Issue No 12 NEWSLETTER Friends of Perth & Council Archive

Honorary Presidents: Bob Scott, Provost of Perth & Kinross Council and Sir William Macpherson of Cluny and Blairgowrie

Welcome to our autumn edition of the Friends’ Newsletter. Despite the summer holidays, work has continued on the archive projects; Perth Burgh Historical Files are now being listed, as are the records of St Andrews Episcopalian Church, . The Perth Burial Registers database now contains nearly 3500 records, and we’re talking with the experts on the best means of searching the database when it is online. Unfortunately, Alex Porter has had to withdraw from working on the Name Authority File, although John Howat has kindly taken up the baton. Alex has done tremendous work on what is a very complex task, for which we sincerely thank him. We wish him the very best and good health and hope to see him again very soon. As you will see on the back cover, our next meeting is in January, when Margaret Laing, author of Close-up on and Donald Abbott, author of A Ramble in will be talking about their experiences as local historians. Everyone (and their guests) are very welcome to come and spend what I am sure will be an enjoyable and informative afternoon.. Another exciting announcement is that, with the help of the Library and Archive Services, the Friends of Perth & Kinross Council Archive have their own publication coming out in the next few weeks. Our Chairman, Donald Abbott, has, over the years, written extensively about various aspects of Pitroddie in the Carse of . He was persuaded to put his essays together, and the result is Pitroddie Perspectives. This is a fascinating booklet which spans two hundred years of Pitroddie history and reminiscences, from the Quarry and the life around it, the dissenting Pitroddie Church and its ministers to the POW camp after WW2. Thanks to the generosity of Donald and the Library and Archive Services, all monies earned through the sale of Pitroddie Perspectives will go directly to the Friends in order to fund further projects within the Archive. Costing just £4.95, Pitroddie Perspectives will be available from the shop in the AK Bell Library well in time for Christmas - keep an eye out for details of the launch! Finally, I should mention the unusual circumstances in which we have received a posthumous membership. In sorting through the papers of the late Adam Malcolm his wife, Mollie, came across a completed membership form with an attached £5 note. She has sent this to us together with her own membership fee for which we are most grateful. Adam had long shown an interest in the archives, especially those relating to his beloved Blairgowrie, and had obviously intended to join. We are also grateful to Mr and Mrs Malcolm for ensuring the preservation of the records of the old barony council of Blairgowrie and arranging for their deposit in the Council Archive. Adam was also a keen filmmaker and the Scottish Screen Archive now holds his productions.

Perth & Kinross Council Archive, AK Bell Library, York Place, Perth PH2 8EP, Tel: 01738 477012, Email: [email protected] www.pkc.gov.uk/library/fpkca/index..htm

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Coupar Angus Snippets Margaret Laing

The following snippets and information are gleaned from various records and newspapers, but were not included in the ‘Close-up on Coupar Angus’ publication. Mrs Laing has kindly let us reproduce them in the Friends’ Newsletter.

1781 A Tannery or Tan Yard was built in Coupar Angus where 2600 hides were dressed each year using 9000 stone or bark in the process.

At the end of the 18th century a hen cost one shilling [5p]. A mason was paid 7½p per day and a tailor 4p per day.

The Waukmill, which in earlier times was used for fulling cloth, was in the second half of the 19th century, rented by a dyer. It was used as an early laundry and during World War I, army and prison blankets were washed here.

1833 There was a Farina Works at Couttie which turned potatoes into flour.

1833 A steam sawmill was built in Coupar Angus which would remain in operation until the early 1990s. The site is now a housing complex known as ‘Brodie’s yard’.

1861 A sow’s head was chopped off with an axe at Corston. No one was apprehended.

Charles Spence - The Carse Poet Donald M Abbott

Charles Spence (1779-1869) was a well known resident in the village of Rait, . He lived with his wife and family at the old lint mill which had been converted into a cottage. Spence had been born in a cottage at Cockerhall on the Glendoick Estate, which cottage was demolished during his lifetime. His birthplace was located just off the road from Glendoick Antiques Centre (the former Glendoick School), heading for and running along the road at the foot of the Carse Braes, known sometimes as the Hillfoot road. At the very first significant bend in the road from its starting point as above, there remains a wooden sign stating Cockerhall, which is not too discernible, and this leads to a modern two-storey house. Spence lived for most of his life in Rait and while nothing can be seen today of the old lint mill in which he lived, the remains of the dam where the flax had been steeped can just be seen. It is much overgrown today and the former sluice on the Rait burn is inoperable, indeed unrecognisable almost. This has allowed the waters from the dam to escape, causing heavy growth of reeds and the like on the locus of the former dam, which is, however, a haven for birds and some wildlife. This is but an example of many aspects of the changes to this old flax weaving village, which includes an ingress of modern homes and a number of commuter households,whereas the residents of yesteryear mostly were employed locally. Charles Spence was a mason by trade, working mostly on the repair etc. of cottages, but his work on the construction of the Free Church at Errol (located at the eastern entrance of the old kirkyard of Errol and built just after the Disruption of 1843),

