High Street is a street and the primary retail area of the Scottish city 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 ...

. Established in at least the 15th century, its central section has been both modernised and pedestrianised, while its two ends are mainly Victorian in terms of their composite buildings. It runs for about , from Tay Street (the A989) in the east to Caledonian Road (also the A989) in the west.

Layout

High Street, as a whole, is one of the three major east–west running streets in the city centre, the others being Mill Street to the north and

South Street South Street may refer to: Streets by that name * South Street (Durham), England * South Street, Mayfair, England *South Street (Manhattan), United States *South Street (Perth, Western Australia) * South Street (Perth, Scotland) *South Street (Ph ...

to the south, although Mill Street was a later addition. The

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

runs perpendicular to the eastern end of the street,''Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Graphic and Accurate Description of Every Place in Scotland''

Francis Hindes Groome Francis Hindes Groome (30 August 1851 – 24 January 1902) was a writer and foremost commentator of his time on the Romani people, their language, life, history, customs, beliefs, and lore. He was the son of Robert Hindes Groome, Archdeacon of ...

(1901) at Tay Street, where more Victorian-era buildings now stand, as well a stone tablet indicating the site of a bridge that was destroyed in 1621. There is an entrance to

St John's Centre The St John's Centre is an indoor shopping centre in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The centre is surrounded by The Headrow to the south, Albion Street, Leeds, Albion Street to the west and Merrion Street to the north. The centre makes up t ...

from the pedestrianised section of the modern High Street.

High Street

Beginning at Tay Street and continuing west to South Methven Street. In a 1980 photograph by W. H. Findlay, a view of 80–94 High Street (part of a Category B listed row) shows the Wallaces department store. It was demolished two years later.

Old High Street

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...

ical in name, the Old High Street is a continuation of the original thoroughfare, but dating to the 19th century. It runs for from South Methven Street in the east to Caledonian Road in the west. Today's eastern origin is punctuated by St Paul's Church, in the middle of its square, at the corner of Old High Street and South Methven Street. According to

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

: "This 1807 church has significant historical and streetscape importance. It was one of the first churches to be built in Perth after the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

." The church was built near the Chapel and Hospital of St Paul, founded in 1434, which hints at an earlier existence of the high street. The site is now occupied by Victorian-era buildings.''Perth: The Archaeology and Development of a Scottish burgh''
– David P. Bowler, Tayside and Fife Archaeological Committee (2004), p. 23 Established in 1897, Alexander Thomson & Sons Grocers and Wine Merchants was a popular vendor on the street.''Leslie's directory for Perth and Kinross'' (1911)
/ref> Thomas' son, Peter, later established Peter Thomson (Perth) Limited further along the street. The Old High Street exemplifies how comparatively narrow the medieval street was.

Junctions

;From east to west * St John Street (south) * Skinnergate (north) *Kirkgate (south) *

King Edward Street King Edward Street is a street running between the High Street to the north and Oriel Square to the south in central Oxford, England. On the east side of the street is the "Island" site of Oriel College, one of the colleges of Oxford Uni ...

(south) *Kinnoull Street (north) *Scott Street (south) *South Methven Street (crosses) *St Paul's Square (south) *New Row (south) *Milne Street (south) *Paul Street (north) *Lickey Street (south)

Vennels

Below is a list of the

vennel A vennel is a passageway between the gables of two buildings which can in effect be a minor street in Scotland and the north east of England, particularly in the old centre of Durham. Etymology In Scotland, the term originated in royal bur ...

s that connect to the High Street. *Cow Vennel"Perth projects its medieval past with VR"
– ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', 7 July, 2017 (Mill Street to High Street) (Canal Street to South Street) – so named because it is where people would drive their cattle onto the

South Inch South Inch is a large public park in Perth, Scotland. About in size,The South Inch, Perth< ...

for grazing *Cutlog Vennel (Mill Street to High Street) *Guard Vennel (Mill Street to High Street) *Meal Vennel"Highland Communities in Dundee and Perth 1787-1891"
–

Abertay University Abertay University () is a public university in the city of Dundee, Scotland. In 1872, Sir David Baxter, 1st Baronet of Kilmaron, left a bequest for the establishment of a mechanics' institute in Dundee and the Dundee Institute of Technology w ...

, p. 48 (South Street to High Street)

Archaeology

Between 1975 and 1977, an archaeological excavation was undertaken at 75–95 High Street. The project "highlighted the preservative qualities of the

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: *Adhesive#Anaerobic, Anaerobic ad ...

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

s of the

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

". Almost thirty medieval wooden structures were found, including a collapsed

wattle Wattle or wattles may refer to: Plants *''Acacia sensu lato'', polyphyletic genus of plants commonly known as wattle, especially in Australian English **''Acacia'' ***Black wattle, common name for several species of acacia ***Golden wattle, ''A ...

fence that had been a property line between

burgage plot Burgage is a medieval land term used in Great Britain and Ireland, well established by the 13th century. A burgage was a town ("borough" or "burgh") rental property (to use modern terms), owned by a king or lord. The property ("burgage tenement ...

s.1.5 The History of research
– Scottish Archaeological Research Framework

Gallery

File:Perth map of 1832.jpg, This 1832 map of Perth, by James Gardner, shows the street, then a uniform "High Street" File:High Street, Perth - geograph.org.uk - 2066024.jpg, Looking east to Tay Street File:High Street, Perth - geograph.org.uk - 2065990.jpg, And west, towards the modern section, from Tay Street File:St_Pauls_Church,_Perth_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1615430.jpg, St Paul's Church File:Looking East along old High Street (geograph 6934856).jpg, Looking east

References

{{reflist Streets in Perth, Scotland 15th-century establishments in Scotland Shopping streets in Scotland