Hon. Presidents: Bob Scott, Provost, Perth & Kinross Council: Sir William Macpherson of Cluny and Blairgowrie

of Perth & Kinross Council Archive

Issue No19 NEWSLETTER

Perth & Kinross Council Archive, AK Bell Library, York Place, Perth PH2 8EP,Tel: 01738 477012 Email: archives@pkc.gov.uk

Also…. Chairman’s Notes : News from the ArchivesPetit’s 1716 Plan of Perth : Learning via the Internet

We explore Greyfriars Gravestones…and St John’s KirkPKC Archive’s Place in the Archival World

February 1914—A Night of Arson in Strathearn

2

A Word from our Chairman

With the holiday season almost over, we, as the Friends of the Archives, have been assessing how wecould make an impact as part of the Education and Children’s Services section of the Council. Weare glad to say that our application for financial assistance from the Gannochy Trust was successful,and we hope to secure matching funding to enable us to employ a research co-ordinator.

In July, the Observer newspaper reported a remarkable speech by Stephen Fry which had dazzled anaudience of writers and historians This was to launch a campaign to promote the study of history inEngland and Wales, using the gripping narrative of the past to help people make sense of the worldtoday.

To Stephen Fry, history was not the study of strangers, aliens from another world; it was the story ofourselves if we had been born a little earlier. History, he said was our memory; we have to remem-ber what it was like to be a Roman, or a Jacobite, or a Chartist.

His speech was remarkable because it was passionate about the subject, and I recommend it toFriends to read in full (the AK Bell Library keeps copies of newspapers for six months, and theObserver has an online archive).

I have written to Patricia Ferguson MSP, the Minister for Culture, suggesting that a reciprocal cam-paign be initiated in Scotland. I will inform you of the response I receive in our next newsletter.

Jim Ferguson

News from the Archive

A lot of our energies recently have been focused on completing the descriptive list of the ThreiplandPapers and arranging the travels of the Threipland display. We are pleased to announce that this two-year Heritage Lottery funded project is now successfully coming to an end. But accompanying thecelebrations is the sorrow at having to say goodbye to Richard, the HLF cataloguer. Alas, his job isnow done, and our sincerest thanks go to him for all his excellent hard work.

The Threipland Papers number is MS169, and the catalogue – a whopping 750 page volume - and thecollection itself can be consulted in the Archive searchroom. An electronic version of the catalogueis also available in the searchroom on the Scan pc. A brief summary of the collection and informa-tion about the project can be viewed on our web pages at www.pkc.gov/archives.

Through all the excitement of the Threipland project, the Archive’s routine has continued, answeringenquires from all over the world, helping readers with their research and dealing with newaccessions.

The latter include the minute book of The Ladies Guild British Sailors' Society, 1943-1988, an-other accrual of newsletters of the Perth Congregational Church, administrative records relating toCaputh and two volumes of minutes of Clunie, Lethendy and Kinloch parish, 1951-1983; onevolume of Blairgowrie, Rattray and District Liberal Association, 1889-1950; one of Blairgowrie& Rattray Community Council, 1979-1987; two letter books, Blairgowrie Police Commissioners/Town Council, c1890-1930; and one volume of minutes, Rattray Free Church Deacon's Court,1886-1929. We also have received some photographs of Beatrix Potter with family and friends atvarious locations around Birnam, c1876-1893.

Jan Merchant

3

February 1914; Arson in Upper Strathearn

In Perth Archives lies a rather curious letter, part of a collection of papers by Jack ElliottMBE . Handwritten on off-white notepaper with the watermark ‘Original Milton Mill Note’ itwas signed ‘Coon’ and written the day after arson attacks on three mansions in Upper Strat-hearn. It might well have been of interest to the police:-

Some of these facts are quite straightforward and verifiable. We know that ‘poor Mrs Shelley’,née Renny, aged 74, died on 1st February 1914 at Bournemouth and was buried at ComrieCemetery, next to her son’s grave. We know that Rev. W. M. Meredith was the minister of St.Columba’s Episcopal Church, Perth Road, Crieff. And we know that Clement A. Harris was amusic teacher who lived in Crieff, first at Ferntower Road, then at Ellangowan.

The ‘Bonfires in West’ refer to the arson attacks by militant Suffragettes during the night of 3rd-4th February 1914, when three mansions in Upper Strathearn were set on fire - AberuchillCastle, The House of Ross, and Allt-an-Fhionn. The first lost a wing whilst the other two prop-erties were completely destroyed, at a combined cost of over £10,000. Papers left nearby re-ferred to women’s right to vote, the ‘Cat & Mouse Act’ or ‘A Warm Welcome to LloydGeorge’.

