Strageath - a Roman camp- a holy well- St Patrick's Church and an old Mill


Strageath

A Roman camp- a Holy Well - St Patrick's Church

and an old Mill


Keeping the locals quiet !

Fort probably built C. 80 under Agricola, Abandoned briefly in 85-86 AD , reoccupied and the annex probably built at that time.
This is one of the Gask Ridge Forts established between 70 and 80 in the campaigns in Scotland, although the exact dating is uncertain. 
The forts ran along the line of this ridge, but extended well south of it as well, and contemporary historians describe the line as the first comprehensive Roman border fortification system.  

 Where is Strageath ? ( Pronounced Stra -gayth )

 From Crieff take the A822 Muthill Road and  turn left at the Templemill sign on the left  just before  you reach Bennybeg .Follow  this twisty  road  for  about 2 miles . The site of the Roman camp is on the right hand  side just before  you reach Strageath Mill Farm ( OS reference NN8918 ) . Park your  car  in the lay by beside  the farm and walk to the Mill and Churchyard .
The old Church is  no more ! St Patrick’s Well is but a memory  ! We read about it in the writings of the past :

" Strageath where the inhabitants till lately venerated St Patrick’s memory so highly, “that on his day neither the clap of the mill was not heard nor the plough seen to move in the furrow “.
















The Old Mill 



Neglected !

                                                       Across the Earn


Yew Tree in the churchyard




Strageath Burial Ground : There was a mediaeval chapel on his  site together  with a holy well dedicated  to St Patrick ( on this his day the 17th March ! ) . It lies north east of Muthill ( Grid Ref NN 882 185 ) . The  chapel was demolished  in 1846  but the small  burial  ground  remains  if somewhat overgrown . Names  listed  include McLaren , Drummond, Keron and Bayne . It  is  approached  through Strageath  Mill farmyard (please  leave your  car at the road ! ) The  site is adjacent to the old Strageath Mill which lies  directly opposite the  demolished Dornoch Mill on the other side of the Earn . The picture shown below  was  painted  by Catherine Wright in 1887 and  is now in Innerpeffray Library .She was a descendant of the Wrights who owned the Milnab Tannery.





                                             










 Painting done in 1887 by Catherine Wright and  now  in Innerpeffray                                                                  Library



The Old Mill






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