PerthshireCrieffStrathearn Local History

Controversy rages over what is to be done  with what is arguably the most historic site in Crieff. Followers of  PerthshireCrieffStrathearn Local History Blogspot will recall I ran four  blogs on the Old St Michaels Church and Graveyard way back in July of 2014 .Since then sadly the building has been  further vandalised both inside and out and as  an entity has now  reached the point of inevitable demolition . The graveyard which ceased  to be the towns principal cemetery in 1853 contains recorded interments from the early 1700s  up until the  end of the 19th century Owners of lairs ( burial plots ) had the right after  formal closure  to lay their loved  ones  to rest and this  continued  for about 50 years from that date . The  general condition of  the cemetery deteriorated after the opening of the new St Michaels in Strathearn Terrace in the 1880s and the well known historian and recorder of information on Scottish burial grounds John MacGregor is recorded

Inchbrakie House The Inchbrakie story is one of the sad tales of the Strath. This ancient family once were one of the dominant influences in Strathearn and their names appeared with frequent regularity as the centuries unfold. The Graeme family of Inchbrakie are however still around. There is a most excellent web site http://www.inchbrakie.com/ which provides a superb source of research and information into not only the family but also their domicile up until the late 19th century at Inchbrakie . Anthony Graeme , a present day descendant and a most charming person , lives in far off Devon but is a frequent visitor here in Strathearn .Interestingly , there are here in Crieff,  a couple of roads bearing that illustrious name .One wonders just how many of the inhabitants of houses in those specific airts know much about the original name ! We are, however ,  most fortunate that the family history of the Graemes was painstakingly recorded in a book Orr and Sable – a bo

Victoria reigned  from 1837  to 1901 – an incredible 64  years . She  celebrated  her Diamond Jubilee of  60 years  upon the throne in 1897 . Crieff as a centre of population has  been  around  a long time . Recent  discoveries have revealed a Neolithic past when this  part of Strathearn was emerging as a place of importance The present  town however is  solidly Victorian with a smattering remnant of the Georgian  in  places like Burrell Square ( The Octagon of yesteryear ) and Ruberslaw House . The following  little  essay is yet another  plucked  from  my tattered little copy of Dixons “ Crieff in the Victorian Era “ and was written in the year of the Jubilee in 1897 so reflects  what  our town was like in the pre motor car era ! Ruberslaw House  Burrell Square formerly The Octagon “To know and understand Crieff as it exists in the year  of the Diamond Jubilee of her Majesty Queen Victoria , it is necessary  in the first place  to have so