Whether or not the expression ‘dear creatures’ is tongue-in-cheek, the overall tone of our lettersuggests that the author had some sympathy for the Suffragette cause. Indeed, many people –men, as well as women – did support peaceful suffrage and the right for women to vote. But

Suffragettes (dear creatures) noticed “your ship” marconied while burning

Aberuchill , so I send YOUR history of Crieff herewith. Squoggs I

know NOT.

CR (CK?) Cf 5.2.1914 Coon.————————————————————-

Emily attended poor Mrs. Shelly’s Funeral at Comrie yesterday————————————————————

Mrs. Clement Harris Organist (St Col. Crieff ’s wife) left word (ap yourship’s arrival) as she went home from the Bonfires in West,She will at all events be glad to hear ‘ weather or no’ she was there ‘ornot’

4

after this night, there was widespread outrage and consternation, not only because personal propertyhad been wilfully destroyed but also because the lives of servants at Aberuchill had been put at risk.The Crieff Woman’s Suffrage Society, which had been steadily gaining support in the area,promptly wrote to ‘repudiate all connection with the Militant Suffragettes’. Servants, fearing fortheir lives, began to keep watch at night unless the mansion owners employed a guard or took othersecurity precautions.

Of those connected with the properties, the daughter of Mrs Maclagan (tenant of House of Ross)was already a non-militant Suffragette whilst Mrs Stirling Boyd (proprietrix of Allt-an-Fhionn) wasSecretary of the Edinburgh Children’s Holiday Fund but, more importantly, also Vice-Chairman ofthe Anti-Suffrage League, making her an obvious target. Mr George L. C. Dewhurst of AberuchillCastle was the great-grandson of ‘one of the merchant princes of Manchester’, although his motherand her husband (Walter Jones of Cheshire) were the registered occupiers of the castle. MrDewhurst also owned House of Ross. A fourth house near Lochearnhead, ‘Dalveich’, was laterfound to have had combustibles, which had either been abandoned or had failed to burn. Normallylet, it was owned by the Marquess of Breadalbane.

As for the wife of Clement Harris, the letter states that she was present at the fires - but then sowere large numbers of Comrie residents, who had awakened and watched or had helped to rescuethe ground floor contents of the House of Ross. The difference lies in the alleged anxiety on the partof Mrs Harris, who would be glad to know ‘weather or no’ she was there ‘or not’ and Mr Harris(angry perhaps?) who ‘stomps about his organ loft (like a caged bear at zoo)’. Is this a true accountof their mental state or mere conjecture on the part of the letter writer? After all, there could havebeen a perfectly valid reason for Mrs Harris’ presence in Comrie first thing on the morning of 4th

February. I have been unable to discover her maiden name but, like ‘Emily’ in the letter, she couldhave been a relative or friend of the Shelley familyand arrived early or stayed overnight for the funeralor perhaps she had duties at St. Serfs, the Episcopa-lian church in Comrie. If she was the same MrsHarris, who was one of the Vice-Presidents of CrieffWoman’s Suffrage Society (a non-militant organisa-tion), she might well have felt compromised - themore so as at least two Crieff churches had recentlyrefused the Suffragettes support for their Parliamen-tary franchise. Some might consider that Mrs Harrishad had both motive and opportunity!

To return to the letter, the first sentence, literallystates that ‘while burning Aberuchill’ the Suffra-gettes ‘noticed “your ship” marconied.’ As the arsonattacks were well planned, this implies that somekind of signal or message was received at the actualtime and Mrs Harris relayed the message as she wenthome. But what was the ‘ship’ and what was being‘marconied’? It could not have been a smoke signalbecause the fire at House of Ross (about a mileaway) was not discovered until after that atAberuchill. In 1914 there were no readily portabletelegraph transmitters or phones, at least not for twowomen, one on a bicycle and another on foot, asseen by an eyewitness. According to the police, nocar was involved, which might have flashed its lights

5

(or sounded its horn). However, ships at sea, did use the Marconi wireless system and this seems themost likely and plausible explanation. The confusion lies in the ambiguous wording of the sentenceand in there being Suffragettes of both militant and non-militant persuasion. The former set the firesabout 11pm (if the sighting of the two women is correct), whilst the latter were bystanders some timeafter 3.30am (Aberuchill) and 5.30am (House of Ross).

