Fair Maid's House is an historic building in the centre of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

, Scotland. Located in North Port, it is a Category B

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, partly dating from 1475 but mostly from 1629. It is two storeys, built of

rubble Rubble is broken stone, of irregular size, shape and texture; undressed especially as a filling-in. Rubble naturally found in the soil is known also as 'brash' (compare cornbrash)."Rubble" def. 2., "Brash n. 2. def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionar ...

, with a stair tower and slated roof. The building is most noted for providing part of the inspiration for Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

's novel ''

The Fair Maid of Perth ''The Fair Maid of Perth'' (or ''St. Valentine's Day'') is an 1828 novel by Sir Walter Scott, one of the Waverley novels. Inspired by the strange, but historically true, story of the Battle of the North Inch, it is set in Perth, Scotland, Perth ...

'' (1828). The Glover Incorporation of Perth bought the premises, and used it for their meeting hall for over 150 years. Their motto, "Grace and Peace", is carved above entrance door. The building still incorporates medieval parts, but most of its

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

has been renewed, and the interior was re-done between 1893 and 1894 by J. & G. Young architects for its then-owner, solicitor William Japp, of

Alyth Alyth () () is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie and about northwest of Dundee. In 2022 the town had an estimated population of 3,046. First mentioned by name in a 12th-century royal char ...

. (An error in an inscription in the exterior wall of the stair tower resulted in its reading 1393, instead of 1893.) A niche on an outside wall reputedly originally contained a

curfew bell The curfew bell was a bell rung in the evening in Medieval Great Britain and Ireland as a curfew signal.Wood/Peshall, p. 177Andrews, pp. 228–9Andrews, p. 232-3Brand, p. 221Andrews, p. 232Brand, p. 222Andrews, p. 233Andrews, p. 236Andrews, p. 238 ...

. A prayer niche and a fireplace on the first floor most likely date from the 15th century. The north wall of the building was part of the former Blackfriars Monastery (hence the street was formerly known as Blackfriars Wynd),''Official Guide to Perth and Its Neighbourhood by the Tramway Car Routes'' – Perth Town Council (1907), p. 22 where King

James I of Scotland James I (late July 1394 – 21 February 1437) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scots from 1406 until his assassination in 1437. The youngest of three sons, he was born in Dunfermline Abbey to King Robert III of Scotland, Robert III and ...

was murdered in 1437. The wall shows the location of two ancient fireplaces and the original level of the floor. Between 1965 and 1966, antique dealer Thomas Love & Sons used the premises. The building was restored and extended, at a cost of £750,000, by Page\Park Architects for the

Royal Scottish Geographical Society The Royal Scottish Geographical Society (RSGS) is an educational charity based in Perth, Scotland, founded in 1884. The purpose of the society is to advance the subject of geography worldwide, inspire people to learn more about the world around ...

in 2010–11, a project that won a commendation in the Scottish

Civic Trust Awards The Civic Trust Awards scheme is a British awards scheme to recognise outstanding architecture, planning and design in the built environment. It was established in 1959, and is the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe. The ...

2012.''The Gazetteer of Scotland''
B.M Gittings (2012)

Literature

The house was partly the inspiration for Sir

's 1828 novel ''

'', one of his

Waverley Novels The Waverley novels are a long series of novels by Sir Walter Scott (1771–1832). For nearly a century, they were among the most popular and widely read novels in Europe. Because Scott did not publicly acknowledge authorship until 1827, the se ...

. The "fair maid" of the title is Catharine Glover. The house is also featured in a verse by the poet

William McGonagall William McGonagall (March 1825 – 29 September 1902) was a Scottish poet and public performer. He gained notoriety as an poetaster, extremely bad poet who exhibited no recognition of, or concern for, his peers' opinions of his work. He wrote ...

."William McGonagall's Life and Rhymes, And photographs from Victorian times"
– Historic Environment Scotland

Gallery

File:House of 'The Fair Maid of Perth', Perth and Kinross, Scotland (O55427).jpg, An 1891 view File:Fair Maid's House date stone.jpg, The erroneous date stone on the building's exterior

References

{{reflist 1629 establishments in Scotland Listed buildings in Perth, Scotland Category B listed buildings in Perth and Kinross Walter Scott

Literature

Gallery

See also

References