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BATTLEGROUND PERTHSHIRE is a concise account of the battles and minor military events that have taken place within the county of Perthshire. Comprising two thousand years of battles, raids, rebellions, sieges, riots, feuds, ambushes and skirmishes, Battleground Perthshire shines the spotlight on the military history of Scotland’s big county. Drawn from extensive primary and secondary sources: archives, eyewitness accounts and official records, it tells the fascinating stories of struggles for wealth, power, freedom and the right to self-determination. This chronicle of Perthshire’s military history stands as an important reminder of some of the events that have marked the development of the Scottish people. It will appeal both to the reader interested in the history of Scotland and to those interested in military history.

Battleground Perthshire can be bought from most bookshops in the Perthshire area: The Watermill at Aberfeldy; Sweet Words at Dunkeld; Waterstones - various stores including Perth; WHSmith - Perth and Pitlochry. And, in Perth Museum, the AK Bell Library, Gloagburn Farm Shop, the Brig Farm Shop by Bridge of Earn. Alternatively, it may be purchased for £7.00 with FREE postage and packing to any UK address {Please email for postage costs for locations outside UK}. Send cheque or postal order (payable to Tippermuir Books) to Tippermuir Books, c/o 3 Graham's Place, King Street, Perth, Perth, PH2 8HZ. It can also be bought through most of the UK online (internet) booksellers.

Spanish Thermopylae: Cypriot Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39 SPANISH THERMOPYLÆ is the story of the fifty-seven Cypriots who served in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-39. It is also the story of a war that defined the lives of a generation and whose outcome decided the fate of hundreds of millions of people across the world. Drawing on recently released records from the Comintern Archive in Moscow, Spanish Thermopylae will appeal both to the reader interested in the experiences of the Cypriot volunteers, and to anyone looking for a concise history of the Spanish Civil War. 'This is the first book devoted solely to the contribution made by Cypriots to the cause of democracy and progress in the Spanish Civil War. It bears witness to the injustice committed against humanity by fascism in Spain and the inspirational sacrifices made by a small band of Cypriot volunteers. Spanish Thermopylae is a fitting tribute to them, and the International Brigades.' Demetris Christofias, President of the Republic of Cyprus 'True to the best traditions of their Greek forefathers, the heroes of the Greek War of Independence, the Cypriots rallied to the support of Spanish democracy and independence, realising that a defeat for the Spanish people would have meant world war. On the Spanish battlefields was being decided the fate of Europe and with it that of Cyprus. They recognised fascism as the greatest enemy of humanity and volunteered to help crush it... Many Cypriots lie buried in the Spanish soil fighting fascism. Cyprus is proud of her heroic sons who fell in the anti-fascist cause, but the fight is not over. We fight on until fascism is destroyed from the face of the earth.' Ezekias Papaioannou, Cypriot International Brigades volunteer and General Secretary of AKEL (1949-88) "Before many years have passed, their own countries will feel equally proud of the volunteers. That will be their best and highest reward." Juan Negrín, Prime Minister of the Spanish Republic (1937-39). It is available from www.amazon.co.uk

 

 


HISTORY

Places of Historical Interest in Perthshire III

The Buildings and Places listed below are those of historical and architectural significance within Perthshire. However, many are private buildings and or commercial business premises. Access and entry to the buildings and the land on which they stand should be checked, and an informed decision made. Further information might be found on tourist websites or via a suitable web search.

St. Matthew’s Church - Tay Street - This Tay Street was finished in 1871. It is in the Gothick style and was designed by John Honeyman. Of note is the 212 foot steeple. The congregation of the church came from an amalgamation in 1964 of four Perth city centre churches. The stained glass windows of the Wilson United Presbyterian church (demolished) and the Middle Free Church (converted) are now housed at St. Matthews.

