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. About 54
hectares
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...
in size, it is one of two "Inches" in Perth, the other being the smaller, 31-hectare
, located half a mile across the city. The inches were granted to the city, when it was a
royal burgh
A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Most royal burghs were either created by ...
, by King Robert II in 1374. Both inches were once islands in 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 ...
; today, they are connected by
Tay Street
Tay Street is a major thoroughfare, part of the A989, in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Planned in 1806 and completed around 1885, it is named for the River Tay, Scotland's longest river, on the western banks of which it sits ...
Balhousie Castle
Balhousie Castle, located in Perth, Scotland (on Hay Street, originally a few hundred metres north of the medieval town), was built in the 17th century.
History
The castle was built in 1631, although its origins are believed to go back a further ...
and Bell's Sports Centre are located on its western edge.
A path circumnavigates the entire park.
Overlooking the southern edge of the Inch is the
Old Academy
The Academy ( Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato in c. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic ...
, built between 1803 and 1807.
Perth Bridge
Perth Bridge (also known as Smeaton's Bridge, locally, the Old Bridge, and in the local dialect of Scots, the Auld Brig) is a toll-free bridge in the city of Perth, Scotland. A Category A listed structure, it spans the River Tay, connecting Pe ...
, which is also known as Smeaton's Bridge and the Old Bridge, is nearby.
In the 1840s, a large addition was made to the Inch by an excambion with the
Thomas Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull
Thomas Robert Hay-Drummond, 11th Earl of Kinnoull (5 April 1785 – 18 February 1866), styled Viscount Dupplin between 1787 and 1804, was a Scottish peer. His titles were Earl of Kinnoull, Viscount Dupplin and Lord Hay of Kinfauns in the Peerage ...
, bringing it up to .''The Tourist's Hand-book to Perth and Neighbourhood'' (1849), p. 48 & 49
Three years after her husband's death in 1861, Queen Victoria unveiled a statue of Albert, Prince Consort, at the Inch. The couple and their children had stayed at the city's Royal George Hotel in 1848. It was their first time staying in a hotel, an occurrence prompted by their inability to stay at nearby Scone Palace because
William Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield
William David Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, KT, DL (21 February 1806 – 1 August 1898) was a British Conservative politician.
The son of David William Murray, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, and Frederica Markham, daughter of ...
, was out of town.
Another statue, an obelisk near the river bank, commemorates the 90th Regiment of Foot, the
Perthshire Volunteers
The 90th Perthshire Light Infantry was a Scottish light infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1794. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot to form the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 188 ...
, alias the ''Grey Breeks''. It was unveiled by
Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley
Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, We ...
, on 8 December 1896.''Official Guide to Perth and Its Neighbourhood by the Tramway Car Routes'' – Perth Town Council (1907), p. 8
Unveiled in 1995, the
51st (Highland) Division War Memorial
The 51st (Highland) Division War Memorial is located at the North Inch public park in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is dedicated to the soldiers of the 51st (Highland) Division lost in World War II.World War II.
A
bandstand
A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...
formerly stood to the west of the obelisk, a gift of
James Pullar
James Ferguson Pullar FRSE (1835–1912) was a 19th-century Scottish businessman, and main partner in J & J Pullar Ltd later known as Pullars of Perth. He was the first person to introduce benzene based dry cleaning in Britain, and establishe ...
.
Sports
Several sports take place on various parts of the Inch, including
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
,
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
and
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping w ...
.
Golf
There is a reference to King
James IV
James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...
playing golf in Perth in 1504, despite a recently passed law prohibiting the game.King James VI Golf Club was formed in 1858, and held its matches on the Inch until 1897. After a dispute with the tenant of Muirton over grazing rights had led to the temporary loss of the extension to the Inch course, it opened its own, laid out by "Old" Tom Morris, then of
Prestwick
Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, a ...
, on Moncreiffe Island.
In 1861, the town council planted trees on the Inch as an amenity for the public. The patrons of the Inch's golf course, not appreciative of the interference the trees would cause in their rounds, uprooted them. The council decided not to replace them.Civic History of Perth from Medieval Times – Perth Civic Trust
In 1864 and 1866, the Inch was the venue for two open tournaments. That of 1864 was won by Old Tom Morris. His son, "Young" Tom Morris, played in the same tournament.
The golf course has had eighteen holes since 1892.
Rugby
Perthshire RFC, formed in 1868, plays its home games on the Inch. As of 2021, the club are members of
Scottish National League Division Three
The Scottish National League Division Three (known as Tennent's National League Division 3 for sponsorship reasons) is the fourth tier of the Scottish League Championship for amateur rugby union clubs in Scotland.
Geographical Location
The Scot ...
.
Cricket
The first recorded cricket match held on the ground came in 1849, when Perth played Grange. The ground held its first first-class match when Scotland played Ireland in 1909. Five further first-class matches were played there, the last of which came in 1970 when Scotland played Ireland. Other first-class matches had seen the ground host the
Australians
Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...
in 1912, Wales in 1923, and the South Africans in 1929. The ground held its first
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numb ...
1984 Benson & Hedges Cup
The 1984 Benson & Hedges Cup was the thirteenth edition of cricket's Benson & Hedges Cup.
The competition was won by Lancashire County Cricket Club.
Fixtures and results Group stage Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Quarter-finals
...
. Three further List A matches were played there, the last of which saw Scotland play Lancashire in the 1989 Benson & Hedges Cup. In the
1986 Benson & Hedges Cup
The 1986 Benson & Hedges Cup was the fifteenth edition of cricket's Benson & Hedges Cup.
The competition was won by Middlesex County Cricket Club.
Fixtures and results
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Quarter-finals
...
Scotland historically defeated Lancashire, marking their first defeat of county opposition in limited-overs cricket.
In recent history the ground has become the victim of repeated vandalism and lack of funds. This led, in 2009, to the extinction of Perth County Cricket Club, which played at North Inch.
Gallery
File:North Inch bandstand.jpg, Now-demolished bandstand, a gift to the city from
James Pullar
James Ferguson Pullar FRSE (1835–1912) was a 19th-century Scottish businessman, and main partner in J & J Pullar Ltd later known as Pullars of Perth. He was the first person to introduce benzene based dry cleaning in Britain, and establishe ...
in the early 20th century
File:North Inch.jpg, Looking southeast towards the city centre
File:Perth, Scotland (8924972766).jpg, Statue of Albert, Prince Consort, unveiled by his widow, Queen Victoria, in 1864
File:90th Light Infantry Memorial, North Inch (geograph 3727339).jpg, Memorial to the 90th Regiment of Foot,
Perthshire Volunteers
The 90th Perthshire Light Infantry was a Scottish light infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1794. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 26th (Cameronian) Regiment of Foot to form the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in 188 ...
File:Perth city centre from the air (geograph 3605803).jpg, The North Inch is on the right in this aerial view of the city