PerthshireCrieffStrathearn Local History

There  were more than  a few stares and  scratching of  heads last week  when well known  Civil Engineering contractor Murphy started  to erect  a circle  of  timber adjacent to the entrance to the Strathearn Campus ! This was in fact  the culmination  of  much work , talk and discussion  following the discovery in 2011 at Pittentian near Crieff of  what appeared  to be a timber circle of  great antiquity . It  had  been identified  during  a  survey in advance of the  construction  of  the Beauly to Denny power line  which was  scheduled  to bisect the Strath transmitting power to the Central  Belt  . Thanks  to the funding provided by Scottish and Southern Energy , Northlight Heritage undertook a detailed  excavation on the site which lies  approximately half a mile east of the Campus and the ancient Cursus unearthed during its construction . One of the problems  when dealing  with archaeology of this vintage is that in most cases  there are no

MacRosty Park Crieff I know that if you have  been following this local history Blog on Perthshire Crieff and Strathearn you will be interested in  my new Blog  site  which  will display a  wide variety of pictures old and new covering this  most beautiful part of Scotland .The first  one has  just been launched and shows  the wonderful MacRosty Park in Crieff throughout the seasons . Have a look and see if  you like it ! http://pastpresentpicsstrathearnperthshire.blogspot.co.uk

Perhaps I am being parochial but it  is regrettable  that the Royal couple  who  are due  to visit  Strathearn in late May  are  virtually always  referred  to as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge  rather  than by  their  Scottish titles of the Earl and Countess of Strathearn !  I ran  a Blog on my Blog site  http://perthshirecrieffstrathearnlocalhistor.blogspot.co.uk/ some two years  ago on the Pictish origins  of the original Earls and  how they ruthlessly maintained  their  power base in Strathearn – the successor  to the ancient kingdom of Fortren or Fortriu .  My last  Blog  concerned the unfortunate minister of Kinkell who was the last person to be hung in Crieff . Richard Duncan found  guilty  by the Earl of Strathearn  duly dispatched on the “ Kind Gallows “  in 1682 despite  the fact  that a reprieve  had  been  issued  for  his pardon for the killing  of his own child .There is a fascinating if  somewhat odd connection between the sad  fate of the Reverend Dunca

The Last Hanging In Crieff The Gallows of Crieff : The importance of Crieff as a place of significance in Perthshire was emphasised  rather  strangely  by the fact that it  not only was it  an established place for executions  but also had a full time hang man to carry out the prescribed  sentence . This  was  somewhat  unusual in Scotland  in the 16 th , 17 th and 18 th centuries and his services  were often called upon  for from not only the “ Fair City “ of Perth but places  much further afield . Although there has  been  some debate over the years  as  to where the actual location of the gallows  was in the  town , circumstantial evidence  points  pretty convincingly to the appropriately named  Gallow Hill , a small knoll once the locus of  cattle pens  but now given over to a small development by Hillcrest Housing Association . When the news  broke that houses  were to be built on the site I contacted  Hillcrest  pointing out that because of the  historical imp