Perth, St Paul's Square, St Paul's Church

NO 11532 23622 An enhanced historic building survey was

undertaken, January 2018, on the Category B listed St Paul’s

Church. The building was constructed in 1805 and was the

first church in Perth to be built after the Reformation. The

church was octagonal in plan and had a clock tower on its

N side facing the High Street. The interior of the church

was in a serious state of dereliction and had been neglected

since it closed in 1986. The ground floor was well lit by tall

clearstorey windows that ascended to the wall head of the

gallery. The pulpit and font were located on the N side of

the church. The pulpit was dilapidated, but its rear ornate

balustrade still survived; it was of exceptional craftsmanship

with an interlaced wrought iron grape vine motif.

The gallery was accessed by three staircases each lit by a

clearstorey window. The staircases were also lit by electric

lights, but these are now missing. The gallery was supported

by a series of wooden and cast-iron pillars. The ceiling was in

a poor condition and large sections had collapsed, exposing

its lath and plaster. The church organ had been removed but

its wooden frame was still extant.

The church tower was accessed by a passage off the gallery.

A small room was present on the first stage. The second stage

contained a wooden weight chamber that ascended to the

clock mechanism floor. From here a ladder allowed access

to the belfry. This housed a single bell within a bell-frame.

Archive: NRHE (intended). Report: PKHT

Funder: Perth and Kinross Council

Mike Cressey – CFA Archaeology Ltd

(Source: DES, Volume 19)

OASIS ID: cfaarcha1-309151

NO 11533 23621 A watching brief was carried out during the alteration of St Paul’s Church from a building into an open shelter/space on St Paul’s Square, Perth. The interior of the church was reduced and service trenches were excavated within the interior and around the exterior of the building to a maximum depth of 0.6m. Interior and exterior deposits largely comprised levelling deposits over made ground. The work took place from 4 March–1 May 2021.

The foundation courses of the church walls were exposed to the exterior along with ceramic drains. Architectural elements including floor joist scarcement ledges abutting the interior walls, a stone pillar base, and stair bases within the E, W and S transepts were identified within the interior.

A 7m length of culvert was also uncovered within the interior, orientated NNE–SSW, with a rough arched covering of mortar- bonded rubble. The culvert possibly relates to the lade that ran N/S through the site as depicted on Rutherford’s 1774 Town Plan. The 1774 map shows the lade as an open watercourse, running along the western side of what became South Methven Street, which then passed under the High Street to the north. Increased development in the 19th century meant the lade was filled in and built upon as is seen on the 1832 Great Reform Act Town Plan, and it may be at this time that the watercourse was culverted.

Archive: NRHE (intended)

Funder: Perth and Kinross Council

Oliver Rusk – CFA Archaeology Ltd

(Source: DES Vol 22)

OASIS ID: cfaarcha1-424263 (O Rusk) 2021.