admin – Perth Civic Trust

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…

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05/10/2026

Trust Plaques

Francis Buchanan White – Atholl Place

Unveiled on August 23rd at 2 Atholl Place, our fourth plaque concerns Francis Buchanan White who was a founder member and the first President of Perthshire Society of Natural Science (PSNS). He was born here in Perth and studied medicine at Edinburgh University. His passion from childhood was the study of nature. He was PSNS President for 13 years, Secretary for 2 years and editor of its publications for 13 years. White was an expert in hemiptera, the group of insects which includes shield bugs and water boatmen. He described 130 species new to science. From 1881, he devoted himself to botany and became an expert on British willows. He was a pioneer in biological recording, the careful gathering of data on where plants and animals are found in order to understand their distribution. White’s major work was the Flora of Perthshire, a detailed account of the plants which occur naturally in the county. He organised collecting trips and PSNS excursions to gather specimens and record the distribution of plants for this work. Dr White was elected in 1868, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and in 1873, a Fellow of the Linnean Society.2 Atholl Place was built in 1797…

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05/10/2026

Trust Plaques

Magnus Jackson – Princes Street

Our third Perth Civic Trust blue plaque was unveiled on 30th November 2025 in Princes Street, at the site of the studio built by early photographer Magnus Jackson. Our chairman Willie Wilson spoke of Magnus Jackson's importance in documenting Perth and its people in the 19th century. He was assisted by Bill Montgomery of the Guildry Incorporation and building owner John McEwan who showed us old photographs and documents related to historic buildings in Perth. Also in attendance were Councillors Andy Chan and Iain MacPherson, Wol Gilbraith and Jimmy Herd of Perthshire Photographic Society, Sabrina Willekens of Perth Museum and Pavo Interpretation, and Ian Cameron, Sue Hendrie, Roben Antoniewicz and Mike Bell (Perth Civic Trust).

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05/10/2026

Trust Plaques

Jessie Mann and David Octavius Hill – Watergate

In June 2025 the first two Perth Civic Trust blue plaques were unveiled at 3 Watergate in one of Perth's most historic streets. Although it is something of a backwater now, we need to remember that, before Tay Street was constructed in 1870-1875, Watergate was the main street along the river Tay with the land sloping down from it to the river bank. The first plaque concerns the early photographer Jessie Mann, considered to be Scotland's first female photographer. It is thought that her birthplace, now demolished, may have been number 22, opposite 3 Watergate where David Octavius Hill was born three years earlier. Hill was educated at Perth Academy then studied painting in Edinburgh. Mann also moved to Edinburgh and became assistant to Hill and his partner Robert Adamson at their studio in Rock House. There is evidence that she took photographic portraits in 1843 and 1844, making her the first women in Scotland ever to become involved professionally in the new medium of photography. Hill and Adamson took many of the earliest photographs in Scotland and their work has featured in national exhibitions. Jessie Mann was included in the Tate Britain exhibition 'Painting with Light' in 2016.

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05/10/2026

AGM

2026 AGM

Click on the image to see full details. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF PERTH CIVIC TRUST. THURSDAY 14th MAY 2026, 7.00pm IN THE SOUTAR THEATRE, A K BELL LIBRARY, YORK PLACE, PERTH. PH2 8EP Agenda Welcome to all members and visitors to the meeting. To note apologies. To note the Minute of the 2025 AGM. To receive the Chairman’s Report and the 2026 Forward Plan. To receive the Interim Financial Report of Perth Civic Trust for the year to 31 March 2026. The Constitution allows for the appointment of a Vice Chairman, a position not currently held. To receive nominations and appoint members of the Executive Committee of Perth Civic Trust. To receive nomination and appoint a Vice Chairman and Treasurer of Perth Civic Trust for a period ofthree years. The Chairman was appointed for three years at the 2024 AGM. The Secretary wasappointed for three years at the 2025 AGM. Subscriptions from 1 April 2024 have been £15 for individual membership, £25 for joint membershipand £50 for Corporate membership. These rates continue for 2026. Members are reminded to ensuretheir Standing Orders are updated to reflect these rates. 2027 is the 60th Anniversary of Perth Civic Trust. Member suggestion on how this…

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23/04/2026

1901-present

Pomarium Street Playground

A rather sad plaque on a large boulder on some waste ground between the Pomarium Street flats and Perth Bus Station reminds us that this was once a children's playground. Funded by the Forteviot Trust, it was opened in 1968 by Lord Forteviot, but the equipment was removed in the 1990s. For many years it became an unofficial free car park until Perth and Kinross Council fenced it off with bollards in 2012. See press coverage from 2012: Window of opportunity closes on free spaces in Perth - Daily Record It is now reverting to nature.

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27/12/2023

1901-present

York Corner

This building is at the western corner of York Place and New Row and comprises 1-9 York Place and 41-45 New Row. It is a 4-storey grade B listed corner block built in1906/7 (George Penrose Kennedy Young), which features detailed carvings and signage typical of the John James Burnet Edwardian Baroque architectural movement. (Perth: Street by Street).

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13/12/2023

1901-present

Datestone at 108 High Street

The building at the eastern corner of High Street and King Edward Street is 108 High Street. It bears this datestone from 1905.

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12/12/2023

1774-1901 AD / 1901-present / Military

Queen’s Barracks on Caledonian Road

This plinth on Caledonian Road stands beside the path to Black Watch Gardens and opposite Barrack Street / Dunkeld Road. It bears the crest of the Black Watch Regiment and an information board which tells the history of the Queen's Barracks from its beginnings in 1831 until the regiment moved to modern barracks in Dunkeld Road. In 2006 the Black Watch were integrated into the Royal Regiment of Scotland. See also Black Watch Castle and Museum.

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11/12/2023

1603-1774 AD

Charles I visit to Perth in 1633

King Charles I ascended to the English throne in 1625 and was crowned in England that year. However, the Scots insisted that he should also be crowned in his northern kingdom. The ceremony took place in Edinburgh, at the Palace of Holyrood House, on 18 June 1633, amid an elaborate and extravagant royal tour. This tour included a visit to Perth, commemorated in this stone plaque in the flood defence wall in Tay Street. It recounts that he was entertained by members of the Glover Incorporation performing a sword dance on a wooden platform moored on the River Tay.

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09/12/2023