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Perth Water Works

1835 establishments in ScotlandCategory A listed buildings in Perth and KinrossListed buildings in Perth, ScotlandWater treatment facilities
Perth Water Works
Perth Water Works

Perth Water Works (also known as Corporation Water Works) is an historic building in Perth, Scotland, dating to 1832. Standing at the corner of Tay Street and Marshall Place (both part of the A989), the building, a former engine house and water tank, has been the home of The Fergusson Gallery, displaying the work of John Duncan Fergusson, since 1992. The building is Category A listed. Historic Environment Scotland states that it is one of Scotland's most significant industrial buildings, and that its large-scale cast-iron construction may be the first very first in the world.Clean water was drawn from filter beds on Moncreiffe Island, in the adjacent River Tay, and pumped beneath the river, by a steam engine, into a 146,000 imperial gallons (660,000 L; 175,000 US gal) holding tank in the building's rotunda.The building's architect was Adam Anderson, the rector of Perth Academy.An inscription over the door in the rotunda reads Aquam Igne Et Aqua Haurio ("I draw water by fire and water").The engine house has a tall Doric columned chimney, capped by a Roman urn (a fibreglass replica of the original, which was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1871).The building became surplus to requirements in 1965, when the city opened a new water works. It was restored in 1973, for use as a Tourist Information Centre, by James Morris and Robert Steedman, and then converted to its current use nineteen years later. Its dome was reconstructed in 2003 as part of a restoration funded by the Heritage Lottery, Historic Scotland and Perth and Kinross Council.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Perth Water Works (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Perth Water Works
Marshall Place, Perth Bridgend

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N 56.392282 ° E -3.426454 °
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The Fergusson Gallery (Perth Water Works (1832))

Marshall Place
PH2 8NS Perth, Bridgend
Scotland, United Kingdom
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culturepk.org.uk

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Perth Water Works
Perth Water Works
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Greyfriars Burial Ground
Greyfriars Burial Ground

Greyfriars Burial Ground is an historic cemetery in Perth, Scotland, dating to 1580. It is now Category A listed.It occupies the former location of the Greyfriars Monastery, founded by Laurence Oliphant, 1st Lord Oliphant, in 1496 and destroyed in 1559 at the start of the Scottish Reformation.Its collection of gravestones is considered one of the best in Scotland.As per documentation dating to 1911, "no burial is permitted of the body of a person who at the time of death resided out of the old parish, excepting that of a widower or widow, son or daughter who have never been married." A superintendent was in attendance every morning between 10 and 11 AM, then between 11 AM and 1 PM at Wellshill Cemetery.The cemetery closed to burials in 1978. The cemetery is located at the eastern end of Canal Street, near its junction with Tay Street. It has been extended south on two occasions, and it now abuts the bridge carrying the Perth to Dundee section of the Scottish railway network. A tablet commemorating John Mylne, who "rebuilt the ancient bridge over the River Tay," was erected by Robert Mylne in 1784.In 1997, when proposals were made to dismantle and rebuild the cemetery's eastern wall, two test pits were dug by the Scottish Urban Archaeological Trust (SUAT). One of the pits found what is believed to be the original monastery wall foundations. A "succession of wall foundations" hinted at several wall replacement and repair efforts undertaken during the monastery's lifespan, each raising the ground level. Medieval pottery was also discovered, likely associated with the soil of lower garden abutting the original monastery wall. The other pit demonstrated a lack of a progression of wall foundations, confirming that that area was inside the 1795 graveyard extension and outside the original monastery grounds. The second pit also showed signs of infilling or levelling layers, possibly from when a burn, which ran along the burial ground's southern wall, was covered with soil.In 2019, several headstones deemed a hazard to passersby were removed and restored.

Gowrie House (Perth, Scotland)
Gowrie House (Perth, Scotland)

Gowrie House was a building in the centre of Perth, Scotland, which existed in the 16th and 17th centuries. An earlier house on the site was standing in 1518, built or occupied by Elizabeth Gray, Countess of Huntly and the second wife of Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly. A document of 1552 mentions the great lodging that she had built in the Speygate of Perth. Latterly, the rebuilt and extended house was the home of George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull (1570–1634), amongst others.Gowrie House formerly stood on what became Tay Street, its location now occupied by Perth Sheriff Court, County Buildings and 46–52 Tay Street. The building extended from Water Vennel to Canal Street, bounded on the west by Speygate and on the east by the River Tay. Its entrance was an arched gateway on South Street.In 1527, the building was purchased by William Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven, around a year before his death, from Elizabeth Ruthven, dowager Countess of Erroll. The building's appearance at this time is acknowledged with a bronze panel, by Sir John Steell, on the south wall of the present building.Gowrie House was so-named for the title Earl of Gowrie, given to William, Lord Ruthven, in 1581. The Ruthvens were frequently Provosts of Perth. A workman, Archibald Wylie, was killed by a fall of stone masonry during building work on the house on 5 May 1579.The house was central to the Gowrie conspiracy, a series of events unfolding on 5 August 1600, in which John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (1577–1600), and his brother, Alexander (1580–1600), were attempting to kill or kidnap King James VI of Scotland for unknown purposes. The king's retinue killed both brothers during the attack, and the king survived. James VI ordered that the building be defaced by removing some of its corner turrets. In 1602, he gifted the building to the city, though he was careful to exclude its name when making the gift. In 1746, the city gifted the house to Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, in recognition of his victory at the Battle of Culloden. It is believed the duke later passed the house to his nephew, Admiral Watson, who sold it to the UK government for £2,000. It was converted into artillery barracks, and was occupied until the French Revolution. Several plans of the house were made during these years and are kept by the National Library of Scotland. In 1805, it was traded back from the government by the city in exchange for a site on which to build a depot for prisoners of war. Five acres of Moncreiffe land were given over. During demolition in 1807 observers considered that the east and southern wings were older, with noticeably thicker walls, and were probably originally built for Elizabeth Gray. The west and northern buildings were built by the Ruthvens. The workmen were said to have found concealed vaults and closets in the old walls, one with an earthenware urn of bones. There was also a tower or garden building near the River Tay, known as the Monk's Tower, and intended to serve as a summer house or banqueting room. The 17th-century painted ceiling of the Monk's Tower included the symbols of the zodiac and heraldry of Hay of Kinnoull. The summer house was used for meetings by Charles II in 1650, and he may have stayed in Gowrie House. A detailed household account covering Charles' months in Perth reveals that the king had a boat or barge on the Tay, and was allowed more sugar in his pies than his courtiers, but does not mention that the 'King's house' where he resided in Perth was Gowrie House. The older parts of Gowrie House and the Monk's Tower before demolition were indicated on plans published by David Peacock.In documentation from 1911, a Gowrie Rest House, Labour Yard and Lodging Home for Men and Boys stood on Speygate.