Archaeology Notes

Event ID 682869

Category Descriptive Accounts

Type Archaeology Notes

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/event/682869

NO12SW 100 11 23.

For Kinnoull burgh, see NO12SW 209.

For possible evidence of pre-burghal activity, see NO12SW 241.

For Perth town defences, see NO12SW 5 and NO12SW 147. For Perth castle (NO 1187 2381) and South Inch, Cromwellian Citadel (NO 1200 2306), see NO12SW 28 and NO12SW 22 respectively. For town water supply, see NO02NE 4 and NO12SW 50.

For 102-6 High St, Guildhall and 2-26 High St, Municipal Buildings, see NO12SW 218 and NO12SW 323 respectively. For High Street (Kirkgate/Skinnergate), Market Cross (NO 1195 2363), see NO12SW 150. For tolbooth (NO c. 1207 2366), see NO12SW 125 and NO12SW 340.

The burgh of Perth is situated on the right bank of the River Tay at the highest point of tidal navigation and at an easy fording-point, 32.5km W of Dundee (NO43SW 76) and 76km N of Edinburgh (NT27SW 26). Its hinterland is rich agricultural land and the city is on a major NE-SW trade route.

The city is situated on a gentle plain rising a few metres above the level of the river, and is bounded at each end by the meadows that form the insular North and South Inches respectively. The Rivers Almond and Earn enter the Tay to the N and S respectively of the city.

The place-name 'Perth' may refer to the well-wooded hills around, and the name St John's Town or St Johnstoun has been applied since the 13th century. The town is on record as a burgh of David I (1128-53) and there is a surviving charter of William the Lion (1165-1214). The burgh apparently supplanted Scone (NO12NW 9.13) as a place of royal resort from the 12th century onwards and was represented in parliament as early as the mid 14th century, although it was never formally the capital of Scotland.

The earliest building in Perth to receive specific mention is the Dominican Friary (NO12SW 6) in which the Treaty of Perth (1266) was signed between kings Alexander III of Scotland and Magnus IV of Norway. The friary church was also the venue of a General Council in 1365, while James I held both a General Council and a Parliament in Perth, in 1427 and 1429 respectively, after which James II apparently held parliaments in the Tolbooth (NO12SW 340). One of the first conventions of royal burghs was held at Perth in 1555 and the church of the 'reformed religion' convened General Assemblies at Perth in 1563, 1597 and 1618.

Perth played an active role (on the Presbyterian side) in the Civil Wars of the 1640's but the victory of Montrose at the battle of Tippermuir or Tibbermore (1644) resulted in a period of Royalist occupation until the town was captured by Cromwell's army, who maintained their hold by the construction of a citadel (NO12SW 22). The town was again strengthened and re-fortified by the Jacobites in 1715 and 1745.

Throughout the medieval period, Perth traded in the basic commodities of hides, cloth, timber and wool, the wool trade to the Low Countries being particularly important while the timber trade was based on logs floated downstream. The textile industry was also important, and developed rapidly) particularly in linen, in the 18th century.

The physical layout of Perth is determined by the nature of its site, and is centred accordingly on the wharf and the Watergate; it remained strikingly compact until its rapid expansion in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The original burgh axis was probably N-S (on the line of Kirkgate and Castle Gate/Skinnergate) with the church (NO12SW 41.00) at the S and the castle (NO12SW 28) at the N. The axis was radically altered to E-W, apparently before the end of the 18th century, allowing for a more generous layout along the line of South St and High St. Many new streets were laid out, the town defences (NO12SW 5) were demolished, and the hamlet of Bridgend (centred NO 122 242) became more important in the late 18th century.

The first reference to a bridge in Perth was in 1209 when the structure (NO12SW 77) is said to have been destroyed by flood; it was evidently replaced by 1214 and is recorded as needing repair on numerous subsequent occasions. A new bridge was built in 1617 but destroyed by flood in 1621; further attempts to replace it proved unsuccessful until Smeaton's bridge (NO12SW 149) was built in 1766.

A T Simpson and S Stevenson 1982.