Perthshire

The Early Medieval Sculpture of Highland Perthshire

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Although Perthshire was part of Pictland, the corpus of Early Medieval sculpture in north-west or “Highland” Perthshire comprises very few Pictish stones.  The prominence of simple crosses – linear, sunken and outline – which have their origins in the Scots’ kingdom of Dál Riata, suggests not only the spread of Christianity from the west but perhaps even gradual Scottish settlement.

In this talk, John Borland will give an overview of the early medieval sculpture of Highland Perthshire, follow its distribution from west to east along the glens and straths, highlighting what is rare and unusual.  He will examine the distribution of the sculpture to see what that tells us about its cultural origins and thus assess just how “Pictish” this part of Perthshire was.

John Borland worked as an archaeological surveyor for the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland and Historic Scotland (RCAHMS) and then Historic Environment Scotland (HES) for 36 years, retiring as Measured Survey Manager in May 2020.  In that time, John had the opportunity to survey almost every type of archaeological and architectural monument, from Neolithic chambered cairns to WWII coastal batteries and everything in between, including castles, churches, croft houses and country houses.  However, the main focus of his work latterly was recording Scotland’s Pictish and other Early Medieval sculpture.  John has been a member of the Pictish Arts Society for more than 20 years and is the current PAS President.

To register for the talk and to receive the Zoom joining details, you must send an email to Ian at bhsaberfeldy@gmail.com.

‘Pitlochry in Threes’: A talk by Colin Liddell

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Due to the Covid restrictions in place at the time, we were not able to hold any of our 2020-21 winter season of talks ‘in person’ at our normal venue in the Breadalbane Community Campus. Consequently, in order to offer a programme of talks to our membership, we ventured into the unknown world for us of online Zoom presentations.

From the October talk onwards, we recorded these talks to make them available to a wider audience, but we were not sufficiently prepared to do this for Colin Liddell’s talk on ‘Pitlochry in Threes’ which opened our winter season in September 2020. However, we are delighted that Colin subsequently was keen to present his talk once again, but without an audience in this instance, and have it recorded.

Colin is a local solicitor and historian who in recent years has presented four talks to the Society on Pitlochry and General Wade’s roads. This current talk is an eclectic dip into the assortment box of Pitlochry’s local history, by looking at lots of groupings of three things to show how Pitlochry has been shaped over the years.  Topics and artefacts included the Lude Harp, Black Spout toggle and the Clach na Brataich.

The video is approximately 27 minutes long and can be viewed below:

If you wish to view this video at a larger size, click on the ‘full screen’ button at the bottom right-hand corner of the images above:

Salmon and Salmon Fishing in the River Tay: Past, Present and Future

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Dr. David Summers is the Fisheries Director of the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board and has over 30 years’ experience in the field of  salmon and freshwater fisheries research and management. 

On Friday, 17th September he opened our 2021-22 winter season of talks with a talk on talk entitled ‘Salmon and Salmon Fishing in the River Tay: Past, Present and Future’. Due to on-going Covid restrictions, we weren’t allowed to hold this talk ‘in person’ in our normal venue of the Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy, and presented it online on Zoom instead. 36 people registered for, and attended, this talk, of which 12 were non-members of our Society.

David’s talk encompassed the life cycle of the salmon, the drastic reduction in salmon numbers, current scientific research studies and findings, and local socio-economic benefits. David provided an overview of the status of the River Tay’s salmon population and fisheries, with an emphasis on how things compare with the past and what the future might hold. Particular emphasis was placed on issues local to the Breadalbane area such as hydro development.

