodden the previous year. (Marshall T. H., The History of Perth: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1849 pp381-382)

The site was later occupied by the original Perth Grammar School. In 1810 the school became a theatre which operated from 1810-1819 but burned down in 1823. The lane later contained the Champion Inn with stabling for four horses. The Perthshire Constitution and Journal was published in the lane from 1835-1948.