48-528: Blairgowrie may refer to: Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross , a town in Scotland now part of the burgh of Blairgowrie and Rattray Blairgowrie, Victoria , Australia Blairgowrie, Gauteng , South Africa [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
96-529: A bronze sword now in Kelvingrove Museum , Glasgow . The remains of a Roman legionary fort can be found 4 miles (6 kilometres) west-southwest of Blairgowrie at Inchtuthil , dating from the decade 80-90. Unencumbered by subsequent development, this is considered to be one of the most important archaeological sites in Britain. Pictish remains are in abundance in this part of Scotland and one of
144-464: A community centre but it has now been sold for conversion to housing as has the former St Stephen's RC primary school in John Street. Stagecoach provide all the bus services to and from Blairgowrie with routes to Perth, Dundee, Alyth, Coupar Angus, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy, Kirkmichael and Glenshee as well as a circular town service. The nearest railway stations are Perth and Dunkeld & Birnam and
192-519: A free burgh in 1809. In 1724 the military road from Coupar Angus to Fort George which passes through the town on the line of the A923 and A93 was completed. The town expanded hugely in the 19th century thanks to the employment provided by the many textile mills which were built along the River Ericht, all now closed. By 1870 there were 12 mills along the river employing nearly 2,000 men and women and
240-528: A jam factory in Croft Lane and huge quantities of table berries and pulp being despatched to markets and jam factories throughout Britain. Berry pickers were brought in by bus from Perth and Dundee, and large encampments were set up on farms for pickers from further afield, mainly from the Glasgow area, who made this their annual holiday. They were joined by the travelling community who congregated here for
288-522: A range of independent shops, craft workshops, restaurants and pubs. National retailers include Tesco , Sainsbury's , Co-op and Boots . The Angus Hotel and Royal Hotel cater for local customers, tourists and a large number of bus parties who use the town as a touring base. The new Blairgowrie Campus opened in Elm Drive in 2009 incorporating Newhill Primary and St Stephens RC Primary. Newhill primary holds about 360 children while St Stephens RC primary
336-522: A three-year, £27 million refurbishment and restoration, with the collections re-organised into two halves: Life and Expression. The Life galleries represent natural history, human history and prehistory. The Expression galleries include the fine art collections. The 22 galleries display over 8,000 objects. Notable exhibits include Salvador Dali ’s Christ of St John of the Cross , Sir Roger the Asian elephant ,
384-464: A £2.36 million refurbishment project saw the development of a purpose built in-patient GP unit and other new units added to the site. A short distance upstream from the bridge on the riverside path is Cargill's Leap where Donald Cargill , a minister and covenanter, escaped Government troops by jumping over a narrow part of the River Ericht . North of Rattray, occupying a dominating position on
432-469: Is a twin burgh in Perth and Kinross , Scotland . Locals refer to the town as "Blair". Blairgowrie is the larger of the two former burghs which were united by an Act of Parliament in 1928 and lies on the southwest side of the River Ericht while Rattray is on the northeast side. Rattray claims to be the older and certainly Old Rattray, the area round Rattray Kirk, dates back to the 12th century. New Rattray,
480-520: Is a smaller unit holding about 70 pupils. Rattray Primary serves children on that side of the river. Blairgowrie High School in Beeches Road provides secondary education for all round the area. The adjacent Recreation Centre has a pool and leisure facilities and is scheduled for replacement in the near future. The disused former Hill Primary School was the subject of a controversial but ultimately unsuccessful attempt by The Ericht Trust to provide
528-550: Is now kept at Perth Museum and Art Gallery. Highland Games Blairgowrie Highland Games are held annually on the first Sunday of September in Bogles Field on Essendy Road. It is noted for its Hill Race and its mass tug o'war where as many contestants as possible from Blairgowrie and Rattray compete against each other. The evening before is known as Braemar Night with entertainment in the Wellmeadow and fireworks along
