Blairgowrie and Rattray
Blairgowrie
| |
|---|---|
 Blairgowrie town centre | |
| Population | 7,965 [1] (2001 census) est. 8,090[2] (2006) |
| OS grid reference | NO178452 |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BLAIRGOWRIE |
| Postcode district | PH10 |
| Dialling code | 01250 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
Blairgowrie and Rattray (Blàr Ghobharaidh and Raitear in Gaelic, Blairgowrie - likely Scottish Gaelic Blàr Ghobharaidh and Rattray - possibly from an English language cognate of Scottish Gaelic ràth, meaning fortress + a Pictish term cognate with Welsh tref, meaning settlement) is a twin burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Amongst locals, the town is colloquially known simply as "Blair". Blairgowrie is the larger of the two former burghs which were united by an Act of Parliament in 1228 and lies on the south-west side of the River Ericht while Rattray is on the north-east side. Rattray claims to be the older and certainly Old Rattray, the area round Rattray Kirk, dates back to the 12th century. New Rattray, the area along the Boat Brae and Balmoral Road dates from 1777 when the River was spanned by the Brig o' Blair. The town lies on the north side of Strathmore at the foot of the Grampian Mountains. The west boundary is formed by the Knockie, a round grassy hill which is a popular walk and Craighall Gorge on the Ericht. Blairgowrie & Rattray developed over the centuries at the crossroads of several important historic routes with links from the town to Perth, Coupar Angus, Alyth and Braemar. The roads to Coupar Angus and Braemar form part of General Wade's military road from Perth to Fort George. The town's main feature and centrepiece is the Wellmeadow, a grassy triangle in the middle of town which hosts regular markets and outdoor entertainment. Other parks include Rattray's Davie Park, Blairgowrie's J J Coupar Sports Ground and Lochy Park.
History
Early history
The area around Blairgowrie has been occupied continuously since the Neolithic, as evidenced from the Cleaven Dyke, a cursus monument 2 miles SSW of the town,[3] as well as a Neolithic long mortuary enclosure 4 miles WSW at Inchtuthil.[4] Several stone circles of this age can also be found in the area, notably the circle bisected by the road at Lees of Marlee, 1 mile to the west of Blairgowrie.[5]
Numerous Neolithic and Bronze Age artifacts have been found in the immediate area, including a number of flint arrowheads, spearheads, knives and scrapers found at Carsie, half a mile to the south of Blairgowrie, and which are now displayed at Perth Museum,[6] and bronze axes,[7] and a bronze sword now in Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow.[8]
The remains of a remarkable Roman legionary fort can be found 4 miles WSW of Blairgowrie at Inchtuthil, dating from the decade 80-90. Unencumbered by subsequent development, this is considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites in Britain.[9]
Pictish remains are in abundance in this part of Scotland and one of the largest collections of Pictish sculptured stones is housed 5 miles to the East of the town at the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum. The size of the collection, all of which were found in Meigle, suggests this was an ecclesiastical centre of some importance in the 8th to 10th centuries.[10]
Modern History
From around 1600 to the turn of the 19th century, Blairgowrie had a fairly stable population, recorded at 425 inhabitants at in the first Statistical Account in 1792. in the second Statistical Account of 1853? notes a disproportionate increase due to an influx of families attracted by the expanding textiles industry[11] Gaelic was declining but still partially spoken in the upper part of the parish at that time, with all speaking English.
Blairgowrie was made a barony in favour of George Drummond of Blair in 1634 by a royal charter of Charles I, and became a free burgh in 1809.
The town expanded hugely in the 19th century thanks to the employment provided by the many textile mills which were built along the River Ericht, all now closed. By 1870 there were 12 mills along the river employing nearly 2000 men and women and the population had increaed from 400 in the 1700s to 4000. Some of the disused mill buildings can be seen from the riverside walk west from the bridge and from Haugh Road to the east . Keithbank Mill has been converted to apartments.
Soft fruit growing, mainly raspberries and strawberries developed in the 20th century and became a very important part of the town's economy with Smedleys opening a cannery in Haugh Road, Adamsons a jam factory in Croft Lane and huge quantities of table berries and pulp being despatched to markets and jam factories throughout Britain. Berry pickers were brought in by bus from Perth and Dundee, and large encampments were set up on farms for pickers from further afield, mainly from the Glasgow area, who made this their annual holiday. They were joined by the travelling community who congregated here for the berry season. One of the best examples was the Tin City at Essendy, which housed workers in a complex of tin huts with its own chapel, post office, shop, kitchens, etc.