Next, who was the author of the letter and to whom was the letter written? Four women had beenseen arriving at St. Fillans station the day before, two of whom went west and two to the east. Afterthe fires, two women were spotted boarding the train at Killin by Sgt. Heggie and followed fromDunblane to Glasgow by Detective Macpherson. There the women separated but one was pursuedand arrested after leaving an office in Bath Street. ‘Rhoda Robinson’ was charged at Dunblane, re-moved to Perth Prison but released on bail. Charges were later dropped from lack of evidence.Extensive inter-police force enquiries revealed that her real name was Annie Rhoda Craig (néeWalker). Annie could not have written the letter as she was in custody on 5th February.

Ethel Moorhead, another Suffragette, allegedly connected with the burning of the Strathearnmansions, was arrested at Traquair House, near Peebles, on 17th February. She was taken to CaltonJail, Edinburgh, where she went on hunger strike and was the first Suffragette to be forcibly fed inScotland. She developed double-pneumonia as a result and had to be hurriedly released under licenceon 25th February. into the care of Dr Grace Cadell. Although due back to prison by 9th March, shewas given a 24 hour extension and escaped with Dr Cadell in her car, in the guise of one of the visi-tors to the house. By way of retribution for Ethel’s treatment, the Suffragettes burned down thebeautiful mediaeval church of Whitekirk in E. Lothian and later dog-whipped Dr James Devon of thePrison Commission, who had authorised the force-feeding.

Is it possible that Ethel, daughter of an army surgeon,wrote the letter and that ‘Coon’ was a somewhat self-derogatory pseudonym for Ethel Moorhead? Couldshe have been writing to militant Barbara Wylie, whowas due back from Canada, and sending her a reportof the night of the fires in Strathearn, i.e. ‘your His-tory of Crieff’? If so, then Barbara’s sister, Emma,might be the ‘Emily’ who attended Mrs Shelley’s fu-neral and the mention of Mrs Clement Harris’ in-volvement confirmation that she was now a true mili-tant!

However, is it not more likely, given the overall styleand expressions used in the letter and the intimateknowledge of St. Columba’s that the letter was per-haps written by a younger sibling to an older one,who had travelled abroad? ‘Coon’ could have beenan affectionate nickname, short for ‘racoon’ and the‘History of Crieff’, the volume by Alexander Porte-ous, which was then widely available. Emily mighthave been an older sister and the peculiar word‘Squoggs’ and odd initials have a personal rather thancoded significance.

What do you think? Only two Suffragettes were everarrested, although four women were seen leaving St.

© Resource from SCRAN. For licenced use only. Www.scran.ac.uk 000-0000-563-203-R 08330 873.jpg I 23 Aug 2006

6

Fillans station. Were two of these innocent passengers? What about other strangers to the areawho ‘disappeared’, including the woman from Crieff railway station on the morning of thefires? The members of the Crieff Woman’s Suffrage Society were never under suspicion butwere others involved or did Ethel and Annie act alone? It was a mild February with a threequarters moon but they would still have had to cover 20 miles in the dark, carrying flammablematerials, food and drink. If they started the fires at Aberuchill and House of Ross before 11pm, leaving the furniture to smoulder for several hours before discovery, there would havebeen time to set fire to Allt-an-Fhionn at St. Fillans, walk/cycle along Loch Earn to Dalveich,trek up Glen Ogle and then along to Killin for the morning train. In many ways, this wasprobably the most exhausting and most ambitious night of arson ever conducted by militantSuffragettes. It was also one of the most outrageous.

Fiona Bryce

The earliest surviving town plan of Perth, surveyed by Lewis Petit in 1715/16

7

The Military Origins of Petit’s Plan of Perth, 1716

Historically, war has been a fundamental impetus to cartography, and we see this particularly in Scotland inthe 18th century. What is often less appreciated, is the extent to which military plans can only be properlyinterpreted with a knowledge of their specific purpose, as well as the background of their creators, whowere often military engineers. The earliest surviving plan of Perth from 1716 by Lewis Petit is an excellentillustration of this.

In 1716 Brigadier Lewis Petit (ca. 1665-1720) was a distinguished engineer in the Board of Ordnance.

After 1685, the Board’s expertise had been enhanced with an influx of French Huguenots such as Petit,following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes

At this time the French were widely respected across Europe for their knowledge of military science andfortification, and this showed itself not least in the Wars of the Spanish Succession from 1700 to 1713. Fewperiods of military history were as dominated by siege warfare, and from 1702 to 1707, Lewis Petit wasinvolved in besieging and sometimes defending the Spanish towns of Cadiz, Vigo, Gibraltar, Barcelona,Almanza, and Tortosa. He was widely praised by British and Allied army commanders, and was speciallychosen for the successful capture of Minorca, where he was placed in command of defences. It was only achange of military administration in 1711, keen to discredit the old regime, that led to allegations of Petit’scorruption and misuse of funds, forcing his dismissal and return to Britain. However the Board of Ord-nance were quick to seize on Petit’s expertise to cope with their new threats in Scotland, and following atwo-month reconnaissance visit in 1714, Petit was placed in command of the Duke of Argyll’s artillerytrain in November 1715.

