The History of Perth

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The name Perth comes from a Pictish word for wood or copse. There has been a settlement at Perth for more than 8,000 years, with farming having been introduced to the area some 4,000 years ago. Perth has been known as “The Fair City” since the publication of the story Fair Maid of Perth by Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott in 1828. During the later medieval period the city was also called St John’s Toun or Saint Johnstoun by its inhabitants in reference to the main church… Read More »The History of Perth

The history of 2 Atholl Place

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Construction of Atholl Place was begun in 1797 and completed in 1800. It is built on the site of the old Blackfriars Monastery by Henry Hepburn, a local builder.  At that time, the terrace was known as Athole Place and the houses were designed specifically for doctors, the idea being that their consulting rooms would be on the lower floors and they and their families would live upstairs.  Athole Place… Read More »The history of 2 Atholl Place

The history of Edinburgh

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Early history   When the Roman “Governor of Britain” Agricola advanced North in AD79, he encountered the Celtic tribe of Votadinii controlled the Forth River valley and based themselves at what is now probably Edinburgh Castle.  Although they fought, and defeated the Pictish leader Calgacus at Mons Graupius in AD84, the Romans never mastered Caledonia and by 211 had retreated behind Hadrians wall, about a hundred miles to the south.… Read More »The history of Edinburgh

The history of the New Town (of Edinburgh)

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The idea for a New Town in Edinburgh emerged after the defeat of the 1745 Jacobite rising. The imposition of Scotland’s new British identity is, however, reflected in the New Town’s very British street names: Cumberland Street, after the Duke of Cumberland (the ‘butcher’ of the Battle of Culloden); Hanover Street, after the House of Hanover; George Street after the Hanoverian King George III himself; Charlotte Square after Queen Charlotte, his wife;… Read More »The history of the New Town (of Edinburgh)