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is a magnificent achievement. It is a much larger building than it seems at first glance from the neighbouring road. Spence was an avid supporter of the Free Church of , and his stridency in that regard caused him much aggravation with those who had remained within the old Kirk. His restoration, including the reproofing, of Kinnaird Castle in the mid 1850s after the Threiplands of Fingask had repurchased it, was one of his crowning glories. The notebook receipts for the wages of his workforce were stumbled upon by the writer when looking through the Fingask papers held at the Perth & Kinross Council Archive.* These notebooks, which refer to each member of his workforce by name and which included two of his sons, were all signed by Spence. The notebooks are little gems and help highlight the significant work done at the 15th century Kinnaird Castle to recreate the fine building seen today. Some snippets about the renovations and other local events can be read in the Butler's Day Book, a record of the daily operations of the butler at Fingask of the era. This has been published by Mr Andrew Threipland of Fingask and is available from all good bookshops, or else by contacting Mr Threipland himself. However, away from the day job, Charles Spence's main interest was poetry, and a number of his more significant poems were collected by the Rev James M Strachan of Kilspindie & Rait. He published a limited edition of 300 for private subscribers in 1898, entitled From the Braes of the Carse. Copies can be accessed at the AK Bell Library, Perth. At first reading, the poetry might seem a bit dated, but considering that this resident of Rait had no more than the good Scots parish school education of his time, likely at Glendoick or Kilspindie School, then it does begin to impress on second reading that this is something of a significant collection of his work. The subscription list at the rear of the book reads like a microcosm of the residents of the Carse in 1898 and in itself is a piece of local history. There was also a fair leavening of other subscribers from elsewhere, who obviously had a Carse of Gowrie or Charles Spence connection at some stage of their lives. The whole publication being the ‘poems and songs by the late Charles Spence’, is dedicated to ‘The Lord Provost of , The Hon. Henry McGrady, who during the poet's lifetime was his loyal friend and after his death his faithful admirer.’

Our Laird lives in a braw new hoose, Wi' slated roof and whitened wa'; A dainty muckle braw new hoose, There's no its marrow hereawa'.

Leeze me on my ain house, Be it homely, be it braw, I wouldna gie my ain house For a' the houses ere I saw.

The foregoing is the first verse and stanza of the poet's ‘My Ain’ and tells something of his pride in his Rait home. The poem is of five verses and with separate stanzas after each verse. Significantly perhaps, the verse above uses the Scots term hoose and the stanza house. Like other Scots' poets , Spence wrote in his native Scots as well as in English, as the mood took him. Spence had married a lady of Errol antecedents, Anne Bisset, but on her death and with his family scattered, he eventually left Rait in 1859 and was living with one of his sons in Manchester when he died on 14 December 1869. He is buried in the Non-

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Conformist Cemetery at Salford, some distance from his beloved Carse of Gowrie. As well as reputedly having some hand in the carving of the statuary within the grounds of , Charles Spence carved the gravestone of his parents, which can be located today within the kirkyard of Kilspindie and Rait at Kilspindie. His photograph is included in From the Braes of the Carse, with the same photograph used by Lawrence Melville in his The Fair Land of Gowrie (1939). On the same page of the latter is a photograph of the water-colour of Spence's beloved Rait. The water-colour, dated 1898 and so contemporary with the collection of his poetry, is owned today by the writer. A plaque to Charles Spence, showing him as younger man, can be found in the vestibule of Lodge Scoon & Perth, No 3.m of which Lodge Spence was a member. It is important that sight is not lost of such men as Charles Spence and their achievements within their own sphere of life and influence. In publicising the Carse of Gowrie by local businesses and the like, he is one who could be used as a fine example of several Carse residents of distinction and merit. Spence was a remarkable worthy indeed who should be acknowledged better in his native Carse and beyond.