In the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, Perth had been captured by Jacobite forces in mid-September, but theywere driven away by Argyll’s forces by 31 January 1716. Petit’s A Plan of Perth with the Retrenchmentmade about it by the Pretender’s Engineers 1715/6 (MS.1647.Z.3/1d) shows the situation immediately af-ter this time. (The date discrepancy suggests that it is before 25 March 1716, when England officiallymoved to the New Year).

There are three close copies of this plan with a similar title in NLS and the British Library, some attributedto Captain William Horneck who accompanied Petit (as these have a key and a more careful depiction ofbuildings they are best interpreted together).

The plans focus completely on the essential topographic features of military interest in the town and its en-virons. The main shape and extent of the town with its main streets are clearly shown, surrounded by thewalls and V-shaped revetments or redans made by Jacobite forces. The old Cromwellian citadel built in1652 on the South Inch is described as "in ruin", missing its north-east bastion, but the canal from theCraigie Burn that filled its moat with water is clearly visible, "cut by the Rebells".

Similarly, the Kings Lade or Town Lade from the River Almond that supplied the fosse around the citywalls appears as an important feature, bridged only opposite the ports or gateways. The old quay at the endof Canal Street is named, along with the Greyfriars Cemetary as the "Churchyard", and Balhousie Castle"Bassin - The House of Lord Duplin", but otherwise the plan has no names of streets or people. The‘backlands’ shown as ornamental gardens in Horneck’s version follow a mapping convention of the pe-riod; in reality, they would surely have been more work-a-day.

The colouring reflects emerging military standards, with red for masonry and buildings, blue for water,different shades of green to distinguish the marshy North and South Inch from surrounding arable land andtrees, and shaded slopes to indicate higher ground. The chief interest of the East bank of the Tay with Brid-

8

gend is its "High ground commanding all the other side". It is also drafted at a scale of 200 feet to one inch(1:2,400), a standard 18th century "fortification scale" for surveys of a town. Such colouring and stylewould have a long-term influence on British cartography, particularly through the Ordnance Survey.

Petit's plan is therefore valuable for many reasons. When placed within a longer chronology of plans ofPerth, between the rather incomplete plan by Timothy Pont in the late 16th century, and the detailedcadastral survey by Henry Buist in 1765, the historical development of the burgh can be better understood.

Chris Fleet, Deputy Curator of Maps, National Library of Scotland

Friends will remember Chris Fleet‘s memorable survey of Perthshire mapping history at the 2006 AGM.,extracts from which he has kindly allowed us to publish in our next issue. For those of us who are fasci-nated by maps, the National Library of Scotland’s website at http://www.nls.uk/maps is a magnificent re-source, allowing a huge variety of maps to be viewed at high resolutions in full colour. Military plans ofPerth, including Petit’s, can be viewed online at: http://www.nls.uk/digitallibrary/map/military in muchgreater detail than we can show here.

(Plans reproduced here by kind permission of National Library of Scotland)

B The Great ChurchC Old Fort Built by CromwellD RiverTay 100 Faths. BroadE Lines thrown up by RebellsF Two small Redans made by

the TownsmenG Church Yard (Greyfriars)H The KayI The Duke of Atholl’s House

and GardenK A small Canal cut by ye

Rebells to fill the Ditch ofthe Fort with Water.

Horneck’s version of Petit’s Plan of Perth, 1716

9

The Advanced Diploma in Local History

Studying via the internet is effective, says Hilary Wright

This course, which is run by Oxford University, was one of the most fascinating and stimulatingcourses I have every undertaken. It is highly innovative in that it is delivered entirely via the internetincluding submitting assignments and getting them back marked. Even tutorials were conducted via adedicated and secure chat room on the University’s site.

The course was developed in part to counter the scepticism of many historians toward the disciplineof local history which has until recently been seen as antiquarian in nature and not conforming torigorous academic standards. Local History, or the academic study of it in higher education, is arelatively new field. It began in the 1950s at Leicester University in England but is even more recentthan that in Scotland - really only in the last decade.

