South Inch | |
---|---|
Type | Urban park |
Location | Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Coordinates | 56°23′25″N3°26′00″W / 56.3904°N 3.4332°W |
Area | 31 hectares (77 acres) |
Created | 1374 |
Owned by | Perth and Kinross Council |
Operated by | Perth and Kinross Council |
South Inch is a large public park in Perth, Scotland. About 31 hectares (77 acres) in size, [1] it is one of two "Inches" in Perth, the other being the larger, 57-hectare (140-acre) North Inch, located half a mile across the city. [2] The Inches were granted to the city, when it was a royal burgh, by King Robert II in 1374. [3] Both Inches were once islands in the River Tay. [4] The two Inches are connected by Tay Street.
The park is bounded by King's Place and Marshall Place (both part of the A989, the latter named for Perth lord provost Thomas Hay Marshall) to the north, Shore Road to the east and South Inch View and South Inch Terrace at its southern extremity. Its western boundary abuts the rear of the homes on St Leonard's Bank, which was laid out by Perth architect William Macdonald Mackenzie in 1828. [5] The north-south running A912 Edinburgh Road, opened around 1760, [6] passes through the park's eastern third. The eastern side of the park is known as the Lesser South Inch. [1]
Two paths diagonally dissect the main part of the park. The start of the path that originates from the northwest corner, at the foot of King Street, is overlooked by a statue of Sir Walter Scott, [7] author of The Fair Maid of Perth in 1828. [8] The statue, a Category C listed monument, [9] is the work of the Cochrane brothers, and was completed in 1845 [10] as one of their final works before leaving for Canada. [11] It was accidentally acquired by the city magistrates at the sale of a local sculptor's stock. [12] The part of the statue of Scott's dog, Maida, was stolen in 2020. [13] It was also stolen in 2016. [10]
Craigie Burn enters the inch at its southwestern corner, via a tunnel, after passing beneath the Highland Main Line railway. It then runs along the inch's southern edge before going underground and exiting into the Tay.
The category C listed buildings at 1 and 2 St Leonard's Bank, currently occupied by the Parklands Hotel, overlook the Inch's northwestern corner.
In 1651, Oliver Cromwell came to Perth following his victory in the Battle of Dunbar and established a fortified citadel in the northeast corner of the inch, using stone from the Our Lady's Chapel he demolished [14] and from headstones taken from Greyfriars Burial Ground. It was one of five occupation forts built to control Scotland. [3]
The inch was formerly used as a bleachfield, as well as for cattle grazing and horse racing, which was first recorded there in 1613. [15] Cattle markets appeared at the inch from 1785. [15]
The Priory of St Leonard, founded in the 13th century, [16] once overlooked the southern end of the Inch from the western side, in the area where St Leonard's Bridge crosses the railway tracks today. It was suppressed in 1429 and its lands and rents were annexed by the Carthusian monastery that had been founded. [16] There was a church dedicated to St Leonard at Perth as early as 1163. [17] Priory Place, beginning at Craigie Cross, recalls the building.
In 1815, Muir & Martin established the South Inch Brewery. [18]
From 1928 to the 1970s, a pavilion stood at the northeastern corner of the inch, at the junction of Marshall Place and the Edinburgh Road, replacing a temporary one that stood beside the later location of the bowling greens. [19] [20]
A former boating lake is located in the southwest corner of the inch.
Two bowling greens, [21] the home of the South Inch Bowling Club until 2012, [22] formerly occupied the northwestern corner, just inside the entrance. The property had become a target for vandals. [23] They were torn up before the bowling club folded. The pavilion still remains, and is now a cafe. [24] A similar previous venture was ended after Perth and Kinross Council put out an invitation to tender for the location. [25]
A crazy golf course, putting green and adjacent trampoline park existed up until the late 20th century in the area now occupied by a children's playground. [26]
The Lesser South inch is the location for the annual Perth Highland Games and Perth Show. [1] A skate park is also in that section.
Perth Farmers' Market takes place on the Lesser South Inch on the first Saturday of every month (except January). [27]
Party at the Park is scheduled to take place at the South Inch over the weekend of 27 and 28 June 2021. [28]
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south; it borders the counties of Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus to the east, Fife, Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire to the south and Argyllshire to the west.
