PerthshireCrieffStrathearn Local History

Inchaffray Abbey at Madderty  - our forgotten heritage !

I wrote at some length about Inchaffray Abbey in my fourth and last book " More Tales of Crieff & Strathearn " . I have a strong fascination  with the old Abbey and an equally strong indignation that it has  been badly  neglected " by the powers  that be ". In Scotland  we have the right to roam . This is our heritage - please  feel free -where ever you are from-  to visit this  tranquil spot so steeped in our past . Read 
on ! 



Sketch of the Abbey ruins in 1794




The solitary gable remaining 


The vault or crypt still remarkably intact !



This is where the High Alter was located and the burial place of Malise Earl of Strathearn 





Some of the stonework  remains intact  Trees and shrubbery chokes much



Hewn stonework is scattered around the site










I first visited Inchaffray  in the 1980s before it was encompassed  by the  modern dwelling that has now been  erected  immediately to the south . Why that erection ever received …

For those of us  with a knowledge  of the origins  of Scottish place names that of Balloch can appear more than a little confusing . Most Scots  would instantaneously say : Balloch – that is the town at the south end of Loch Lomond where the trains stop ! The word itself is locally linguistic in origin  .It is a derivative of the Scottish Gaelic bealach, meaning a pass in hills or mountains. Balloch also occurs as a surname and one source indicates that although derived  from Gaelic  it is from the  word "ballach", meaning speckled or spotted . That conclusion I am sure would meet  with a stout  denial from  a good  friend of  mine and bearer of the name !

Here in Strathearn we have our own place named Balloch . It is tucked away in a sheltered  spot at the foot of Turleum and greatly by passed  by every day life . When you are leaving Crieff on the Muthill Road ( A 822 ) heading south turn sharp right on the unclassified  road sign posted “Balloch “. Driving westwards you pa…