Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 5

PERTH
PERTH
carved pilasters and surmounted by a leaden cupola, is
a cast-iron tank. A filtering bed, 300 feet long, is con-
structed on the N end of MoncreifFe island, whence a
powerful suction pipe, laid under the bed of the river,
conducts the purified water to a tank under the reservoir.
Two steam-engines then throw the water up 55 feet into
this reservoir, which, with the assistance of a smaller
reservoir in the W of the town, long supplied Perth with
an ample quantity of water. An extension of the water-
works was, however, completed on 23 June 1880 at a
cost of £30,000. These new works are merely an exten-
sion of the former system, and consist of two additional
reservoirs — one at Burghmuir and the other at View-
lands. The former, which is 300 feet above the river,
and uncovered, supplies the upper parts of Bridgend
and grounds over 180 feet level. The latter at 200 feet
above the river is covered in, and supplies the W side
of the town lying below 150 feet level and the lower
part of Bridgend. The former reservoir at Wellshill is
retained to supply the district lying between South
Street and Marshall Place. Two engines, each of 40
horse power, have been erected to pump the water out
the new reservoirs ; and two separate sets of pumps are
also provided. About 17 miles of piping from 3 to 15
Inches in diameter have been laid ; and hydrants for
fire and cleansing purposes have been placed on the
distributing pipes at distances of from 80 to 100
yards. The gasworks of the Perth Gaslight Com-
pany stand near Canal Street, and were erected in
1824 at a cost of £19,000 from plans also by Dr
Anderson, and from the first made use of a simple
but ingenious and effective system of gas-purification
invented by the same gentleman. The City Hall, in
West St John Street, was built in 1844, measures 98
feet by 66, and can accommodate 2000 people. It con-
tains some interesting paintings, among which are The
Battle, of the Amazons (16 feet by 8), by the Chevalier
Tarilla and Lucas Giordano ; Prometheus, by Michael
Angelo Cassavaggio ; The Magdalene, by Andria Vaccari ;
Esau Selling his Birthright, by Lucas Giordano ; The
Forum Eomanum, by Vanvitelli ; St Andrew, by Eibra
(Lo Spagnoletto) ; and a group of Early Reformers from
an unknown hand. The Guild Hall stands on the S
side of High Street, W of the site of the ancient cross ;
and the Freemasons' Hall or Eoyal Arch Mason Lodge
stands in Parliament Close, off the N side of High
Street, and occupies the site of the old parliament house
removed in 1818. The Exchange Hall stands in George
Street. The New Public Hall, opened in 1881, and
built at a cost of £8000 in the Scottish Baronial style,
to hold from 1200 to 1400, forms the S corner of Canal
Street and Tay Street ; and, with the Natural History
Museum, and the Working Boys' and Girls' Hall, built
in the same style at a cost of £3200 to hold between 600
and 700, form one block of buildings. The City and
County Infirmary and Dispensary, between York Place
andKinnouU Causeway, was erected in 1837, after designs
by W. M. Mackenzie, at a cost of about £6000 ; but
large wings were added on the E and W in 1869 at a
cost of upwards of £5000. It is an elegant and spacious
building, and the extensions are built on the pavilion
system, connected with the main body by enclosed
corridors, and serve respectively as fever and convalescent
wards. The management is in the hands of a large
body of directors from the county and city, holding
oSice, some ex officiis and some by election. A dis-
pensary was commenced in 1819 ; and in 1834, when it
adopted the self-supporting system, a second was started
on the former lines. King James VI. 's Hospital,
between Hospital Street and King Street, is a large,
stately, and well-arranged three-storied structure, built
in the shape of the letter H. Originally founded in 1569
byJamesVI., or rather by the Regent Moray, 'to provide
by all honest ways and means an hospital for the poor
maimed distressed persons, orphans, and fatherless
bairns within our burgh of Perth,' it was endowed with
the confiscated property of three suppressed monasteries ;
and has now a revenue of £600 per annum. The first
erected hospital was destroyed in 1652 by Cromwell to
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provide materials for his fort (see below) ; and the
present building was erected in 1750 at a cost of £1614,
partly defrayed by public subscription. Till about 1812
it served as an almshouse for the residence of the
recipients of the charity ; but in that year the managers
determined to administer a system of outdoor relief
only, which is stiU enjoyed by a number of poor, who
must reside within the limits of the burgh. 'The build-
ing is let for various purposes. It stands on the site of
the old Carthusian Monastery. In the NW of the city
are the barracks with spacious yards. Originally built
in 1793 to accommodate 200 cavalry, they were after-
wards transformed into infantry barracks, and latterly
have been adapted for both branches of the service.
