1000-1603 AD – Page 3 – Perth Civic Trust

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…

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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…

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18/11/2023

1000-1603 AD / Military

Dewars Corner Archery Butts and Amphitheatre

An interesting plaque is attached to the railings of Roslin House at Dewars Corner (the junction of Glasgow Road and Glover Street). It sets out the believed location for both the archery butts and the amphitheatre where James V watched plays in 1539. The actual site of the amphitheatre is believed to be in the area now occupied by the industrial park opposite. In 2023 the owners had the railings re-painted and the lettering was made much clearer.

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21/10/2023

1000-1603 AD / Religious

St John’s Kirk

On the East Wall in St John Street is a plaque recording that King David granted the Church of St. John the Baptist in Perth to Dunfermline Abbey in 1126 under whose auspices Perth fell at that time. In 2020 the Association of Perth Veterans War Memorial was placed in front of this plaque. Outside the Kirk are two modern information boards. Earlier versions pictured here were initiated and funded by Perth Partnership, but these were replaced in 2021 by Panels 7 and 8 of the new Perth Medieval Trail created by Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust in conjunction with…

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16/10/2023

1000-1603 AD / Commerce

Hammerman Incorporation in High Street

A plaque in High Street just west of the entrance to Perth Theatre is a plaque marking where the Hammerman Incorporation met until 1895. They were one of the craft guilds of Perth which date back to the 15th century. All metal workers in Perth were required to join the Guild which was first incorporated in 1518.

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16/10/2023

1000-1603 AD / 1603-1774 AD / Education

Former Perth Grammar School

The modern Perth Grammar School in Muirton has existed since 1971 but was not the first school to bear that name. A plaque high on the north side of South Street at its junction with Princes Street outlines a small part of the history of the original Perth Grammar School. The first recorded evidence of the school is in a charter of 1150. Robert, Bishop of St. Andrews together with a number of his successors confirm the presence of the school as part of the organisation of the church. By 1560 the Town Council, together with the reformed church had…

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07/10/2023

1000-1603 AD / Commerce

The Old Ship Inn

A notice board, updated in 2023, suggests an Old Ship Inn has been on this site in the Skinnergate since Medieval times. The present building is described by Gifford as late-Victorian. The Inn was close to the Old Mercat Cross where presumably there were lots of customers on market days. The building also displays a series of boards showing mock newspaper headlines relating to events occurring within the life-time of the public house.

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02/10/2023

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

1000-1603 AD / Commerce

Old Mercat Cross

A stone plaque in the roadway of the High Street near its junction with Skinnergate marks the site of the Old Mercat Cross. A modern information board close-by describes the various markets held over the centuries. This is Panel 6 of the Perth Medieval Trail which replaced an earlier board (also pictured below). Further details of markets and trades are recorded on Panel 8 at St John’s Kirk. The original cross was demolished by Cromwell’s engineers to provide stones for his citadel. It was re-instated in 1669 and this replacement demolished in 1765. It was here in 1746 that Charles…

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25/09/2023

1000-1603 AD / Commerce

Skinnergate

In medieval times Skinnergate was the main thoroughfare into Perth from the North. Many of the crafts and trades associated with Perth were established there just inside the burgh walls, most notably those associated with leather like the Glovers Incorporation founded in 1210. An information board entitled Perth – A Craftis Toun can be found on Mill Street at the north end of Skinnergate. This is number 5 in the Perth Medieval Trail.

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25/09/2023