The coming of the railway revolutionised the textile and soft fruit trade, but the last train ran in the 1960s, and the extensive railway yards are now the site of the Tesco supermarket and Welton Road industrial estate.
Blairgowrie had a busy livestock market at the bottom of the Boat Brae but this closed in the 1960s and is now the site of the Ashgrove Court sheltered housing complex.
A short distance upstream from the bridge on the riverside path is Cargill's Leap, a historic site where Donald Cargill, a minister and covenanter, escaped Government troops by jumping over the rocky gorge of the River Ericht.
Just outside the Rattray boundary on the A93 is Craighall Castle, the ancestral home of the chieftain of the Clan Rattray. The castle occupies a dominating position on the edge of the gorge above the river but unfortunately is no longer occupied by a Rattray, having been sold in 2010.
Newton Castle, home to the current chieftain of the Clan Macpherson, Sir William Macpherson, and Ardblair Castle, home to the Blair Oliphant family, both have Jacobite history and according to legend are connected by a secret tunnel.
Economy
Much of the expanding population works in the nearby cities of Dundee and Perth. The surrounding area is still the soft fruit centre of Scotland, and the local population increases greatly in summer when Eastern European students flock in to harvest the fruit, mainly raspberries and strawberries. Like the Scottish pickers of old, they are housed in camps on the farms, but these now tend to be residential caravans or cabins rather than huts and tents.
Locally based companies include Proctors of Blairgowrie who manufacture and supply insulation, Davidson the Chemists who have a network of retail chemist shops throughout North East Scotland as well as an agricultural and veterinary business, Croles Coachworks, Blairs Laundry, Gordons Caterers, Stagecoach Strathtay buses, Tayside Contracts, PM Forest and Field Engineering, Graham Environmental, and CO-AN Supplies.
The main supermarket is Tesco, supplemented by a Co-Operative store which incorporates the Post Office. The main shopping streets are High Street, Allan Street, and the Wellmeadow where there are chain stores and independent shops. Balmoral Garage are Ford agents, and Norman Laing are Peugeot. There are several repair garages.
Tourism is probably now the biggest industry, and there are three hotels, the Angus, the Royal, and the Altamount. There are another nine inns and pubs.
The local weekly newspaper is the Blairgowrie Advertiser, known universally as "the Blairie", which is now produced and printed in Perth by Scottish Universal Newspapers. The old print works in Reform Street were taken over by Hamilton Scott who carried on for many years as a commercial printer, but they are now mothballed.
There are regular Saturday outdoor markets in the Wellmeadow with stalls offering local produce and occasional Continental Markets with traders from all over Europe.
Education
The new Blairgowrie Campus opened in Elm Drive in 2009 incorporating Newhill Primary and St Stephens RC Primary. Newhill primary holds about 360 children while St Stephens RC primary is a smaller unit holding about 70 pupils. Rattray Primary serves children on that side of the river. Blairgowrie High School in Beeches Road provides secondary education for all round the area.
Public transport
Stagecoach Strathtay provide all the bus services to and from Blairgowrie with routes to Perth, Dundee, Alyth, Coupar Angus, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy, Kirkmichael and Glenshee as well as a circular town service. The bus station is opposite the Wellmeadow. The nearest railway station is Perth and the nearest airport is Dundee.
Culture
In 1996, Blairgowrie hosted the Royal National Mod.[12]
Sport
- Football
Blairgowrie and Rattray is home to the Scottish Junior Football East Region Premier League side Blairgowrie F.C. as well as the Scottish Amateur Football Association sides Rattray A.F.C and Balmoral United A.F.C. which play in the Perthshire Amateur League.
Golf Blairgowrie Golf Club was founded in 1889 and has been expanded over the years with much of the design by James Braid. There are now two 18 hole courses, Rosemount and Lansdowne, and a 9-hole course. The substantial clubhouse is on Golf Course Road.
