Sir Walter Scott – Perth Civic Trust

Battle of the Clans

Robert III viewed the Battle of the Clans from the Blackfriars Monastery gardens. The site of the battle in 1396 is marked by a stone plinth on the North Inch opposite the Blackfriars plaque. The staging of the battle of the clans in 1396 was an attempt by King Robert III t to find a solution to a long running feud between Clan Chatton and Clan Kay. The identity of the actual participates has not been firmly established. Clan Chattan was originally called Clan Qwhewyl. The Clan Chattan was a confederation of a number of individual clans, principally the MacIntoshes…

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03/12/2023

Literature

Sir Walter Scott statue on the South Inch

Sir Walter Scott’s statue on the South Inch just off Marshall Place was erected as a token of appreciation for his setting a novel in Perth. The Statue was originally at the foot of the High Street before being moved to its current position in 1877. Sir Walter made a series of visits to Perth and Perthshire where he derived his inspiration to write the novel “The Fair Maid of Perth”. The story is based on events involving the “Battle of the Clans”. To give the tale an air of authenticity he then nominated particular dwellings as the homes of…

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26/11/2023

Literature

The Fair Maid’s House in North Port

The house was chosen by Sir Walter Scott as the home of Catherine Glover, the heroine in his 1828 novel “The Fair Maid of Perth”. Scott had been shown round the oldest parts of Perth in his search for an authentic setting for his novel. In a similar fashion to his choice of the Hal O The Wynd house the story pre-dates the buildings. Some of the walls date from 1475 but most are from 1629 and the whole building was extensively renovated in 1893-4. For 150 years it was the meeting place of the Glovers Incorporation of Perth. It now…

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26/11/2023

Literature

Hal O the Wynd House in Mill Wynd

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…

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26/11/2023