Perthshire Society of Natural Science Natural History Museum – Tay Street
Our fifth Perth Civic Trust blue plaque was unveiled on 23rd August 2026 in Tay Street, on the facade of 66 Tay Street which housed the original Natural History Museum of Perthshire Society of Natural Science which opened in 1881. As soon as PSNS was formed in 1867, Dr Francis Buchanan White said in his inaugural address on 7th March 1867. “As regards the formation of a Museum, the Society, while not neglecting to form a good general typical collection, should more especially devote itself to the acquisition of as perfect a museum as possible of all natural products of the County”. An ambition of the Society was to establish a museum with a fine natural history collection. It was to be as comprehensive as possible in its collections of Perthshire’s rocks, minerals, plants and animals. In 1877 Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, the President, proposed the society should build the museum, including a library and lecture hall, in Tay Street. The businessman Robert Pullar of Perth’s North British Dyeworks, contributed generously to the cost of the building. After Sir Thomas’s unexpected death, the new museum, opened in 1881 was named in his honour, the Moncreiffe Memorial Natural History Museum. The museum was…
