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 to be Henry Wynd, or as the Highlanders called him “Gow Chrom” meaning the “bandy-legged smith, was said to have taken part in the Battle of the Clans in 1396. (Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy, Penguin 1995 f.note P315)
Hal O The Wynd was a powerful local blacksmith/armourer who was drafted into the army of Clan Chattan when one of their number absconded. He is said to have made a major contribution to the victory of Clan Chattan. (Marshall T. H., The History of Perth: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1849 pp33-34)
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