Two versions of the recording of the talk are available to view.  The first is approximately one hour long and contains just the talk.  The second includes an additional subsequent 30-minute Q&A session providing further supplementary information.  Both of these videos can be viewed below:

Full Talk with the Q&A session (90 minutes):

Only the talk  (60 minutes):

If you wish to view these videos at a larger size, click on the ‘full screen’ button at the bottom right-hand corner of the images above:

Battles of the Three Muirs

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We are delighted to confirm that our  meeting on 15 October will take place “in person” in the Breadalbane Community Campus Assembly Hall.   Our speaker will be Rob Hands, a retired geography teacher and joint founder of Tippermuir Books Ltd., publishing local and military history books.  In his talk, entitled “Battles of the Three Muirs”, Rob will explore  the outstanding local battles of Dupplin Moor (1332), Tippermuir (1644) and Sheriffmuir (1715) using maps and photographs to get a feel for the landscapes that determined the battle outcomes. Please see attached poster for additional information.   Doors open at 7pm and the talk will start at 7.30pm.  If you may be interested in purchasing any of Rob’s books he will be bringing some stock to sell on the night, therefore please ensure you have cash or cheque with you.

The Campus management have provided guidance regarding the Covid-related procedures that will have to be followed on the night:

  • Face coverings must be worn when moving around within the building but can be removed once seated;
  • Hand sanitiser should be used on entering and leaving the building and when moving to a different location;
  • The Hall will be as well ventilated as possible ;
  • Unfortunately we will not be able to serve any refreshments;
  • We are required to keep a register of all attendees as we will be responsible for any contact tracing in the event of a positive case.  (Lesley Whitwood is the BHS Covid Officer). 

Membership:    Thank you to all who have already paid their subscriptions either online or by cheque.  There will be an opportunity to pay your membership subscriptions at the meeting, either cash or cheque, and it is not necessary to complete a new membership form unless your contact details have changed.     We are not issuing membership cards this year, however all members will receive email confirmation of their membership and an electronic copy of the Prospectus, hard copies of which will also be available at the meeting.  As in previous years visitors will be asked for a donation of £4 on the night.

Looking forward to seeing many of you at the Campus on Friday 15th October.

Our new 2021-22 Season of Winter Talks and Summer Excursions

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After 18 months of Covid restrictions with all our 2020-21 winter programme of talks having been presented online by Zoom, we were hopeful that we would be able to present our new season of winter talks commencing in September 2021 ‘in person’ in our regular venue, the Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy. However, we were informed that public use of the main hall in the Breadalbane Campus complex would only be possible from the beginning of October. Consequently, our first winter talk on the 17th September was presented online using Zoom, but we were able to return to the Breadalbane Campus for our October talk. We are hopeful that the November and March talks will also still be able to take place in the Breadalbane Campus.

Taking into consideration the likelihood of adverse winter weather during the months of January and February making travel difficult and from comments and suggestions from our members that they are unwilling to venture out on cold, wet winter evenings, we have decided for this season to present the January and February talks online by Zoom. As we hold the talks on the third Friday of the winter months, there is not a talk in December as it would come very close to Christmas. Joining details for each Zoom meeting will be provided prior to each talk.

2021-22 Programme of Winter Talks

Friday 17th September 2021: Dr. David Summers – ‘The Atlantic Salmon’ (by Zoom)

Friday 15th October 2021: Rob Hands – ‘Battles of the Three Muirs’

Friday 19th November 2021: Dr. Liz Auty – ‘The Attraction of Mountains, Schiehallion, ‘Weighing’ the World and Contour Lines’

Friday 21st January 2022: John Borland – ‘The Early Medieval Sculpture of Highland Perthshire’ (by Zoom)

Friday 18th February 2022: Dr. Nicki Scott:  ‘Ancient Magnificence: Arbroath Abbey and beyond’ (by Zoom)

Friday 18th March 2022: Annette Carruthers:  ‘James MacLaren and the Arts and Crafts Movement’

2022 Programme of Summer Excursions

In association with the programme of winter talks, we also run a short season of half and full-day excursions from late May to mid-July, ideally to locations referred to in some of the winter talks.

Amongst the locations we are currently considering are:

  • a full-day trip to visit Watling Lodge, Rough Castle Fort, Seabegs Wood and Castlecary Fort on the Antonine wall, led by Jim walker who presented an excellent informative talk to the Society on the Antonine Wall in November 2019;
  • a visit led by Dr. Liz Auty to look at the traces of the social and natural history evident on the the lower levels around Schiehallion;
  • a visit to the Duplin Moor and Tippermuir battlefields to the west of Perth, led by Rob Hand following his talk on these battles in October.

