High Street (Perth, Scotland)

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High Street
High Street (geograph 7206120).jpg
A 2022 view, looking west to St Paul's Church
High Street (Perth, Scotland)
Length0.50 mi (0.80 km)
Location Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
East end Tay Street (A989)
West endCaledonian Road (A989)

High Street is a street and the primary retail area of the Scottish city of Perth. Established in at least the 15th century, its central section has been both modernised and pedestrianised, while its two ends are mainly Victorian in terms of their composite buildings. It runs for about 0.5 miles (0.80 km), from Tay Street (the A989) in the east to Caledonian Road (also the A989) in the west.

Contents

Layout

High Street, as a whole, is one of the three major east–west running streets in the city centre, the others being Mill Street to the north and South Street to the south, [1] although Mill Street was a later addition. [2] The River Tay runs perpendicular to the eastern end of the street, [3] at Tay Street, where more Victorian-era buildings now stand, as well a stone tablet indicating the site of a bridge that was destroyed in 1621. [4]

There is an entrance to St John's Centre from the pedestrianised section of the modern High Street. [5]

High Street

Beginning at Tay Street and continuing west to South Methven Street.

In a 1980 photograph by W. H. Findlay, a view of 80–94 High Street (part of a Category B listed row) [6] shows the Wallaces department store. It was demolished two years later. [7]

Old High Street

Paradoxical in name, the Old High Street is a continuation of the original thoroughfare, but dating to the 19th century. It runs for 0.16 miles (0.26 km) from South Methven Street in the east to Caledonian Road in the west. Today's eastern origin is punctuated by St Paul's Church, in the middle of its square, at the corner of Old High Street and South Methven Street. According to Historic Environment Scotland: "This 1807 church has significant historical and streetscape importance. It was one of the first churches to be built in Perth after the Reformation." [8] The church was built near the Chapel and Hospital of St Paul, founded in 1434, which hints at an earlier existence of the high street. The site is now occupied by Victorian-era buildings. [2]

Established in 1897, Alexander Thomson & Sons Grocers and Wine Merchants was a popular vendor on the street. [9] Thomas' son, Peter, later established Peter Thomson (Perth) Limited further along the street.

The Old High Street exemplifies how comparatively narrow the medieval street was.

Junctions

From east to west

Vennels

Below is a list of the vennels that connect to the High Street.

Archaeology

Between 1975 and 1977, an archaeological excavation was undertaken at 75–95 High Street. The project "highlighted the preservative qualities of the anaerobic middens of the burgh". Almost thirty medieval wooden structures were found, including a collapsed wattle fence that had been a property line between burgage plots. [15]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vennel</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tay Street</span> Prominent street in Perth, Scotland

Tay Street is a major thoroughfare, part of the A989, in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Planned in 1806 and completed around 1885, it is named for the River Tay, Scotland's longest river, on the western banks of which it sits. The street runs from the confluence of West Bridge Street and Charlotte Street in the north to a roundabout at Marshall Place and Shore Road in the south. Three of the city's four bridges that cross the Tay do so in this stretch : Perth Bridge, Queen's Bridge and the single-track Tay Viaduct, carrying Perth and Dundee trains to and from Perth railway station, located 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the north-west.

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The A989 is a road in Perth, Scotland. Also known as the Perth Inner Ring Road, due to its circumnavigation of the city centre, it is 1.93 miles (3.11 km) long. Perth's city centre is around 0.5 miles (0.80 km) long and wide. The road was constructed around 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Street (Perth, Scotland)</span> Prominent street in Perth, Scotland

South Street is a prominent street in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Established in at least the 15th century, it runs for about 0.5 miles (0.80 km), from the Dundee Road in the east to County Place in the west, passing through the entire breadth of the city. Queen's Bridge, completed in 1960 and opened by Queen Elizabeth II, carries South Street across the River Tay to and from Kinnoull.

Mill Street is a prominent street in the city of Perth, Scotland. Established in at least the 18th century, it runs for about 0.25 miles (0.40 km), from Bridge Lane in the east South Methven Street in the west, passing through roughly two-thirds of the northern third of the city centre.

Andrew Granger Heiton was a Scottish architect. He was prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Several of his works are now listed structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St John's Place</span> Prominent street in Perth, Scotland

St John's Place is an ancient street in the city of Perth, Scotland, located a short distance southeast of the city centre. Today it runs for about 500 feet (170 yd) between King Edward Street to the west and St John Street to the east; it is now markedly smaller than when it was originally laid out, due to the construction of both Perth City Hall in 1914 and of St John's Shopping Centre in 1987, both in King Edward Street at the western end. The latter construction also saw the loss of the short-lived St John's Square, which was created in the 1960s. There is also a South St John Street, while North St John Street existed in the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshall Place</span> Prominent street in Perth, Scotland

Marshall Place is a prominent street in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Commissioned in 1801, and today part of the A989, the Perth Inner Ring Road, it runs for about 0.23 miles (0.37 km), from a roundabout it shares with Tay Street and Shore Road in the east to a merging with King's Place in the west.

References

  1. Perth High Street – Landscapes, BBC
  2. 1 2 Perth: The Archaeology and Development of a Scottish burgh – David P. Bowler, Tayside and Fife Archaeological Committee (2004), p. 23
  3. Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Francis Hindes Groome (1901)
  4. Civic History of Perth from Medieval Times – Perth Civic Trust
  5. St John's Shopping CentreOrdnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland, Francis Hindes Groome (1901)
  6. "HIGH STREET 86-96 (S SIDE) (EVEN NUMBERS) (LB39479)". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  7. "Perth & Kinross Archives". Twitter. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  8. "SOUTH METHVEN STREET, HIGH STREET AND ST PAUL'S SQUARE, ST PAUL'S CHURCH". portal.historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  9. Leslie's directory for Perth and Kinross (1911)
  10. "Perth projects its medieval past with VR" The Sunday Times , 7 July, 2017
  11. Cow VennelGoogle Street View, October 2015
  12. Medieval Walk – Perth & Kinross Museums & Galleries
  13. Cutlog Vennel – Google Maps
  14. "Highland Communities in Dundee and Perth 1787-1891"Abertay University, p. 48
  15. 1.5 The History of research – Scottish Archaeological Research Framework