New posts – Page 12 – Perth Civic Trust

Mathew Gloag Building in Kinnoull Street

This building at the corner of Kinnoull Street and Mill Street is currently occupied by the Bothy Restaurant. An ornate inscription above the upper floor establishes the date of construction as 1907. This is yet another example of the considerable building taking place in Perth at the turn of the century. The business of William B. Gloag actually began in 1814. (Hunter, T., Perth Weaving and Weavers, 1936) The inscription bears a bunch of grapes confirming that Gloag was a wine merchant, which must reflect on the wealth of the city at that time. Gloags later became famous for Grouse Whisky.

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13/10/2023

1774-1901 AD / Education / Military

Robert Douglas Memorial School in Scone

Robert Douglas Memorial School on Spoutwells Road in New Scone opened in 1935. Robert Douglas (1859-1929) moved to America at an early age where he founded a company dealing in jam and associated products. He endowed a number of projects in New Scone the place of his birth. The photograph taken inside the school shows the spades used to remove the first turfs to formally signify the beginning of the building of the school. The turfs were cut by Robert Douglas’s sister and his son Mr. Charles A. Douglas in 1933. The Polish Army used the School during the war,…

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10/10/2023

1774-1901 AD / Benefactors / Education

Sandeman Library

Now the Sandeman public house, the Sandeman Library stands on Kinnoull Street at its corner with Mill Street. In the entrance hall are a series of plaques to commemorate the establishment of the library in 1898. Among them is a plaque dedicated to the founder Archibald Sandeman (1922-1893) Professor of Mathematics at Owens College, Manchester. The Sandeman room in the A.K. Bell library is so named in his memory. A second plaque includes details of benefactors including Andrew Carnegie and Lord Forteviot both of whom gave books, not cash. Other Scots emigrates who made donations are named. There are a…

2 Comments

10/10/2023

1774-1901 AD / Education

Perth Art Gallery in George Street

The original Perth Museum was built in 1822-1824. This imposing building at 78 George Street was required to house the amalgamation of the Marshall Monument collection with that of the PSNS. It was known for many years as Perth Art Gallery and Museum. On opening the new Perth Museum in the former City Hall in 2024, this building became Perth Art Gallery. Also at this time the J D Fergusson art collection was moved from its previous home in Perth Waterworks to this building. The previous Perth Art Gallery which had previously been sited on the top floor of the…

4 Comments

10/10/2023

1774-1901 AD / Education / War Memorials

Former Perth Academy in Rose Terrace

The building at 6-8 Rose Terrace was built on land donated by Thomas Hay Marshall and built by private subscription. The architect was Sir Robert Reid. When completed in 1807 it housed the “Public Seminaries which included Perth Academy and Perth grammar School, plus various individual teachers and their pupils". This building became known as Perth Academy. In 1915 Sharp’s Institution was amalgamated into the Academy Teaching was transferred to the new building at Viewlands in 1932. A plaque was placed as a reminder of the building's construction and earlier function and of those former pupils who died in World…

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09/10/2023

Commerce

Railway Station – Civic Awards

Outside the main entrance there are two plaques recording the awards given to the station for the high standard of work achieved in its restoration in 1985 and further upgrading in 1992.

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08/10/2023

Religious

St Ann’s Lane and Chapel

A small green plaque at the South Street entrance to St. Anne’s Lane which runs north to St John’s Kirk tells the history of this ancient Kirk Vennel. It passed in part through the medieval graveyard next to the Chapel of St. Ann, which held a number of altars dedicated to the Mother of the Virgin. The chapel acted as a hospital for travellers and the poor. The chapel was in existence in 1514 when prayers were said every Tuesday for the soul of James IV who fell at Flodden the previous year. (Marshall T. H., The History of Perth:…

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07/10/2023

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

1603-1774 AD / Commerce / War Memorials

Guildhall in High Street

Number 102-106 High Street was once the site for the Guildry Incorporation's Guildhall. On the actual building a plaque giving the date of the construction of the original Guildhall in 1722 and rebuilding in 1907. In the pediment the figures of Commerce and Industry support the coat of arms of the city of Perth under the Scottish crown. A plaque commemorating the opening of the new Guildhall in 1907, also a roll of honour for Guild members who fell in World War I is held in the current Guildry Incorporation offices in George Street.

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05/10/2023

1774-1901 AD / Commerce

Birthplace of General Accident in Tay Street

The plaque on the wall of 44 Tay Street marks the birthplace of the insurance company in 1885. The company moved its offices to 2 High Street in 1899. It moved to the Aviva Building in Pitheavlis in 1984 and is still based there as part of the Aviva group.

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03/10/2023