monastery – Perth Civic Trust

1000-1603 AD / 1774-1901 AD

King James VI Hospital

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…

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19/11/2023

1000-1603 AD / Religious

Greyfriars Monastery and Burial Ground

The Franciscan Monastery was founded in 1460 but destroyed in 1559 at the start of the Scottish Reformation. Franciscans are sometimes referred to as Greyfriars. The original Rule of Saint Francis did not allow ownership of property, requiring members of the order to beg for food while preaching. The austerity was meant to emulate the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Franciscans travelled and preached in the streets, while staying in church properties. The gate post and lintel at the entrance to the grounds give information on the Spey Tower, the city walls and details the site of the deaths of martyrs. The portal inscription reads:Hic genitor genitrixque siti et1 numerosa utriusqueProgenies nati et natae charique2 nepotesEt neptes necnon pronepotes3 atque proneptesHaec quicunque legis morti nos nostraeque cunctaDeberi tanquam speculo referente videbisHaec etenim transit generatio nascitur illa Transcription, notes and translations by David Bowler, 06 October 20201 The inscription reads ‘sitiet’, which makes no sense here. ‘siti et’ means ‘lying, and’, which is obviously correct.2 ‘charique’, a variant spelling for ‘carique’, meaning ‘and dear’.3 The inscription clearly reads ‘pronepotos’, which is not a latin word. Pronepotes means ‘great grandsons’, which is obviously correct. o for e is an easy mistake for the sculptor…

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18/11/2023

1000-1603 AD / Religious

Carthusian Monastery

Occupying extensive lands south of Hospital Street and west of King Street, the Carthusian Priory in Perth was the only one in Scotland, was founded in 1429 by James I (1406–1437). The foundation of a Carthusian or Charterhouse Monastery is recorded on the obelisk in the rounds, on the corner of King Street and Hospital Street. Further details are on the information board 'The Vale of Virtue' on Hospital Street, panel 10 of the PKHT Medieval Trail. The Carthusian Order is an enclosed order of both monks and nuns. The Carthusians are the most ascetic and austere of all the European monastic orders being regarded as the pinnacle of religious devotion to which monks from other orders were attracted when they felt in need for greater spiritual challenges. The name Carthusian is derived from the Chartreuse Mountains in the French Alps. The name was adapted to the English “Charterhouse”. Charterhouse Lane is nearby. It is said James I was buried within the grounds of the monastery following his murder at Blackfriars. Also buried in the monastery grounds are Joan Beaufort Queen of James I and Margaret Tutor, sister of Henry VIII and Queen of James IV. In 1750 the King James VI Hospital was built on…

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18/11/2023

1000-1603 AD / Religious

Blackfriars Monastery

This plaque at the corner of Charlotte Street and Blackfriars Street sets out three important dates in the history of Blackfriars Monastery. It was thought to have been founded King Alexander II in 1231. The Church of the Friars Preachers of Blessed Virgin and Saint Dominic at Perth, commonly called “Blackfriars”, was a mendicant friary of the Dominican Order. Mendicant were Christian religious orders who adopted a lifestyle of poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preaching, evangelization, and ministry, especially to the poor. At their foundation these orders rejected the previously established monastic model. The friary was frequently used for national church councils and as a residence for the King of the Scots. Perth was perhaps the most important royal centre in the Kingdom of Scotland until the reign of King James III of Scotland who died in 1488. It was at Blackfriars on the night of 20th February 1437 that King James I of Scotland was murdered by followers of the Duke of Atholl. An information board on the King James public house in Kinnoull Street tells the story of the murder and more.

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18/11/2023

1000-1603 AD / Religious

St Leonard’s Priory

Also known as the Nunnery of St Leonard the Abbot, this nunnery first recorded in 1411 was occupied by both nuns and monks. When the Carthusian Monastery was established in 1429, it suppressed the nunnery. The lands of the nunnery were conferred on the Carthusian Monastery who continued the chapel under its patronage. Following the dissolution of the monasteries the lands were acquired many years later by the Glover Corporation. The plaque showing the site of this nunnery is on the old Salmon Fisheries Building on St. Leonard’s Bank. The land is now much changed due to the construction of the railways. The nunnery is remembered in the local street names of St Leonard’s Bank, Priory Place and Glover Street.

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18/11/2023

Religious

Whitefriars Monastery

A plaque on a pillar in the boundary wall of Jeanfield Cemetery on Jeanfield Road near the corner of Feus Road relates to the lands across the road where once stood the Monastery of Tullylumb, founded by Alexander III c 1155 and occupied by Carmelite Friars. The Carmelites, are known as the “White Friars” The Carmelites, when founded were as a purely contemplative order, but became mendicants in 1245. Mendicants were Christian religious orders who adopted a lifestyle of poverty, travelling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preaching, evangelisation, and ministry, especially to the poor. At their foundation these orders rejected all previously established monastic model.

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17/10/2023