This course therefore had two aims: the first to teach historical theory (including the recent trend toinclude post-modernism) and rigorous standards of analysis of primary sources or what is technicallycalled ‘Diplomatics’; and secondly, to develop skills in using modern technology to undertake analy-sis of large sources such as census books, parish records, valuation rolls, wills and inventories, pollbook and port books. The burial records, which Friends’ volunteers are recording, can also beanalysed using Access and Excel.

The final piece of work for the course was to research and write an original piece of local historyusing some of the technological skills that were taught as well as more traditional research methods.I accordingly began to research the origins and development of the village in which I live - Bankfoot.Using a wide range of sources - Turnpike Trust records, estate records, valuation rolls, census books,Cess rolls - I was able to establish when the village was built and why and to reconstruct it over itsfirst seventy years socially and economically. In so doing I managed to uncover new sources as wellas use the Access database of the census books to create this history. I was given great help and en-couragement from Archive staff while doing this research and as a thank you to them I have depos-ited the database and the dissertation in the Archive.

Since completing the course I have obtained hard copies of all the census books for the parish ofAuchtergaven (including the parts of Stanley that are in Kinclaven and Redgorton parishes) that areavailable to date - 1941-1901, and created a database in Access of all the records. The archive willalso be given a copy of this once some gaps are filled in. To fill in the gaps I have been given accessto the original census books at the General Register Office of Scotland in Edinburgh. One visit hasalready been made to edit up to 1881 and now that all the other records are recorded another visitwill be made soon to complete the task.

Many people are put off by all the technical stuff and by making charts and think that this is onlyabout statistics but it is much more than that. The interpretation of the information is just as crucialas extracting it, for example I discovered that more than half those working in Bankfoot were linenweavers, I was then able to find out what the average earnings of an east coast hand loom weaverwas, added to this I found labourers’ wage rates recorded in the accounts of the Turnpike Trust andwas able to conclude that this was a very poor village, especially after the decline in hand loomweaving after the mid-1840s. The kind of table used in this research is shown below:

10

The age structure of the village can be seen clearly for each census year by creating what is called apopulation pyramid - a picture of the shape of the population as illustrated in the example below alsofor 1841:

The wider and more extensive database covering all the villages of Auchtergaven may well producesome interesting comparisons in social and economic structure and I look forward to discovering themonce the database is finally finished.

Bankfoot Occupational Groups, 1841 Females Males

Linen Trades 105 89 194Retailers and Merchants 13 38 51Labourers & Outside Workers 5 35 40Independent 18 5 23Land Workers 8 13 21Tradesmen 1 18 19Servants & Domestic Workers 14 14White Collar Workers 1 13 14Sewer, Malter & Cotton Mill Workers 5 1 6Paupers & Retired 3 3Lodging House Keepers 1 1

174 212 386

Bankfoot Population 1841 by Age & Sex

-8.0 -6.0 -4.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0

0-4

5-9

10-14

15-19

20-24

25-29

30-34

35-39

40-44

45-49

50-54

55-59

60-64

65-69

70-74

74-79

80-84

85-89

Ag

eB

an

ds

Percentages

Males

Females

11

Friends’ Summer Visit, 11th July 2006

The Eventful History of St John’s Kirk

Which incident sparked rioting in Perth in May 1559? Why did Perth Parish Church house fire en-gines? Where can you find, inscribed in Latin, the names and occupations of leading Perth tradesmenand civic dignitaries? Which 20th century Scotsman is credited with having rediscovered medievalmethods of staining glass?

Answers to these and many other fascinating questions were revealed to Friends of Perth & KinrossCouncil Archive during Marjory Howat's superb talk on the history of St John's Kirk and JohnHowat's delightful guided tour of the tower and belfry.

Marjory concentrated on aspects of the role played by St John's in the life of Perth. The first record ofthe Kirk dates from perhaps 1126, during the reign of King David I. The grant of St John's Kirk to theBenedictine Abbey of Dunfermline, meaning that most of the teinds due to it were paid to Dunferm-line, was potentially damaging to the local economy. A little later, it is recorded that Bishop Davidde Bernham consecrated, or re-consecrated, the church in 1242 in a six-hour ceremony which includedthe incision of 12 crosses in the outside walls. (Without proper consecration, the celebration of massand other sacraments would have been deemed invalid.)

The church was reconstructed in the 15th century. The earliest fabric is the choir, which dates fromthe middle part of the century. Sitting in the dignified simplicity of the Knox Chapel, we were invitedto imagine anything from 20 to 40 opulent guild altars placed in a highly colourful, very brightlydecorated building.

