St Pauls – Perth Civic Trust

St Paul’s Church

A modern information board entitled Going to Market (Panel 9 of the Perth Medieval Trail) can be found beside the newly redeveloped St Paul’s Church open-air space. This replaced an earlier information board describing the history of St Paul’s Church and surrounding area (also shown). St. Paul’s was the first church to be built outside the area of the old city walls. The population of Perth 1801 was 16,388 a rise of 7.00 in the previous 56 years. Perth City Council agreed an additional church was required. The current site was chosen in preference to one by the shore despite the site lying directly over a branch of the city lade. Planning began in June 1796 and the first service of induction was held in November 1807. (History of St Paul’s Church, J. R, Maclean 1957).

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18/11/2023

Religious

Glasite Meeting House at St Paul’s

On the other side of the High Street from St Paul's Church stands a building which used to be the Glasite Meeting House. John Glas founded the Glasites in Scotland in 1730. A Glasite Church which was regarded as the “foundation of the Glasites” may have been founded in 1733. This church building was later, thought to have been erected in Perth in 1773. The date of 1839 it is thought refers to a later renovation, not to the building’s actual construction. (History of St Paul’s Church, J. R, Maclean 1957) The Glasite churches aimed at a strict conformity with a primitive type of Christianity. Church unanimity was considered to be necessary; if any member differed in opinion from the rest, he must either surrender his judgement to that of the church, or be shut out from its communion. The Lord’s Supper was observed weekly and every member was required to be present. This did not take the form of symbolic morsels of wine and bread but a relatively substantial meal, a custom leading to the Glasites’ nickname of ‘Kail Kirk’ as Scotch Broth was served. The custom may have arisen as a charitable response to the poverty of most members of this…

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18/11/2023

Religious

St Paul’s Hospital

A simple plaque showing the approximate site of the hospital and a founded date as March 1650 A History of St Paul’s church gives the date of founding of this establishment by John Spens as 1434. The site at the corner of the Newrow had previously been occupied by a nunnery one of whose chapels was dedicated to St. Paul. It is stated in this History of St Pauls that the chapel was of a considerable size allowing it to provide a hospital for travellers, the infirmed and the poor. (History of St Paul’s Church, J. R, Maclean 1957)

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18/11/2023

1000-1603 AD / City walls, gates and bridges / Commerce

West Port

At the junction of High Street and South Methven Street was the old West Port, one of the many entrances to the city in medieval times. Traders would enter her to go to the many markets held within the walls. A modern information board entitled Going to Market (Panel 9 of the Perth Medieval Trail) can be found beside the newly redeveloped St Paul’s Church open-air space.

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26/09/2023