Perth Congregational Church - Mill Street - A Congregational church has existed in Perth since 1794. The present building of red sandstone dates from 1899. The exterior and interior (pine) was designed and realised by Messrs Steele and Balfour of Glasgow. Of note is the concentric seating arrangement (700) which allows view of the speaker from every part of the seating area.

Blair Adam House - Blair Adam - This is the house of the Adam family of architects. It was constructed by William Adam in the 1730s, but was extended by later generations. As such it now is a bit uncoordinated and a collection of buildings around a central courtyard. In 1859 a dining room with large cast iron fire place, an entrance hall and a principal room (the Corridor) was added by David Bryce during renovation works.

Melville Garage - 11 York Place, Perth - Designed by James Marshall and built in 1909 this building is "probably the only surviving, unaltered purpose-built Edwardian motor car garage in Scotland." In a act of wanton vandalism at the beginning of June 2008, Melville Garage was demolished by property developers in the pursuit of naked profit. The garage which stood directly opposite Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust no longer exists.

Stanley Parish Church - King Street, Stanley - Stanley itself is a designed mill village and this Gothic Church with a three staged tower is part of that project. It was built in 1828 by the mill-owners Denniston and Buchan at a cost of £4000. Of note is the clock (made at the 1851 Great Exhibition by Richard Roberts of Manchester) added to the church in 1860.

Stanley Mills - Bell Mill; East Mill and Mid Mill - Stanley (7 miles north of Perth) - Situated on a bend in the Tay mills have operated at Stanley from about 1729. To harness the water-power and drive a corn mill, a tunnel was created through the peninsula. In 1965 the mills were connected to the National Grid. Bell Mill (1787) was based on a design by Richard Arkwright (Richard Arkwright the youngest of thirteen children was born in Preston in 1732. Richard's parents were very poor and could not afford to send him to school and instead arranged for him to be taught to read and write by his cousin Ellen. Richard became a barber's apprentice. However, he was an ambitious young man and had a strong desire to run his own company. In 1762 Arkwright started a wig-making business. This involved him travelling the country collecting people's discarded hair. While on his travels, Arkwright heard about the attempts being made to produce new machines for the textile industry. Arkwright also met John Kay, a clockmaker from Warrington, who had been busy for some time trying to produce a new spinning-machine with another man, Thomas Highs of Leigh. Kay and Highs had run out of money and had been forced to abandon the project. Arkwright was impressed by Kay and offered to employ him to make this new machine. Arkwright also recruited other local craftsman to help, and it was not long before the team produced the Spinning-Frame. Arkwright's machine involved three sets of paired rollers that turned at different speeds. While these rollers produced yarn of the correct thickness, a set of spindles twisted the fibres firmly together. The machine was able to produce a thread that was far stronger than that made by the Spinning-Jenny produced by James Hargreaves. In 1769 Arkwright went to Ichabod Wright, a banker from Nottingham, in search of funds to expand his business. Wright introduced Arkwright to Jedediah Strutt and Samuel Need. Strutt and Need were impressed with Arkwright's water-frame and agreed to form a partnership. Arkwright's Spinning-Frame was too large to be operated by hand and so the men had to find another method of working the machine. After experimenting with horses, it was decided to employ the power of the water-wheel. In 1771 the three men set up a large factory next to the River Derwent in Cromford, Derbyshire. Arkwright's machine now became known as the Water-Frame. The invention of the Spinning Jenny and the Spinning Frame caused an increase in demand for cardings and rovings. Lewis Paul had invented a machine for carding in 1748. Richard Arkwright made improvements in this machine and in 1775 took out a patent for a new Carding Engine. In Cromford there were not enough local people to supply Arkwright with the workers he needed. After building a large number of cottages close to the factory, he imported workers from all over Derbyshire. Arkwright preferred weavers with large families. While the women and children worked in his spinning-factory, the weavers worked at home turning the yarn into cloth. When Samuel Need died on 14th April, 1781, Arkwright and Jedediah Strutt decided to dissolve their partnership. Strutt was disturbed by Arkwright's plans to build mills in Manchester, Winkworth, Matlock Bath and Bakewell. Strutt believed that Arkwright was expanding too fast and without the support of Need, his long-time partner, he was unwilling to take the risk of further investments. Arkwright's textile factories were very profitable. He now built factories in Lancashire, Staffordshire and Scotland. In these factories he used the new steam-engine that had recently been developed by James Watt and Matthew Boulton. When businessmen heard about Arkwright's success, they sent spies to find out what was going on in his factories. In exchange for money, some of Arkwright's employees were willing to explain how the factory was organised. Businessmen then used this information to build their own water-powered textile factories. Richard Arkwright's employees worked from six in the morning to seven at night. Although some of the factory owners employed children as young as five, Arkwright's policy was to wait until they reached the age of six. Two-thirds of Arkwright's 1,900 workers were children. Like most factory owners, Arkwright was unwilling to employ people over the age of forty. Richard Arkwright died in 1792. The Gentleman's Magazine claimed that on his death, Arkwright was worth over £500,000). It is considered the “finest, most complete surviving example of an 18th-century water-powered spinning mill in Scotland.” East Mill which is six-storey and Mid Mill which is four-storey were built circa 1800. The mills at Stanley were formally closed in 1989. The Hydro Electric plant at Stanley Mills was built in 1921 and produced electricity until the 1970s. Since 2004 the scheme is in use again and converts the energy of the Tay into electricity once more - around 840kW maximum. Of note is the listed powerhouse and the 250m long water supply tunnel.

