Scotland > 1837 - Pigot and Co.'s national commercial directory for the whole of Scotland and of the Isle of Man

Bircctorg*
PERTH.
Pat5»l&ive.
by the suffrages of the £10. constituency of the ] judiciously planned receptacles, for those unfortunate
dive wards ; the dean of guild is a member of persons, in the kingdom. The accommodation in this
elected
four elective
council ex-officio, and is chosen by the guild in corpo
ration ; the Irnd provost and magistrates are elected
by the councillors, and returned from amongst them-
selves. The public officers of the municipality are two
city clerks, a procurator fiscal, and a city chamberlain.
The town court sits every Tuesday, and the council
meets on the first Monday in every month. The police
of the city is under the charge of a superintendent;
and the quiet and good order of the town is materially
promoted by the power the magistrates have of sum-
mary punishment for petty offences : the expense of
this establishment is defrayed from tlie collection and
sale of the public manure, and five per cent, charge-
able on all rents above £3. per annum. Perth was
constituted a royal burgh, with a confirmation of all
its former privileges, in the year 1210, by William the
Liou; James VI accepted the municipal office of pro-
vost of the city, and partook, at the Cross, of the fes-
tivities which were prepared for that extraordinary
occasion. Since the passing of the reform act, this
county has been successively represented by the Earl
of Ormelie (now Marquess of Breadalbane)', General
Sir Geoige Murray, and the Hon. Fox Maule, the latter
now the sitting rnember; the city returned Lawrence
Oliphant, of Coudie, Ksq. to the first reformed parlia-
ment, and he was re-elected without opposition in 1834.
Religious edifices. — The churches in Perth, with
some few exceptions, do not display any striking ex-
ternal beauties. St. John's Church is a very ancient
structure, and supposed to be one of the first churches
built with stone in this country; it was originally erected
in the form of a cross, and called the Kirk of the Holy
Cross of St. John's Town ; although ithas been almost
entirely remodelled by alterations at different periods,
yet enough of the ancient part remains to testify that
it once was a very fine edifice ; some extensive I'epairs
asylum is so superior — the management so efficient-
ihe mode of treatment and discipline of the patients
so highly approved — and the success attending the ex-
ertions of the superintendent, the matron, and the
physicians, so strikiniily apparent — that the applica-
tions for admission, from all parts of the country, be-
came so numerous and urgent, that it was considered
necessary, in 1834, to make very extensive additions,
which are now completed, on the same plan with the
original portion of the work. Some years ago the insti-
tution was incorporated by royal charter, under the
title of ' James Murray's Royal Lunatic Asylum.' The
munificent bequest of the benevolent donor has been
sufficient for all the erections, and a considerable sum
still remains as an endowment. (On the 9th of May,
1837, a few days only after the above remarks were
penned, a large portion of tiiis magnificent structure
was accidentally destroyed by fire.) Another exten-
sive public edifice is at present in course of erection,
near County-place, just where the road from Glasgow
(by Auchterarder) enters the west side of the town;
this is the Cmnly and City Infirmary, and fever wards,
elegantly designed by Mr. VV. M. Mackenzie, before
mentioned, superintendent of public works in the city.
This institution will form a prominent public orna-
ment, and will be eminently beneficial, supplying, as it
does, a desideratum of which the want has long been
felt— no public receptacle for the diseased, or for the
treatment of sudden or violent injuries, having hitherto
existed in the county. The foundation-stone of this
building was laid in the summer of 1836, with great
masonic ' pomp and circumstance,' by the Right Hon.
