Sir Walter Scott – Perth Civic Trust

Battle of the Clans

Robert III viewed the Battle of the Clans from the Blackfriars Monastery gardens. The site of the battle in 1396 is marked by a stone plinth on the North Inch opposite the Blackfriars plaque. The staging of the battle of the clans in 1396 was an attempt by King Robert III t to find a solution to a long running feud between Clan Chattan and Clan Kay. The identity of the actual participates has not been firmly established. Clan Chattan was originally called Clan Qwhewyl. The Clan Chattan was a confederation of a number of individual clans, principally the MacIntoshes and the MacPhersons together with others. Clan Kay was originally known as Clan Yha. This clan according to William Skene in his “Highlanders Of Scotland” (1837) might well have included among others, dissident MacPhersons and Camerons who had previously been part of Clan Chattan. The contest was arranged by The Earl of Crawford and the Ear of Moray to prevent a previously local feud over land holdings developing into a larger conflict, involving the entire highlands. As Sir Walter Scott describes it, the clans were to “refer their differences to the fate of the battle”. Thirty warriors from each clan were…

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03/12/2023

Literature

Sir Walter Scott statue on the South Inch

Sir Walter Scott’s statue on the South Inch just off Marshall Place was erected as a token of appreciation for his setting a novel in Perth. The Statue was originally at the foot of the High Street before being moved to its current position in 1877. Sir Walter made a series of visits to Perth and Perthshire where he derived his inspiration to write the novel “The Fair Maid of Perth”. The story is based on events involving the “Battle of the Clans”. To give the tale an air of authenticity he then nominated particular dwellings as the homes of the principal characters. There was an old tale in Perth that when Scott’s dog Maida heard the bells of St. Johns strike midnight on Hogmanay, Sir Walter went for a drink at a public house close to the Kirk. The story had two major flaws, one the pub would have been closed, due to the licencing laws at that time and secondly stone dogs are notoriously hard of hearing. Maida went missing in 2016 (when it turned out that she had just gone for repairs) and again in 2020 (presumed to be theft). Police have so far failed to recapture her.…

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26/11/2023

Literature

The Fair Maid’s House in North Port

The house was chosen by Sir Walter Scott as the home of Catherine Glover, the heroine in his 1828 novel “The Fair Maid of Perth”. Scott had been shown round the oldest parts of Perth in his search for an authentic setting for his novel. In a similar fashion to his choice of the Hal O The Wynd house the story pre-dates the buildings. Some of the walls date from 1475 but most are from 1629 and the whole building was extensively renovated in 1893-4. For 150 years it was the meeting place of the Glovers Incorporation of Perth. It now stands on North Port behind Perth Concert Hall. It house a visitor Centre (currently closed) and is part of the headquarters fo the Royal Scottish Geographical Society. The board across the road shown here is Panel 4 of the Perth Medieval Trail entitled 'Outside the Burgh' and replaces an earlier board (also pictured).

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26/11/2023

Literature

Hal O the Wynd House in Mill Wynd

The naming of this building is entirely due to Sir Walter Scott. He named the house in Mill Wynd on a visit to Perth to find material to provide an apparently authentic background for his novel ”Fair Maid of Perth”. The building dates from 1774, so clearly did not exist in the time of Hal O the Wynd. It was originally used as a warehouse and factory. (Hunter, T., Perth Weavers and Weavers, 1936, p91 & p48) Scott similarly attributed the Fair Maid’s House to the Glover Family The legendary figure of Hal O The Wynd, whose actual name was believed to be Henry Wynd, or as the Highlanders called him “Gow Chrom” meaning the “bandy-legged smith, was said to have taken part in the Battle of the Clans in 1396. (Sir Walter Scott, Rob Roy, Penguin 1995 f.note P315) Hal O The Wynd was a powerful local blacksmith/armourer who was drafted into the army of Clan Chattan when one of their number absconded. He is said to have made a major contribution to the victory of Clan Chattan. (Marshall T. H., The History of Perth: From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, 1849 pp33-34)

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26/11/2023