History

Long before Glasgow’s industrial might or Edinburgh’s enlightenment grandeur, Perth was the epicentre of Scottish power. Its position on the Tay made it a vital centre for trade and its location was central to the kingdom. From the 9th century onwards, it served as Scotland’s unofficial capital, the place where monarchs held court and parliaments convened. Just a short distance away, at Scone, generations of Scottish kings, from Kenneth MacAlpin to Charles II, were crowned upon the legendary Stone of Destiny.

The city’s status as a royal and religious centre made it a focal point for the seismic events of the Scottish Reformation. In 1559, a fiery sermon preached by John Knox at St. John's Kirk ignited a wave of iconoclasm that saw the city’s wealthy monasteries destroyed and Scotland’s religious path changed forever. After the murder of King James I at the Blackfriars Monastery in 1437, the royal court began to favour Edinburgh, and Perth’s time as the capital drew to a close. It settled into a new role as a prosperous market town and port, its fortunes tied to the trade of linen, leather, and whisky from the fertile lands of Perthshire that surround it.