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1774-1901 AD / Commerce

Town and County Bank

Now a cosmetic dentistry centre, the building at 31 South Methven Street at its western corner with High Street was formerly the Town and County Bank and bears its crest. The building was erected in 1888-1889 at a time when much of central Perth was being redeveloped. The Bank's main office was in Aberdeen. After a series of takeovers the Town and County Bank became part of the Clydesdale Bank. Gifford reports the in the triangle between the arched door, the wall and ceiling there are two men with moustaches which merge into fruit.

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08/12/2023

1774-1901 AD / Commerce

Railway Station platform 7 plaque

A recently placed plaque on platform 7 tells of the past importance of Perth as a railway hub and how it came to be designed in 1848. Major alterations then took place in 1885-7 and 1911. We are unsure who commissioned or produced this plaque. If you know please let us know in the comments box below. Perth and Kinross Archive published a Facebook post on 7th Dec 2023 with photos revealing just how impressive the original Tudoresque main building looked, and how it was partially obscured by the later 1880s additions. As the metal roof of this later part is now decaying, it is to be hoped that one day we shall be able to see the main building as it once was. This is just the kind of issue that Perth Civic Trust is interested in.

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06/12/2023

1000-1603 AD

King James Public House

An information board on the King James public house in Kinnoull Street tells the story of the murder of James I and more. See also Blackfriars Monastery

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04/12/2023

1000-1603 AD / 1603-1774 AD

Pillory

The site of the old Pillory is marked by this stone marker at the foot of the High Street near the River Tay. It is reported to have fallen out of use by 1786. It was situated close to the city tollbooth, the local prison presumably in order to detain prisoners before being taken to the platform on which the pillory was mounted and being secured into it. . (Penny’s Tradition of Perth. 1836).

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04/12/2023

1603-1774 AD / Military

Threipland House on Dundee Road

A small low plaque in the front garden just opposite the entrance to the Rodney Gardens car park describes the history of the house and some small details of the Threipland family, particularly their Jacobite sympathies. Sir David Threipland fled to France after the “1715” with 100 others. He forfeited his estates which were only restored to the family when his son purchased them from the crown in 1782.

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04/12/2023

1603-1774 AD / Military

Charles Edward Stuart at the Salutation Hotel

A prominent brass plaque reveals that Charles Edward Sturt (Bonnie Prince Charlie) visited the hotel on South Street during his stay in Perth in 1745 on his way south to Edinburgh. It is thought he planned his campaign in room 20 which the hotel is happy to say is still in use. The original building from the 1600s was the town house of the Murrays of Scone Palace. It was converted to a coaching inn in 1699.

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04/12/2023

1603-1774 AD / Military

Jacobite Army in Perth

A plinth on the North Inch just off Charlotte Street records that the Jacobite armies assembled on the North Inch in 1715 and 1745. James VII “The Old Pretender” arrived in Perth in December 1715 where he received a cold reception. He reviewed his troops after they had fought at the Battle of Sheriffmuir in November 1715 and was so disappointed with what he saw he decided to “abandon the contest as hopeless, due to the reduced state of the army and its deficiency in arms and ammunition” (Marshall, T.H., The History of Perth: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1849, pp262-263). Bonnie Prince Charlie entered Perth on 3rd September 1745. He reviewed his troops on the North Inch on 7th September 1745 and declared that with training they would make excellent soldiers. The army left Perth on Wednesday the 11th September 1745 (Marshall, T.H., The History of Perth: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1849, pp282-287).

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04/12/2023

1603-1774 AD / Military

Cromwell’s Citadel – South Inch

The building of the citadel began in 1652. A modern information board, located within the South Inch car park set out a comprehensive history of the site. This was recently replaced with Panel 11 of the Perth Medieval Trail entitled Cromwell in Perth. The board details the area occupied by the citadel and the quantities of material used in its construction giving an indication of just how large and extensive was the citadel. Many of the older historic buildings of Perth were destroyed by Cromwell’s engineers as they gathered building material for its construction. In some cases only plaques remain as evidence these buildings ever existed. After the restoration the citadel was given to the town with orders to demolish it. The result is that only the foundations of the citadel remain, under the turf with no visible indications of the building.

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04/12/2023

1603-1774 AD / Military

Battle of Tibbermore plaque

This plaque is on the wall of a bungalow at the corner of Needless Road and Wilson Street. The Battle, also known as the Battle of Tippermuir, which is the old spelling Tibbermore, was fought on the 1st September 1644. The events were originally commemorated by a painted stone in the area of Fairies Road. This stone was moved from its original position in Fairies Road, closer to Pitheavlis Castle and later when the stone deteriorated beyond recovery, a decision was made to find a convenient site for what the Chairman describes as “some sort of memorial.” As a result, the plaque we see today was installed on a convenient newly built bungalow in 1921. The battle was the first to be fought between the Scottish Covenanters led by Lord Elcho and the government forces of Charles I, commanded by the Marquis of Montrose. The royal army, despite having fewer men and poorer equipment managed to defeat the Covenanters. Much of the details of the battle are unclear, but the City of Perth was under threat. Although there were a number of Perth citizens killed in the battle, the plaque principally remembers Covenanters from Fife. The Scottish Covenanters were established to…

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04/12/2023

1000-1603 AD / 1603-1774 AD / Military

The Monks Tower

One of the carved alcoves in the flood defence wall on Tay Street tells of the Monks Tower. The Monks Tower was situated in the south-east corner of the gardens of Gowrie House and jutted out over the river. The tower acted as a lookout post, working in tandem with the Spey Tower to defend the southern approaches to Perth. The Tower later served as an ammunition store prior while Gowrie House was being used as a barracks prior to its demolition at the end of the 18th century.

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04/12/2023