Perth is a centrally located Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about 47,430 in 2018.
Perth was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918, 1918 to 1950, and 1997 to 2005. From 1832 to 1918 it was a burgh constituency. From 1918 to 1950, and 1997 to 2005, it was a county constituency. During each of the three periods it elected one Member of Parliament (MP).
Fingask Castle is a country house in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is perched 200 feet (61 m) above Rait, three miles (5 km) north-east of Errol, in the Braes of the Carse, on the fringes of the Sidlaw Hills. Thus it overlooks both the Carse of Gowrie and the Firth of Tay and beyond into the Kingdom of Fife. The name derives from Gaelic fionn-gasg: a white or light-coloured appendage.
The Recreation Grounds, opened in 1885, was the first home of St Johnstone F.C., a football club based in Perth, Scotland. It met their requirements for almost forty years, until the club moved to the other side of the town, opening Muirton Park in 1924.
Kinnoull is a parish in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately half a mile northeast of Perth city centre. Beginning at the level of the River Tay, which separates the parish from Perth, Kinnoull's terrain continues to rise as it continues southeast, culminating in Kinnoull Hill, the summit of which is at 728 feet (222 m).
Maida (1813–1824) was a dog belonging to Sir Walter Scott. Sometimes called a Deerhound, Maida was a crossbreed from a Pyrenean Wolfdog and a Highland Deerhound, and was reported to be his favourite dog. The animal was named after the Battle of Maida, which took place in 1806, and was a gift from Alexander Macdonell of Glengarry, a friend of Scott, and whose brother led the 78th Highlanders in the battle, a victory for the British against the French in the Napoleonic Wars.
North Inch is a large public park in Perth, Scotland. About 57 hectares in size, it is one of two "Inches" in Perth, the other being the smaller, 31-hectare South Inch, located half a mile across the city. The inches were granted to the city, when it was a royal burgh, by King Robert II in 1374. Both inches were once islands in the River Tay; today, they are connected by Tay Street, part of the A989.
The Municipal Buildings are a municipal facility at Nos. 1, 3 and 5 High Street, Perth, Scotland. The facility is a Category B listed building.
Perth Lade is a historic 4.5-mile (7.2 km)-long former mill lade in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Created in the 11th century or earlier, it has been used to power several watermills, such as those that functioned at Perth's Lower City Mills, which have existed since the 18th century. Over its course, at least nineteen industrial sites existed; today, the remains of nine of these can be seen, the rest lost to inner-city development and housing schemes of the 20th and 21st centuries. A footpath follows the majority of the lade's course.
Parklands Hotel is a historic building in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Located on St Leonard's Bank, it is a Category C listed building comprising two villas that have been combined into one business. When viewed from St Leonard's Bank, the villa on the left dates to the 19th century, the one on the right to the 18th century. In the early 20th century, the property was owned by London, Midland and Scottish Railway, likely due to its proximity to Perth railway station, which is about 200 feet (67 yd) to the west. It is also close to Perth bus station.
The Statue of Sir Walter Scott is a Category C listed monument at the South Inch public park in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Standing where Marshall Place and King's Place merge, at King Street, it is dedicated to Sir Walter Scott, author of The Fair Maid of Perth in 1828. The statue is the work of John Cochrane and Brothers, and was completed in 1845 as one of their final works before leaving for Canada. It was accidentally acquired by the city magistrates at the sale of a local sculptor's stock. The statue originally stood at the eastern end of Perth's High Street, but was removed to its current location in 1877.
St Leonard's-in-the-Fields Church is located in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Standing on Marshall Place, at its junction with Scott Street, overlooking the northern end of the South Inch, it was built between 1882 and 1885, to a design by J. J. Stevenson, and is now a Category A listed building. Of Church of Scotland denomination, the building is in the Gothic Revival style.
Tay Street is a street, 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.
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 in the east to Caledonian Road in the west.
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.
Craigie is a residential area of Perth, Scotland, immediately to the south and southwest of the city centre, beyond the South Inch. It is situated in the foothills of the 430 feet (130 m) St Magdalene's Hill, over which the M90 motorway passes, as does the B9112. It is separated from the city by the Highland Main Line.
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.
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 convergence with King's Place in the west.