PerthshireCrieffStrathearn Local History

Proposed 18th century Adam alteration to  Tullibardine Castle                                 The Great Michael  I ran a “ blog “ in    August  2012 on Tullibardine Chapel  http://perthshirecrieffstrathearnlocalhistor.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/tullibardine-chapel-pre-reformation-gem.html Directly north of the Chapel is a large field It was in the  centre of this that the now demolished Tullibardine Castle stood . There is a connection  between the church and the castle . The Chapel was built  by Sir David Murray  away back in 1446 and it became the traditional burying place of the family – the Murrays of Tullibardine – until they moved northwards  to Blair  Castle near Pitlochry . The Castle which was demolished in 1830 was built in the 13 th century by the Murray family and was the first Murray  habitat in Perthshire. A Murray  had  married Adda  , the daughter of the Seneschal of Strathearn , thus acquiring the lands of Tullibardine . P

Once the Powerbase of the Earls of Strathearn now a pile of stones . It does  look  from afar a bit like a Christmas pud on the festive table , just a large mound arising  out of a sloping farmer’s field ! That , good folks,  is all the remains  of Fowlis Castle- the locus  for generations  of the  power base of the mighty Earls of Strathearn ! The west walls  overlooked the Downie Burn - a naturally defensive position For what was undoubtedly one of the most important  structures in the  Strath it has  been  totally neglected and forgotten – a somewhat sad  reflection  on the importance of our  heritage in the eyes of our political caretakers ! What  compounds the  general confusion over the Castle  is that there are in fact two  other castles  of the same name in Scotland – one  near Dundee and another near  Evanton north of Inverness ! The spelling does  vary  between  Fowlis and Foulis and it is  not  made  any easier  by the pronunciation  which is “ Fo

Strowan Church  In the 19 th century there were  over  940 ecclesiastical parishes in Scotland .These  parishes were administered  by the established church that is  the Kirk or the Presbyterian Church of Scotland who were after the Reformation the successor  to the Catholic Church in Scotland  . In the majority of  cases these parishes had  their origins in pre  Reformation days and  many of the older  parish churches still survive albeit often  in a  ruinous  condition . One  little  gem that remains although in a somewhat ruinous condition  is that of Strowan Church near Crieff .   Just the walls remain Baird's Monument close by            The over grown entrance to the Kirk 17th century memorial in the church                                             Memorial in the interior  in Latin  dated 1684                         The window  on the rear wall above  where the alter would have been located  Old and new  Strowan  was a Pari

River Earn in May BLIADHNA MHATH UR !  HAPPY NEW YEAR ! FROHES NEUES JAHR !  BONNE ANNÉE ! С НОВЫМ ГОДОМ ! FELIZ AÑO NUEVO ! GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR ! If you wish to see some pictures of Crieff and Strathearn  in different seasons  have a look at our new “ blog “ http://pastpresentpicsstrathearnperthshire.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/the-strath-in-all-seasons.html