Lord Kinnaird, provincial grand master of the eastern
district : its pecuniary foundation was laid, about ten
years before, by a bequest of the late Dr. Brown, of
Charlotte-street, to the extent of £500, for the special
have greatly improved its exterior appearance in later purpose ; this lay at interest till the death of the late
times : on the outside of the tower are affixed a set of Marquess of Breadalbane, who bequeathed £3,000, to
musical bells, covered by a kind of portico, and a sin- the public charities of Perth, £600. of which was de-
gularly looking spire surmounts the whole. The great
reformer, Knox, thundered forth his declamations from
this venerable pile when denouncing the corruptions
of the old establishment. At the extremity of High-
street, in Methven-street, stands St. Paul's Church, a
more modern and not inelegant structure of stone, with
a steeple surmounted by a spire. Opposite to this edi-
fice is a meeting-house of the religious body denomi-
nated ' Glassites.' St. Leonard's Church, a very hand-
some structure, designed by Mr. Mackenzie, a local
architect, was erected in King-street in 1835— the ex-
pense defrayed by joint-stock shares and private sub-
scriptions ; it is incorporated with the establishment.
'Y\\e Episcopal or English Church is in Princes-street;
it is small, but the interior is neat, and furnished with
an excellent organ. The Baptists have lately raised a
commodious chapel in South-street, and the Roman
Catholics a laige one in Melville-street ; the latter has
afine orean. In High-street stand two meeting-houses
belonging to congregations of the now united associate
seceders. There are several other places of worship
in the town, viz. the Gaelic chapel, two Relief chapels.
Original Burghers' and Old-light Seceders' chapels,
&c. ; a list of all of which, where they are situate, and
the respective ministers attached to each, will be found
under the appropriate head in the directory.
Charitable, educational and scientific insti-
tutions. — The city of Perth contains several charitable
and well supported institutions for the sick and desti-
tute, viz., the Lunatic Asylum, the Perth Dispensary,
a Society for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb, the
Destitute Sick Society, &c. ; and several male and fe-
male schools for the education of poor children ; all of
which are conducted on the most liberal and enlight-
ened principles. The Lunatic Asylum: — This extensive
building was commenced on the 18th October, 1822;
it is situate on an eminence of considerable elevation,
on the north-west side of the hill of Kinnoul; the
order of architecture is the Grecian Doric — chaste, yet
handsome and ornamental ; it was originally con-
structed to coiriain one hundred patients, the funds for
its erection being left hy a Mr. Murray, a native of
Perth ; the design was supplied by Mr. Burn, of Edin
voted by the executors of the noble marquess to this
useful and benevolent undertaking; various other in-
dividuals have made beguests in its favour, and sub-
scriptions have flowed in from different classes.
There are, perhaps, few towns where literature is
more cultivated than in Perth ; many valuable institu-
tions for literary pursuits and the encouragement of
the fine arts are most respectably supported. The An-
tiquarian Museum possesses a considerable collection
of valuable coins, medals and manuscripts, besides a
great variety of natural curiosities, amongst which is
a cabinet of minerals, containing upwards of twelve
hundred choice specimens, tastefully and scientifically
arranged. In the centre of Rose-terrace are erected
the Public Seminaries, of fine stone, embellished with
noble pillars. Thisinstitution is established on the most
liberal principles ; the course of education is completed
in two annual sessions often months each, the session
commencing in October and ending in July; the mas-
ters comprehend a rector for mathematics and the
higher branches of education, and his assistant; a mafs-
ter for the modern languages, one for drawing and
painting, and another for practical arithmetic and ac-
counts. The Grammar School has also a rector and
his assistant ; the fees of attendance paid by the stu-
dents are very moderate. A beautiful structure was
some few years since erected near the bridge, which
forms a handsome termination to George-street ; it is
dedicated to the memory of a late Provost- Marshal,
and is a monument evincing esteem for departed
worth: the form of this edifice is circular, orna-
mented with an elegant Ionic portico ; the body of the
building is surmoniited by a dome, and the whole is
imitative of the Pantheon at Rome ; in the interior
are halls for the public library, and for the museum
of the literary and antiquarian society of Perth : this
structure, devoted to the promotion of literature and
the fine arts, was raised by private subscription. The
Exchange Coffee-room,iu George-street, lately rebuilt,
is of handsome exterior, and the internal accommoda-
tions are well suited for the purpose. The Freemasons'
HallisH neat and not inelegant building, in the Parlia-
ment-close, High-street; it contains a handsome spa-
burgh ; and the edifice is one of the most complete and cious room, which is principally used as an auction
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