*Editor’s note: MS169 Threipland of Fingask Papers

Recreating the Past Alan Kinnaird

There are times that it is very difficult to jump into the past, straight from an old document you have found, particularly as it may only contain a few key words which would enable you to do so. But they are well worth pursuing, as after some fifteen years of historical research I now believe that a little bit of additional research to put your ancestors, or an event, into the context of its time and place helps enormously. This will frequently take you into the realm of local history, for which the Archive and the Local Studies Library are well equipped. History is fortunately one of those things that you don’t have to do all at once, and frequently has the benefit of being left for a while before being picked up again, enabling you to see things slightly differently, and spot things that you missed. In retrospect, you will probably come to see the period in which you set aside your research as one in which you acquired some additional knowledge, through reading or discussing with your family and friends. In addition, you might find the time to visit the places mentioned in your document, or visit a specialist museum or archive, just to absorb new information and perceive the past. There is no time limit for this, things just seem to happen and culminate in that flash of inspiration which will enable you to connect events and places based on fact. An example of all this is that I was very fortunate to have been able to meet one of my 5th cousins from America in July. Much to my delight he brought over one of my ancestor’s diaries, which I had only heard about in e-mails, opening a whole new avenue of research. The document, which started in 1804, has been out of Scotland for about 120 years. It had never been fully transcribed due to it being written in minute copperplate handwriting, the average letter of which was only one millimetre high, which is pretty remarkable considering that it was all written by a quill. The diary turned out to be a standard military notebook, which gave the movements of David Kinnaird in the 78th Regiment of Foot, the Seaforth Highlanders, from its inception at Fort George, their training in England, and a voyage from Portsmouth for

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Gibraltar in 1805. This was a journey which was interrupted by a stay of twenty-one days in the port of Lisbon, whilst the British Navy were seeking the combined French and Spanish forces and which culminated in the battle of Trafalgar on the 21 October 1805. After this, David Kinnaird arrived in Gibraltar and then was posted to Sicily, Italy and Egypt. Research undertaken ten years ago supported some of the more obscure dates in the diary, and provided the necessary family background to put them in context. Contact was then made with the Regimental Museum at Fort George, who recommended some research in the National Army Museum. Although this has still to be done, I now have a much more vivid picture of the man and his family than I did. As for appreciating his days on board ship, or those of his elder brother George, who was a Royal Marine, I was privileged to be a guide on the replica of Captain Cook’s bark, The Endeavour. Although this wonderful ship pre-dates those of the Napoleonic conflict, the technology was the same; I can assure you that if you have done a night watch, slept in a hammock, got up at six-thirty, and then scrubbed the decks in the morning (before the public are allowed on board), you really start to appreciate this period of history! A high point was seeing the crew run up the rigging and pull on the ropes when we set sail on one of the ship’s day cruises - which brought home the point that everything was done manually, and that the crew had to be physically fit, a necessary attribute for getting in and out of the hammocks! Another notable event was the firing of one of the bark’s canons by the boswain, something which you do not usually get very close to. Whether seen onboard or from the shore, it is spectacular. But the most impressive thing is the bark itself, which was built accurately to the original plans in the National Maritime Museum. With her tarred hemp ropes and pegged joinery she looks, smells, and sails just like the original. You really are stepping back in time when you go onboard. The Endeavour frequently appears in ports around the country, and is open to the public as a floating museum. She is well worth a visit, or if you are feeling more adventurous you can sail on her. All the details and an itinerary can be found on their website www.barkendeavour.com.au

Blair Castle Archive

What is turning into a regular and enjoyable feature of membership of the Friends is the opportunity to enjoy outings to stately homes, archives and museums. Two such visits this summer were to Blair Castle Archive in July, and in September to the home of the Black Watch. Jane Anderson, Archivist to Blair Estates, welcomed two groups of some twenty members to the Archive, introducing us to a brief history of the Dukes of and their roles in Scotland’s history. Originally the clothes store of the Atholl Highlanders, the Archive itself comprises a small storeroom housing the most frequently used records (with extra space in the castle’s attics for 20th century records) and an office that also acts as a searchroom. Although space is limited, which means visits are by appointment only, recent refitting and refurbishment means that over forty trunks of bundles of land charters and correspondence, shelves of volumes and racks of maps and plans are ingeniously and safely stored. Although the castle always had its own charter rooms (now the newly refurbished restaurant), the Archive proper was not established until the 1950s, when the 7th Duke

