Strathearn Perthshire Past and Present In Pictures

Barvick Bridge on the south  facing slopes above Crieff . This old  pack bridge saw the " pack man " ( travelling salesman ) with his ponies visit the many isolated habitations  with his goods . 
The boathouse at GlenTurret is  quite striking in its design perched on the edge of the dam built in the late 1950s  to  provide  water  for  the Central Belt's  new  industries  especially  Grangemouth and its petro chemical complexes . Now  owned  by Famous Grouse ( whisky distillers )  it hosts the occasional " soiree " for  privileged guests . 
Cuthberts  was a small grocer's  shop in East High Street Crieff . The shop is  now  run by Mike Sweeney as  a gents hairdressers .Pic  dates back to about early 1900s .

Dewars was a plumber's business also located in  East High Street Crieff. Again the pic  dates to the early 1900s 



This is Scrimgeours Department Store at the corner 
of Comrie Street and West High Street Crieff . Somewhat dominating architecturally it was perhaps more  suited  to a  larger city location  than country town of  Crieff . It was destroyed  by fire in the 1970s  and is now  replaced  by an an award winning residential complex ( below ) .






Here is an old pic  of  the picturesque village of  Comrie some 7 miles  west of Crieff taken in the 1860s . The curious structure on the roof  of Brough and MCPhersons , Drapers is a " seismic observatory " . Comrie  lies on a geolical fault and  has  suffered  numerous " tremors " over the years . The observatory was  replaced later in 1869  by a small stone  structure  to the  west of the village in Drumearn field in the Ross. It is  known as the "Earthquake House "  . History tells us that one , James Drummond , a Comrie shoemaker , kept a tally of all the tremors . He together with the local post master Peter MacFarlane had  founded  the Comrie Pioneers in the 1830s and devised  an early scale to measure seismic intensity . By 1874 a seismoscope , designed by local man Robert Mallet ( or Malloch ) , had  been placed in the little building . ( see below ).

It was constructed  by Donald Carmichael and was made of wood . Each arm had three inverted , truncated cones , fitting loosely  into holes in the arm , allowing the cones to tilt  but not fall out . It gave a rough indication of  maximum intensity and the horizontal  direction of a tremor .


I conclude this " blog " with a charming 19th century painting of the Ward area  in the ancient and delightful village of Muthill just  south of Crieff . The bucolic bliss captured  by the artist has,   apart  from the disappearance  of the horse and cart , not really changed that much with the passage of time . The  dominating tower of the 12th century church is still with us,  are indeed those  cosy little  cottages of yesteryear . 






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