We sometimes forget the paramount role of the medieval church as a provider of material as well asspiritual needs, and the religious establishment in Perth was no exception. But, by the middle of the16th century, the various friaries, while themselves living in luxury, were neglecting their social dutiesto the people. The municipal authorities became sympathetic to the Reformers' cause. Unusual in be-ing a walled city - fortified by stone walls, the lade and its branches and the River - Perth was betterable than many other Scottish towns to withstand armed attacks by the Regent (Queen Mary of Guise)and her forces.

Thus it was that John Knox preached his famous sermon in the High Kirk of Perth on 11 May 1559,condemning idolatry. As Marjory related, the worshippers were leaving the church quietly after theservice in St John's, when a priest started celebrating mass from a tabernacle at the high altar. Accord-ing to Knox's own report of the event, a small boy protested loudly and the priest struck him "a greatblow". The boy then aimed a stone at the priest but hit the tabernacle, the angry crowd followed suit -and an orgy of destruction and rioting followed.

Following the Reformation, St John's was divided into two (and later, in the 18th century, three)churches. In addition to its devotional use, the building over the years had some unexpected uses, asan order to "redd" (clear) the West Kirk of arms in preparation for the funeral of the Countess of Mon-trose indicates. Following Montrose's victory at Tibbermore in 1644, the church housed prisoners ofwar while in the early 19th century, the Town Council stored used it to store fire engines!

In 1810, fire broke out in the Episcopal Chapel. History does not relate if the minister stayed in St

12

John's to continue the service, but most of his congregation rushed out. By 1821, the West Kirk wasrumoured to be in such poor condition that it should be destroyed (contemporary pictures bear outits dilapidated state). And in 1823, Perth Council was responsible for truncating the north transept,in order to widen the road (an imbalance of length between the south and north transepts can still beobserved).

By the end of the 19th century, there were proposals to knock down the divisions between the West,Middle and East Kirks and to re-create one building. At the end of the First World War it wasagreed that the project should be undertaken to commemorate the war dead of the city and county ofPerth. The work began in 1923 using the plans of Sir Robert Lorimer, whose best-known work isarguably the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh Castle. Lorimer's aim was to restore StJohn's to the form of a medieval building, and the Kirk was re-dedicated in 1926. The East windowwas created in the 1920s by the Edinburgh artist, Douglas Strachan, believed to be the first modernable to create the colour and translucence of medieval stained glass.

Following the talk, John Howat led Friends upstairs to the tower and belfry. He showed us the 14th

century "preaching bell", which is inscribed with the words

Johannes Baptista Vocor EgoVox Clamantis in DesertoMechline Petrus Waghevens Me FormavitSit Benedictus Qui Cuncta Creavit / M CCCCC VI"

(I am called John the Baptist ,The voice crying in the desert;Peter Waghavens of Mechelen shaped me,[but it was] St. Benedict who jointly created me)

In showing us the carillon and its defunct mechanism, he pointed out a hole in the floor, immedi-ately above the spot where visiting orchestras usually place their tuba player during concerts. Wewere allowed to go outside, and, even from this modest height, the lay-out of Perth can be seen asthough in a scale drawing, enhanced by the clarity of a beautiful summer evening. The lower part ofthe outer, lead-covered, side of the spire has cast into it the Latin versions of names and occupationsof plumbers, joiners and others, dating from work done in the 18th century.

There may no longer be any clues about the location of King Alexander III's heart in the churchwalls, but John was able to suggest a reason for burying it there - a move by Dunfermline, wherethe rest of the king's body was buried after his death in 1286, to reinforce its links with Perth.

At the end of this wonderful talk and tour - as (quite unnecessary but very welcome!) icing on thecake - Friends who had climbed the tower were presented with an individual certificate recordingtheir feat.

All in all, a superb outing and many thanks to the Howats for their most informative and delight-fully presented guidance around St John's Kirk!

Margaret Borland-Stroyan

13

.

Friends’ summer visit, 18th July 2006

Exploring the Symbols on Greyfriars Gravestones

Who founded the settlement at Singapore? Which three components typify early gravestones? Whyare biblical inscriptions on Perthshire gravestones usually in Latin, Greek or even Hebrew? Where isthe oldest water tower in the United Kingdom?

To these and other questions, David Bowler, Director of SUAT, the Scottish Urban Archaeology Trust,gave us full and most erudite answers during his guided tour of Greyfriars Cemetery.