The open square in front is large enough for the parade
and inspection of 1000 men under arms. The militia
barracks are in Victoria Street, and the militia store in
Canal Street. At the junction of Mill and Methven
Streets a small bridge spans the ' Town's lade ' or
aqueduct from the river Almond ; to the W are seen
the Perth mills, which until transferred to the city by
a charter of Robert III. were called the King's Mills ;
and to the E Perth public baths, built in 1846 by public
subscription at cost of about £1300. Adjoining the
baths is a public wash-house. Immediately to the N of
the Municipal Buildings is a club-house ; and im-
mediately to the N of the County Buildings is a hand-
some tenement, built in 1872, and known as Victoria
Buildings. Both of these are in Tay Street, as are also
the customs house and the o£5ce of inland revenue, and
the Moncreiffe Memorial Museum, built in the Scottish
Baronial style. The last was erected by subscription
under the auspices of the Perthshire Society of Natural
Science, in which the late Sir Thomas Moncreiffe took
much interest. The Museum of the Literary and Anti-
quarian Society of Perthshire is deposited in the elegant
building erected by subscription in 1822-24 to com-
memorate the public services of Provost Marshall. This
Marshall's Monument is built somewhat after the style
of the Pantheon at Rome ; it is circular in form, and is
surmounted by a dome ; but it has an Ionic portico.
The lower part is occupied by the public library and
reading-room ; the upper story by the museum. Other
monuments are statues of Scott and Prince Albert.
The first consists of a statue and pedestal in the South
Inch, at the foot of King Street, and is the work of a
local artist. It was erected, of course, with special
reference to Scott's Fair Maid of Perth. The statue of
Prince Albert stands on a pedestal at the S end of
the North Inch, and is by Brodie. It was un-
veiled by Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, on 30 Aug.
1864. The quondam Theatre Royal, built in 1820
for £2625, stands at the junction of AthoU and
Kinnoull Streets ; but for many years has been
occupied as a manufactory. In Stormont Street,
which runs N from Atholl Street, there is a
nunnery ; and in MelviUe Street, which runs NW, a
Roman Catholic convent. Melville Street is continued
by Balhousie Street, which leads to the Castle of Bal-
housie. Perth Poorhouse, in the SW of the city, cost
£12,000. Several of the bank offices are handsome
buildings. The Bank of Scotland occupies a three-
storied edifice with balcony and ornamented front, built
in 1847, and formerly the head ofiice of the Central
Bank. The Union Bank has an ornate building in
George Street ; and the Commercial in South Street.
The Savings' Bank adjoins the post ofiice, and fronts
the Tay in Tay Street. There are still some important
buildings on the outskirts or outer margin of the city,
which deserve notice. In the W and near the railway
line is the large and convenient Perth Auction Mart,
opened in 1875, and said to be one of the largest cattle
markets in this country. It includes covered and open
pens capable of accommodating 15,000 sheep and 1500
cattle ; besides a spacious hotel, lodgings for servants,
stabling for 40 horses, and shelter for shepherd's dogs.
South of the market, and in the SW of the town, about
290 yards W of NW corner of the South Inch, is the
General Railway terminus, which claims to be the finest