Perthshire Society of Natural Science

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Perthshire Society of Natural Science
AbbreviationPSNS
Founded1867(157 years ago) (1867)
Type Scottish Charity
Registration no.SC012718
Headquarters A. K. Bell Library
Location
Area served
Perth and Kinross
President
David Bowler
Website www.psns.org.uk

Perthshire Society of Natural Science (PSNS) is one of the oldest scientific societies in Scotland, having been established in 1867. [1] Under its parent body, it has four sections covering botany, ornithology, archaeology and history and photography. [1]

The society's original home, on Perth's Tay Street Tay Street in Perth (geograph 6824608).jpg
The society's original home, on Perth's Tay Street

Now based at the A. K. Bell Library in Perth, Scotland, the society was founded by eighteen women, and by the end of the 19th century, around a quarter of its members were female. [1]

Whereas specimens were physically collected by the society's members during its early years, now digital photography is used, along with digital data, to create records. [1]

In 1935, the society donated paintings and natural-history collections to Perth Museum and Art Gallery to display in its new extension, which was opened by the Duke and Duchess of York, [2] the future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

The society undertook an excavation at Pitmiddle village (whose history dates to the 12th century) and Elcho Nunnery, and published its report in 1988. [3]

The society's longest-serving member is Rhoda Fothergill, who died in 2019. She joined in 1965, and was its secretary when she retired 47 years later. Many of her papers, such as A History of King James VI Hospital , were published in the journals of the PSNS. [4] Other notable past members include Charles Macintosh, who was known as "the Perth Naturalist". [5]

The society published The Flora of Perthshire, by Francis Buchanan White, [6] in 1898, using records provided by members, including Macintosh. [7] White identified thirteen species of fungi previously unknown in the British Isles, four of them new to science. He shared this interest with Beatrix Potter, who had often visited the area since she was a child, [8] and they exchanged specimens and drawings. [9] He left his collection of specimens, together with some botanical illustrations by Beatrix Potter, to Perth Museum. [10]

Architect John Young was one of the society's early members. His son, George, also joined the society. [11]

Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet, was a president of the society. The building's museum, formerly at 62–72 Tay Street in Perth, was built in his memory in 1881, two years after his death. [12]

Another former president was W. H. Findlay, a noted photographer. Around a quarter of his lifetime collection of 25,000 photographs are now housed in A. K. Bell Library, [13] with the rest in the society's possession. [14] Fellow photographer Magnus Jackson became a member in 1877. [15]

As of 2024, the society's president is David Bowler. [16] He was preceded in the role by Nancy Boyd. [3]

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The A. K. Bell Library is an historic building on York Place in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The building was originally a hospital before becoming a municipal building and later a library. The central section of the building is Category A listed. The lodge to the estate, now removed from its original location, is Category B listed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. H. Findlay</span> Scottish photographer and historian

William Hall Findlay was a Scottish photographer and historian. Between the 1950s and the 1980s, he took photographs of the townscape of Perth, Perth and Kinross, illustrating its transition into the modern era. Many of these were featured in his 1984 book Heritage of Perth. Around a quarter of his lifetime collection of 25,000 photographs are now housed in Perth's A. K. Bell Library.

Magnus Jackson was a Scottish landscape photographer from Perth. He was noted for his use of the collodion process in developing his photographic film. He left around 2,500 glass photographic negatives taken in Perth and the surrounding area between the late 1850s and 1890. These are now on permanent display at Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

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62–72 Tay Street is an historic row of buildings in Perth, Scotland. Designed by local architect John Young, the building is Category B listed, dating to 1881. Standing on Tay Street, the building was originally the museum home of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science, constructed in memory of Sir Thomas Moncreiffe, 7th Baronet, a past president of the society. The museum housed two exhibits: a local collection and The Type Museum, which illustrated the main types of animals, plants and rocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhoda Fothergill</span> Scottish historian, educator and archaeologist

Agnes Hay Somerville "Rhoda" Fothergill was a Scottish historian, educator and archaeologist. She published several historical guides to Perth, Scotland. Her focus areas were Old Perth, the Greyfriars Burial Ground and people of 19th-century Perth. She was the longest-serving member of the Perthshire Society of Natural Science (PSNS). Her contribution as a historian was recognised with a British Empire Medal in 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "About PSNS – Perthshire Society of Natural Science". www.psns.org.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  2. Civic History of Perth from Medieval Times – Perth Civic Trust
  3. 1 2 "Pitmiddle Village and Elcho Nunnery - Research and Excavation on Tayside" – Perthshire Society of Natural Science (1988)
  4. "1990s A Social Record – Rhoda Fothergill publishes historical guides to Perth – Perthshire Society of Natural Science". www.psns.org.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  5. "Charlie McIntosh - Perthshire Naturalist". AwesomeStories.com.
  6. White, Francis Buchanan White; Science, Perthshire Society of Natural; Trail, James William Helenus (1898). The Flora of Perthshire. Perthshire Society of Natural Science.
  7. "Botany - Perthshire Society of Natural Science". Psns.tsohost.co.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  8. "Beatrix Potter - A Child at Dalguise". AwesomeStories.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. "Perthshire Diary - Charles McIntosh, Beatrix Potter and fungus - January 5th 1922". Perthshirediary.com. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  10. "Plant collections - Perth & Kinross Council". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  11. "GPK Young" – Perthshire Society of Natural Science
  12. Historic Environment Scotland. "62–72 (Even Nos) Tay Street, Including Former Museum (Category B Listed Building) (LB39658)" . Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  13. Dr W H Findlay – Perthshire Society of Natural Science
  14. "Dr W H Findlay Distinguished physician, botanist, photographer and community servant" The Herald , 19 January 2006
  15. "Magnus Jackson and the Black Art"Perth and Kinross Council
  16. "PSNS Council – Perthshire Society of Natural Science". www.psns.org.uk. Retrieved 25 April 2024.