In addition, we are considering a three or four-day trip to Angus in late-August to visit a number of HES and other sites, some of which will be referred to in John Borland’s January talk and included in Dr. Nicki Scott’s February talk.

These are our preliminary excursion proposals and may be subject to change. Further details will be confirmed early next year.

Refer to the Events page for further information on the forthcoming season of Winter Talks.

Earls of Breadalbane & Holland, Taymouth Castle: Lyon & Turnbull Auction

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Lyon & Turnbull of Edinburgh are holding an auction of property belonging to the Earls of Breadalbane & Holland from Taymouth Castle on Tuesday, 18 May 2021.  We are not suggesting that you might be interested in bidding for any of the items to be auctioned, but there is much history, many wonderful images and fascinating reading in the catalogue. 

One of the many important auction items is the 16th century manuscript of the Chronicle of Fortingall in the hand of the Dean of Lismore’s curate.  It’s just a few scrappy pages pasted into an old notebook, (anticipated value in the order of £20,000 to £30,000), but it is priceless for the history of the area.  It must have been what Campbell used in his transcription of the Chronicle for Sir Donald Currie in his Book of Garth and Fortingall, republished a few years ago by the British Museum. Hopefully it will be purchased by a national institution, so the National Library of Scotland or the British Museum would be worthy custodians.

Extract from the Chronical of Fortigall (Fortingall)

If you would like to delve into the world and belongings of the Earls of Breadalbane, you can view and/or download the auction catalogue below:

Earls of Breadalbane L&T Auction CatalogueDownload

Aberfeldy Past and Present: Report and Videos

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Last month, Tommy Pringle, a life-long resident of Aberfeldy, gave an entertaining and informative talk on ‘Aberfeldy Past and Present’, presenting a series of photographs and postcards taken over the last 150 years showing changes to buildings in Aberfeldy starting in Kenmore Street and working eastwards along to the Dewar’s Aberfeldy Distillery.

By coupling archive images with current photographs, Tommy illustrated the range of shops and garages and other buildings that once graced the streets of Aberfeldy and have now been replaced or had a change of use.

His talk was very popular with over 100 requests for joining information, and Tommy’s personal knowledge and stories of the characters, buildings and events brought Aberfeldy to life. 

Two versions of the recording of the talk are available to view.  The first is approximately one hour long and contains just the talk.  The second includes an additional subsequent 30-minute Q&A session providing further supplementary information.  Both of these videos can be viewed below:

  • Only the talk  (60 minutes):   
  • The talk + Q&A session  (90 minutes):   

If you wish to view these videos at a larger size, click on the ‘full screen’ button at the bottom right-hand corner of the images above:

The Roman Army in Perthshire: Report and Videos

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Last month, we held our most successful online Zoom talk of this unusual Covid-affected Winter season.  Jim Walker, past president of the Glasgow Archaeological Society,  presented an excellent talk on the Antonine Wall to the Society in 2019 and returned in February to tell us about camps, forts, fortlets and signal stations established and used by the Roman army in Perthshire in different, planned military campaigns during the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D.

The subject of this lecture and its relevance to Perthshire attracted the largest audience we have had during this online series, with 110 of the 124 people who expressed an interest in the talk attending on the night, including one in Australia and another in California!  With partners watching from the same address, we estimate that over 130 people watched this informative and entertaining talk.

Two versions of the recording of the talk are available to view.  The first is approximately one hour long and contains just the talk.  The second includes an additional subsequent 30-minute Q&A session providing further supplementary information.  Both of these videos can be viewed below:

  • Only the talk  (60 minutes):   
  • The talk + Q&A session  (90 minutes):   

If you wish to view these videos at a larger size, click on the ‘full screen’ button at the bottom right-hand corner of the images above: