An information board (panel 10 of the PKHT Medieval Trail) explains the history of the Hospital. A Hospital at that time could be described as an early form of Poor House. It was built on the site of a Carthusian Monastery
A royal charter in 1569 during the regency of the Earl of Moray established a hospital in Perth. The 1587 date on the building refers to a second royal charter by King James VI when he become old enough to rule, although buildings were not erected until 1596. The original buildings were not on the present site but close to the Perth Bridge. They were demolished by Cromwell’s engineers to provide material for the building of his citadel on the South Inch. (Gazetteer for Scotland, 2020)
The building we see to-day was built on this new site in 1749-1750 and renovated in 1976 to form a series of flats.
The flats are administered by the Hospital Manager overseen by the ministers and elders of St. John’s Kirk and Letham St. Mark’s church, maintaining a religious connection.
There are further informative plaques within the property which is occasionally open on Doors Open Days. A full history of the site is on the PSNS web site: History of King James VI Hospital on the site of the earlier Carthusian Monastery (psns.org.uk)