- Skiing
The Glenshee Ski Centre in Glenshee (Glenshee or Gleann Shith which translates from Gaelic as Glen of the Fairies), is some 18 miles to the north at the Cairnwell Pass on the A93 Braemar road which is the highest public road in the UK.
Ski-ing started here in the 1930s and in 1957 the Dundee Ski Club built the first T-bar tow. In the 1960s the Glenshee Chairlift Company was formed to make the most of the new leisure facility at Cairnwell. During the "glory days " of the 1970s and 80s the car and coach parks would be full to capacity and lift queues would run into hours. The Glenshee Chairlift Co Ltd was forced into receivership in May 2004 by lack of snow over many winters but a management buyout by Glenshee Ltd and the return of good snow ensured that ski-ing and snowboarding continue at Scotland's biggest ski area which now has 21 lifts spread over 4 mountains and 3 valleys.
- Rattray
The traditional ball game of Rattray no longer takes place, but the Rattray silver ball which was the trophy retained by the winners is still in existence. It is believed to have been donated by Sylvester Rattray of Nether Persie who became minister of Rattray in 1591 and continued there until his death in 1623.[13] The Rattray silver ball is now kept at Perth Museum and Art Gallery.[14]
Highland Games Blairgowrie Highland Games are held annually on the first Sunday of September in Bogles Field on Essendy Road. It is noted for its Hill Race and its mass tug o'war where as many contestants as possible from Blairgowrie and Rattray compete against each other.
The evening before is known as Braemar Night with entertainment in the Wellmeadow and fireworks along the river. This tradition started in the 1960s to encourage travellers returning from Braemar Highland Games (held on the Saturday) to stop in the town and quickly grew into a huge programme of entertainments, pipe bands, fireworks, funfairs etc. which drew tens of thousands not only returning south from Braemar but on special excursions from Perth and Dundee. The current event is somewhat scaled down but extremely popular with locals.
Recreation Centre The council funded recreation centre in Beeches Road was rebranded Live Active Blairgowrie in 2009, but it is still referred to by locals as The Rec. Irrespective of its name this excellent facility provides training and sports facilities and a swimming pool and is ever popular.
Medical Facilities
Blairgowrie Community Hospital sits on Perth Road and is a GP-led unit offering a Minor Injury and Illness Emergency Unit, palliative care and step-down care. There are two GP surgeries, Ardblair in Ann St and Strathmore in Jessie St, and a large dental practice in the High St.
Twin cities
Pleasanton, California, USA
Fergus, Ontario, Canada
See also
References
- ^ "Comparative Population Profile: Blairgowrie Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 2001-04-29. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
- ^ http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data
- ^ Barclay, G (1998), The Cleaven Dyke and Littleour: monuments in the Neolithic of Tayside, Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Monograph Series, Kings Stanley, Gloucestershire: Past Historic, retrieved 2009-12-02
{{citation}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Barclay, G.J. (2002). "Excavation of a Neolithic long mortuary enclosure within the Roman legionary fortress at Inchtuthil, Perthshire" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 121: 27–44. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Coles, F.R. (1909). "Report on stone circles surveyed in Perthshire (Southeast district), with measured plans and drawings obtained under the Gunning fellowship" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 43: 93–130. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ Canmore database, Carsie, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland, retrieved 2009-12-03
- ^ Cowie, T (1986). "Some recent finds of Bronze-Age metalwork from Perthshire" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 116: 69–88. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthor=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Coles, J.M. (1959). "Scottish Late Bronze Age Metalwork: Typology, Distributions and Chronology" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 93: 16–134. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ^ Breeze, D.J. (2002), Roman Forts in Britain (2 ed.), Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire: Shire Publications, retrieved 2009-12-03
- ^ Ritchie, A (1989), Picts: An Introduction to the Life of the Picts and the Carved Stones in the Care of the Secretary of State for Scotland, Edinburgh: HMSO Publications
- ^ McDonald, R. (1843), "Parish of Blairgowrie", The new statistical account of Scotland, vol. 10, pp. 897–933, retrieved 2009-12-03
- ^ "Mod News: Royal Seal of Approval". 1 Oct 2010. Retrieved 21 Sep 2011.
- ^ Perthshire Diary - The Rattray silver ball - January 30th 1623
- ^ Silver ball of Rattray