Stanley House and Inchbervis Castle - Stanley - Originally a laird’s mansion built in the 17th century, Stanley House was altered during the Georgian and Victorian periods. It no longer exists in complete form. Of note are the surviving washhouse and icehouse. Nearby is the ruin of the 16th century Inchbervis tower house.

Murthly Castle - Murthly - Now a private home, Murthly Castle has features that date back to 1450 and as near as 1893. Of note is the walled garden.

St. Magdalene's Gunpowder Store - St. Magdalene's Hill - Perth's gunpowder store, constructed in 1838, was originally located by Tullylumb (western edge of Perth) at what was then deemed a safe distance away from the town. However, with Perth's expansion westward the store (1873) was eventually considered a hazard and was relocated to St. Magdalene's Hill in 1877/8. The new building held a license for up to 20,000lbs of gunpowder. It was not until the 1960s that the store was no longer considered necessary - the demand for gunpowder having reduced considerably. The town council consequently sold the store to Perth Quarry Company whose operation was nearby. The price was £500 and the licence capacity was reduced to 4,000lbs.

Whitefriars Monastery - The former Normand and Sons (joiners) on the corner of Riggs Road - now demolished - stood above the site of the Whitefriars monastery that dated from the 13th century. The site is presently undergoing archaeological investigation. The eastern half of the plot was the location of the first Carmelite friary in Scotland.

Craighall Castle is a B listed house near Blairgowrie. For the last 500 years (since 1533), it has been in the possession of the Rattray family (it is currently - 2008 - up for sale) and the seat of the Rattray clan chief. The Rattrays can trace their lineage back to William the Conqueror. The house itself is located on a promontory some two hundred feet above the River Ericht. Amongst the guests that have stayed in the property is Walter Scott.

Perth Police Station – Western Division Tayside Police. On this site stood the Queen’s Barracks from the 1790s. The first occupants of the barracks were the 4th (Queen’s Own) Dragoons. The title Queen’s Barracks was given after the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837. The Black Watch were stationed at the barracks in 1830. In 1863 major conversions to infantry accommodation allowed the housing of some 1000 troops at the barracks. In 1881 army reform resulted in the establishment of the 42nd Regimental District and a static Black Watch depot. The barracks underwent demolition in 1961; the road was improved and the police headquarters built.

email: ap@alternative-perth.org