The Franciscan Friary (Greyfriars) was founded, in perhaps 1459, just outside the medieval burgh,whose southern outer limit was marked by the town wall and ditch running along today's Canal Street.Its precinct wall is thought to survive under the east wall of the burial ground. In 1540, a harbour wasbuilt at the mouth of the canal, on the site now occupied by Quarryside Court. The friary was dis-solved in 1559 and in 1580 its grounds became a cemetery, because St John's kirkyard was full. Thelast burial at Greyfriars took place in the late 1970s. While the friary functioned, only friars and rich,influential people could be buried in its grounds; but from 1580 there was no longer any prestige in-volved in burial at Greyfriars, Many 16th and 17th century gravestones were taken in 1652 for the con-struction of Cromwell's Citadel on the South Inch. The graveyard gradually fell into "picturesquedisorder" until the Victorian desire for order imposed itself. From 1835, paths were laid out,gravestones were organized, cast-iron gates were set up, and grass was re-seeded and then mowed. Inaddition, ornamental bushes and exotic trees were planted while iron railings were erected aroundsome of the graves. The rich and influential could again be buried with due prestige!

By the late 1990s, Greyfriars was again derelict and being used as a gathering place by drug addictsand alcoholics. To open up the graveyard to ordinary visitors, Perth & Kinross took the unusual (andcontroversial) step of creating a second entrance, in Tay Street. This involved knocking down a smallsection of the eastern perimeter wall and moving one of the tombs. The iron gate was cast by Ballan-tyne of Bo'ness and features winged souls, as symbols of mortality, and the IHS Motif (also a symbolof the Franciscans). The creation of the Tay Street entrance coincided with a full-scale restoration ofGreyfriars. The paths were re-laid, and covered with a lime and gravel mixture specially designed byHistoric Scotland to be unobtrusive but to drain well and prevent the development of potholes. Thirteenearly stones were conserved and brought under cover at the southern end of the graveyard, with glassplates clearly marking the original location of the stones. In addition, gates were repaired and the eastwall was rebuilt, bushes were replanted, and railings (removed for scrap metal during the SecondWorld War) were reinstated around the unusually ornate tomb of the Reverend Samuel Kennedy, Min-ister of the West Kirk until his death in 1835.

Our guide explained to us many of the symbols used in funerary art, but pointed out the relationshipbetween Christian and pagan Classical symbols. One example of this can be seen at the Canal Streetentrance to the burial ground, where the gates are crowned by pine cones. These are a symbol of im-mortality, but were also used for their scent during cremation rites in Classical times.

The earliest stone in Greyfriars dates from 1580. The 16th and 17th century stones are normally flat,rather than standing. Bodies were buried east-west, with the head at the west end, so that, at the Final

14

Resurrection, the corpse could sit up, using the tombstone as a backrest, and face east. Stones until theend of the 18th century usually contain three components:

1) symbols of immortality, such as winged souls, pine cones or roses, at the top;

2) Guild symbols, family crests etc in the middle;

(Carters) (Glovers)

and 3) symbols of mortality, often skulls, crossbones and sand-glasses, at the bottom.

A rose can also signify a compass rose. If winged, a sand-glass is a symbol of immortality. Torchespointing upwards are similarly a symbol of immortality. There are many variations, some cleverlylinking mortality and immortality symbols with those of the deceased's occupation.

With the possible exception of the Buchan stone of 1580, all the stones under cover are rich in detailand quite beautiful. One of these, dated 1745, commemorates a candlemaker. The mason has carved abunch of candles surrounded by laurel at the top of the stone, representing the victory of light overdarkness. At the top of a shipbuilder's stone of about the same age, the mason has placed naturalistic

15

clouds of immortality over the carving of a beautiful ship. Other symbols of shipbuilding are a squareand divider, with axe (used in joinery, especially when working oak) and hammer. Symbols of theglovers include gloves, wooden buckles, sticks used to stretch the leather - and bells, worn during theirspecial dance. A wigmaker's stone of 1777 features combs and razors and a wigstand with a humanface. A flat stone depicts as its symbol of immortality a flesher stunning a calf with his poll-axe. Onestone features two unthreatening skeletons with friendly rather than gruesome smiles as its symbols ofmortality.

One of the loveliest stones in the graveyard commemorates a gardener. Carved in red sandstone anddated 1782, it features Adam and Eve with a serpent and fruit. A crossed spade and rake are placedunder the Tree of Knowledge. Interestingly, there is a very similar gardener's stone, also in red sand-stone and dated 1782, in Kinfauns graveyard.

One of the most complex stones is the 1651 Faith, Hope and Charity stone. Amongst the symbols,Faith leads a boy, Hope has a crown and anchors, and, in one of three depictions, Charity raises a chal-ice with a perching dove.