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began his ’Atholl Chronicles’. Unhappy with William Fraser’s cherrypicking of the records, the Duke produced his own five volume index of the charters, by date and place. Opening access to the estate’s records has continued since; the 9th Duke, Lord James, collaborated with Margaret Steven of Aberdeen University, and spent fifteen years producing a date index, with names, for the estate’s correspondence; the National Register of Archives in Scotland and Joan Auld, then Archivist of Dundee University, produced a bundle index of correspondence; plans and maps of Blair and dating from the mid 18th century have been listed by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. Jane Anderson continues this complex but rewarding labour, whilst at the same time researching and helping with enquiries from a wide range of people. Before spending time examining and admiring the documents on display, the conversation turned to how the estate’s records were used. For instance, after James, the 2nd Duke returned to find a bombarded castle after the ‘45, he recreated the interior and established gardens, in particular, the Hercules Gardens. His surviving plans were invaluable when these gardens were recently recreated. Similarly, the 6th Duke raised the Atholl Highlanders, and it is typical that their records are continually being added to, whilst volumes are passed to and fro between the Archive and the Estate Office. The records are an invaluable historical source, and are used not only by genealogists, who form the main group of enquirers, but also by academics and local historians. For instance, records created during the 4th Duke’s (1774-1830) lifetime include memoranda, journals and rentals which record agricultural and forestry improvements, but illustrate that the Atholl lands were not subject to Highland Clearances, but rather, suffered gradual population decline as farms and holdings were merged together - a situation that continues today.

Hercules Garden, based on the plans of James, 2nd Duke of Atholl Photo: Iain Macrae

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The Black Watch Museum

A group of about twenty Friends were met at the door of the Regimental HQ and Museum, Balhousie Castle by Tommy Smyth, the archivist to the Black Watch and a member of the Friends. As part of a short introduction in the main reception area, Mr Smyth explained the origins of the regiment from the independent companies formed in 1725 in the aftermath of the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. The Black Watch actually came into existence in 1739 under the Earl of Crawford. As was the practice, it took the name of a succession of commanding officers until becoming the 43rd regiment and then the more familiar 42nd and additionally 73rd regiment in the 19th century. It subsequently formed part of the 51st Highland Division. The Black Watch name is believed to come from the darkness of the tartan used, especially in contrast to the red coated English regiments. Mr Smyth also pointed out the battle honours of the regiment from Guadeloupe through to the present day and the probable inclusion of a plaque to mark the recent involvement in Iraq. The late Queen Mother held the position of Colonel–in-Chief for sixty years and Mr Smyth mentioned the keen loss felt by the regiment on her death. To mark this important connection, commemorative gates have been commissioned for the entrance to the Wavell Garden and it is hoped that Prince Charles, who has succeeded his grandmother as Colonel-in-Chief, will perform the official opening. Some of the rooms in the museum were being refurbished, but after the introduction, we were able to roam around the rooms devoted to the Waterloo to Ashanti Wars period, the First World War and the Second World War until we reconvened on the second floor of the castle to look at some examples of the records held among the regiment’s archives. Mr Smyth highlighted some of the more significant items, including the accounts of Farquhar Shaw and the MacPherson brothers who were shot as mutineers at the Tower of London in 1743. Some early regimental records were lost in shipwrecks and the earliest muster roll is a copy of a 1751 original at Blair Castle. Various other muster rolls and list of soldiers were on display for the 19th and 20th centuries. Some went into detail about hair colour, complexion etc, but Mr Smyth pointed out this was in case any of them deserted - circulation of a description would aid recapture. Much of the early history of the regiment is included in Stewart of Garth’s two volume work on the Highland regiments. The beautifully kept record of service was open at descriptions of the Black Watch’s involvement in the campaign which pushed Napoleon’s forces back into France from Spain and Portugal in 1814. Many examples of photograph albums, sketch books and diaries were on display relating to the Black Watch in peace and war. The general feeling was that it had been a most interesting visit and that a return visit to look more closely at the artefacts and possibly to spend some time researching in some of the archives would be well worthwhile.

Don’t Forget! If you have any comments or questions about the articles that appear in the newsletter, or would like to contribute your own articles or letters, please send them to Jan Merchant, Assistant Archivist, Perth & Kinross Council Archive, AK Bell Library, York Place, Perth PH2 8EP, or email to [email protected]

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with local authors Margaret Laing and Donald M Abbott

MEETING ROOM AK BELL LIBRARY, PERTH THURSDAY 22 JANUARY 2004 2.00PM 8 ALL WELCOME