Gowrie House was a building in the centre of
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Scotland, which existed in the 16th and 17th centuries. An earlier house on the site was standing in 1518,
[ built or occupied by Elizabeth Gray, Countess of Huntly and the second wife of ]Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly
Alexander Gordon, 3rd Earl of Huntly (died 1524) was a Scottish nobleman. He was a member of Parliament, a member of the Privy Council, a regent and Lieutenant of the kingdom.
Biography
He was the son of George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly and hi ...
. A document of 1552 mentions the great lodging that she had built in the Speygate of Perth.[Robert Scott Fittis, ''The Merchant Princes of Bonnie St Johnstoun'' (Perth, 1875), p. 30.] Latterly, the rebuilt and extended house was the home of George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull
George Hay, 1st Earl of Kinnoull, (1570 – 16 December 1634) was a Scottish nobleman and political official.
Biography
He was the second son of Peter Hay of Megginch and Margaret, daughter of Patrick Ogilvy of Inchmartin. No date is recorde ...
(1570–1634), amongst others.[
Gowrie House formerly stood on what became ]Tay Street
Tay Street is a major thoroughfare, part of the A989 road, A989, in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross, Perth, Perth and Kinross. Planned in 1806 and completed around 1885, it is named for the River Tay, Scotland's longest river, on ...
, its location now occupied by Perth Sheriff Court
Perth Sheriff Court is an historic building on Tay Street in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The structure, which is used as the main courthouse for the area, is a Category A listed building.
History
Originally, court hearings in Perthshir ...
, County Buildings and 46–52 Tay Street.[''Perth History Tour'', Jack Gillon (2020) ] The building extended from Water Vennel to Canal Street, bounded on the west by Speygate and on the east by the River Tay
The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...
. Its entrance was an arched gateway on South Street.[''Perth, the Ancient Capital of Scotland: The Story of Perth from the Invasion of Agricola to the Passing of the Reform Bill in 2 volumes'']
– Samuel Cowan J.P. (1904), chapter 3
In 1527, the building was purchased by William Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven
William Ruthven, 1st Lord Ruthven (died c. 1528) was a Scottish nobleman and founder of the noble lines of the Ruthven family.
William Ruthven of Ruthven was created Lord Ruthven by summons at the Parliament of Scotland in February 1488. Jame ...
, around a year before his death, from Elizabeth Ruthven, dowager Countess of Erroll. The building's appearance at this time is acknowledged with a bronze panel, by Sir John Steell
Sir John Robert Steell (Aberdeen 18 September 1804 – 15 September 1891) was a Scottish sculptor. He modelled many of the leading figures of Scottish history and culture, and is best known for a number of sculptures displayed in Edinburgh, ...
, on the south wall of the present building.
Gowrie House was so-named for the title Earl of Gowrie
Earl of Gowrie is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ruthven family. It takes its name from Gowrie, a historical region and ancient ...
, given to William, Lord Ruthven, in 1581. The Ruthvens were frequently Provosts of Perth. A workman, Archibald Wylie, was killed by a fall of stone masonry during building work on the house on 5 May 1579.
The house was central to the Gowrie conspiracy
John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (c. 1577 – 5 August 1600), was a Scottish nobleman who died in mysterious circumstances, referred to as the "Gowrie Conspiracy", in which he and/or his brother Alexander were attempting to kill or kidnap King ...
, a series of events unfolding on 5 August 1600, in which John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie
John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (c. 1577 – 5 August 1600), was a Scottish nobleman who died in mysterious circumstances, referred to as the "Gowrie Conspiracy", in which he and/or his brother Alexander were attempting to kill or kidnap King ...
(1577–1600), and his brother, Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
(1580–1600), were attempting to kill or kidnap King James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
for unknown purposes. The king's retinue
A retinue is a body of persons "retained" in the service of a noble, royal personage, or dignitary; a ''suite'' (French "what follows") of retainers.
Etymology
The word, recorded in English since circa 1375, stems from Old French ''retenue'', it ...
killed both brothers during the attack, and the king survived.
James VI ordered that the building be defaced by removing some of its corner turrets. In 1602, he gifted the building to the city, though he was careful to exclude its name when making the gift.[ In 1746, the city gifted the house to ]Prince William, Duke of Cumberland
Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S..html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki> N.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Old_Style_and_New_St ...
, in recognition of his victory at the Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden (; gd, Blàr Chùil Lodair) was the final confrontation of the Jacobite rising of 1745. On 16 April 1746, the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force under Prince Wi ...
. It is believed the duke later passed the house to his nephew, Admiral Watson, who sold it to the UK government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
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for £2,000.[ It was converted into artillery ]barracks
Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...
, and was occupied until the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. Several plans of the house were made during these years and are kept by the National Library of Scotland
The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...
. In 1805, it was traded back from the government by the city in exchange for a site on which to build a depot for prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
. Five acres of Moncreiffe land were given over.[
During demolition in 1807 observers considered that the east and southern wings were older, with noticeably thicker walls, and were probably originally built for Elizabeth Gray. The west and northern buildings were built by the Ruthvens. The workmen were said to have found concealed vaults and closets in the old walls, one with an earthenware urn of bones. There was also a tower or garden building near the ]River Tay
The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...
, known as the Monk's Tower, and intended to serve as a summer house or banqueting room. The 17th-century painted ceiling of the Monk's Tower included the symbols of the zodiac and heraldry of Hay of Kinnoull. The summer house was used for meetings by Charles II in 1650, and he may have stayed in Gowrie House. A detailed household account covering Charles' months in Perth reveals that the king had a boat or barge on the Tay, and was allowed more sugar in his pies than his courtiers, but does not mention that the 'King's house' where he resided in Perth was Gowrie House. The older parts of Gowrie House and the Monk's Tower before demolition were indicated on plans published by David Peacock.[David Peacock]
''Perth: its annals and its archives'' (Perth, 1849), between pp. 190-1 and pp. 240-1
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In documentation from 1911, a Gowrie Rest House, Labour Yard and Lodging Home for Men and Boys stood on Speygate.[''Leslie's directory for Perth and Kinross'' (1911), p. 35]
/ref>
See also
* Spey Tower
References
{{reflist
External links
Drawings of Gowrie House from the Hutton Collection, National Library of Scotland
Painting of Gowrie House, Perth & Kinross Council, Art UK
16th-century establishments in Scotland
Buildings and structures in Perth, Scotland