The Victorian age introduced a radically different style, exemplified by the Samuel Kennedy tomb.Clearly not made locally, this features a classical sarcophagus, a eulogy and a life-size (or larger) sculp-ture of a grieving widow. The figure of the widow recalls part of a 1743 poem, The Grave, by RobertBlair, the "graveyard poet", describing the behaviour of "the new-made widow .. slow moving o'er theprostrate dead". Symbols of mortality on Victorian stones are usually no longer the skeletons orskull and crossbones; eulogies appear; and in general there is a less explicit and more sentimental ap-proach to death. One interesting tomb, in the shape of a small lodge, to Major General William Farqu-har of the Honourable East India Company Service and the Madras Engineer Corps, stands beside theCanal Street entrance. The stone records that he was "Resident in Malacca and afterwards at Singa-pore, which later settlement he founded".

The famous Perth polymath, Dr Adam Anderson, is commemorated by a large pyramid shaped stone.As the second Rector of Perth Academy (1809-1837) before he took the chair of Natural Philosophy atSt Andrews University, he was an enlightened educationalist who earned the deep respect and affectionof his pupils. He introduced gas lamps to replace lamps lit by whale oil in Perth and he was the authorand architect of the "Round House" waterworks (now the Fergusson Art Gallery), which pumped cleanwater from Moncreiffe Island. Completed in 1832, it is believed to be the oldest water tower in Brit-ain. It is also said that Frederick William III of Prussia asked for a facsimile of the design to be builtin Berlin (then the third largest city in Europe).

In Greyfriars, the names of the dead are normally given in English, but we were shown a 1665 stonewith an inscription in Scots. Biblical and religious texts are comparatively rare - perhaps a ScottishPresbyterian dislike of overt religious optimism? Where they appear, they are usually in Latin. OneGreyfriars stone contains a cryptic reference to the resurrection of the dead inscribed in New TestamentGreek. The words "speiretai en atimia", from 1 Corinthians 15, v. 43, meaning "it is sown in dishon-our" appear on their own without the following words ("it is raised in glory"). Kinfauns graveyardboasts a stone quoting in Hebrew from Job 19 verse 25 ("I know that my Redeemer liveth").

Throughout his guided tour David Bowler gave the Friends not just lots of factual information andinteresting and highly relevant literary and historical references, but also lots of assistance in interpret-ing some fascinating symbols on the gravestones. Altogether, a tour de force! Many thanks to ourguide!

Margaret Borland-Stroyan

16

PKC Archive and its Place inthe Archival World

Your very own Council Archive is one of a number run by local authorities in Scotland and it was felt

that you might like to know where it fits in the great scheme of things.

Many of you will have heard of the National Archives of Scotland (NAS), which until a few years

ago was called the Scottish Record Office. It holds the records of the pre-Union Scottish Crown, as

well as many of the records of the government of Scotland since 1707. It has three sites in Edinburgh:

HM General Register House in Princes Street (immediately behind the Duke of Wellington’s statue);

West Register House, Charlotte Square and Thomas Thomson House at Sighthill. Quite a lot of

records of local importance are held by NAS, including kirk session minutes, registers of sasines

(property transactions) and records of local estates like Breadalbane.

We have a formal relationship with NAS, because its head, the Keeper of the Records of Scotland,

should be consulted by local authorities in regard to making “proper arrangements” for the preserva-

tion of its records, as set out in the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act, 1994. In practice we receive

a lot of help and encouragement from the Keeper and his staff. Indeed, some of the records we hold

here have been transferred by them to our custody in order to make them more accessible to local

users. The NAS also runs the National Register of Archives for Scotland, which contains details of

archives held in private hands and we co-operate with its staff in supplying survey lists of such

records.

Most local authorities now have an archive service. These can come under a variety of departments. In

Perth & Kinross we are part of Libraries & Lifelong Learning. In some authorities the archives

come under corporate services or something similar and some are with the museums service. Wher-

ever they are they will probably have the same mix of official and private records like we have. You

can find a lot of details about local authority archives in Scotland on the website of the Scottish

Archive Network www.scan.org.uk . If you do not have a pc, come in and use the one in the archives

search room.

There are other specialist repositories of archives including police forces, universities, health trusts,

churches and the National Library of Scotland, which has an important manuscripts department and

map library.

The National Archives down at Kew also holds records relating to Scotland and, although it has no

formal relationship with Perth & Kinross Council Archive, is another office which can be very useful

for us and for researchers, but that is probably a story for another day...

Steve Connelly