Tour Perth

Perth, on the River Tay, was a former royal burgh and county town of Perthshire, known as the ‘Fair City’, from its its ancient status as a cathedral city, it is now the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross Council and an important focus for the surrounding countryside.

The Romans had a camp to the north of the city. In 1266 the Treaty of Perth, signed here, saw Magnus IV of Norway concede the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Alexander III. Perth was the scene of a famous judicial conflict between rival clans before Robert III in 1396, and later a favourite residence of James I, who held parliaments here and was ultimately murdered here.

The oldest building in the town is the largely 15th century St John’s Kirk, built on an earlier site, It gives the town its alternative name, St John’s Toun, which is today borne by the local football team, St Jnhnstone. It was in St John’s Kirk that John Knox preached a sermon which helped to begin the Reformation in Scotland.

The County Buildings are a Greek revival by Sir Robert Smirke, and the remarkable domed waterworks (1830—2) by Adam Anderson are now the J D Fergusson Gallery. Perth Prison, housing male prisoners, was built in 1810—12 for French prisoners of war and rebuilt as a general prison in 1839—57. Pullars of Perth pioneered large-scale dyeing, laundering and dry—cleaning: its
works now house local-authority offices. To the east is Kinnoull Hill, 728 feet.

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