Two plaques, one on either side of the bridge at its Tay Street end, describe the construction of the bridge and its opening by the Queen on 10th October 1960, the 750th anniversary of the granting of the Charter in 1210 by King William The Lion.
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.
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 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…
The railway bridge over King’s Place is dated 1849 which is also the date of first wooden bridge over the Tay allowing the completion of the line to Dundee. The railway bridges over King Street and Princes Street have explanatory information boards on the street underneath.