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#1732779988192576-605: Is spelt Blàr Ghobharaidh or Blàr Ghobhraidh . The name Rattray is Raitear in Gaelic, and may derive from an English language cognate of Gaelic ràth meaning "fortress" plus a Pictish term cognate with Welsh tref meaning "settlement". The area around Blairgowrie has been occupied continuously since the Neolithic, as evidenced from the Cleaven Dyke, a cursus monument 2 miles (3 kilometres) south-southwest of
624-878: Is still the soft fruit centre of Scotland, and the local population increases greatly in summer when the Eastern European students arrive to harvest the fruit which traditionally consisted of raspberries and strawberries but now includes a wider range with cherries, blackberries, blueberries, gooseberries etc. The extensive use of poly tunnels and raised beds has greatly extended the growing season with fruit available from May until October. Other major industries include Castle Water, Proctor Insulation, Tayside Contracts, Graham Environmental, Davidsons chemist headquarters and various fruit processing and freezing plants. The industrial estate on Welton Road houses many small businesses. The town has two main motor dealerships and several independent garages. The local weekly newspaper
672-685: Is the Blairgowrie Advertiser , locally known as "the Blairie", which is now produced and printed in Perth by Trinity Mirror Group. The Blairie has a long history and was originally produced and printed in the old printworks in Reform Street where the original print machines are still mothballed. There are regular Saturday outdoor markets in the Wellmeadow with stalls offering local produce and crafts. Blairgowrie's town centre has
720-738: The Avant armour , and paintings by the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists . The original Kelvingrove Museum opened in 1870 as the City Industrial Museum, Glasgow's first municipal museum. It was housed in Kelvingrove House , a mansion which was built in 1783 and was originally the home of Lord Provost Patrick Colquhoun . Kelvingrove House stood to the east of the present art gallery museum, on
768-555: The Glasgow School . The museum houses Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí . The copyright of this painting was bought by the curator at the time after a meeting with Dalí. Between 1993 and 2006, the painting was moved to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art . The museum also contains a large gift of the decorative arts from Anne Hull Grundy , an art collector and philanthropist, covering
816-794: The Royal National Mòd , a festival of the Scottish Gaelic language. Since then the town has featured bilingual street signs, in English and Gaelic. Football Blairgowrie and Rattray is home to the Scottish Junior Football East Region Premier League side Blairgowrie F.C. as well as the Scottish Amateur Football Association sides Rattray A.F.C. and Balmoral United A.F.C. which play in
864-642: The West End of the city, adjacent to Argyle Street . Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is one of Scotland's most popular museums and free visitor attractions. The art gallery and museum opened in 1901, and the collection encompasses natural history , Egyptian antiquities , design , architecture , medieval arms and armoury, Scottish history and the history of Glasgow . The building also houses one of Europe’s great civic art collections, including Scottish , European , African , Asian and Oceanic fine and decorative arts. Kelvingrove re-opened in 2006 after
912-542: The 1980s, the Braemar Games had moved to the first Saturday in September, and the following day seemed an appropriate date for Blair Games. Braemar Night has evolved into a more refined smaller all-day event aimed at locals but is still extremely popular. The main feature and finale is a spectacular firework display along the River Ericht which draws large crowds onto the bridge, which is temporarily closed, and along
960-525: The Ashgrove Court sheltered housing complex. Blairgowrie and Rattray Districts Cottage Hospital opened in May 1901, but its foundation can be traced back to 1882 when the idea for such a hospital was put forward by Mrs Clerk-Rattray. On her death she bequeathed £25 which was to be given to such an institution if it was ever founded. However attempts over the next few years to raise subscriptions to found
1008-617: The Centre Hall is a concert pipe organ constructed and installed by Lewis & Co . The organ was originally commissioned as part of the Glasgow International Exhibition , held in Kelvingrove Park in 1901. The organ was installed in the concert hall of the exhibition, which was capable of seating 3,000 people. The Centre Hall of the then newly completed Art Gallery and Museum was intended from
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#17327799881921056-742: The Perthshire Amateur League. Rugby Blairgowrie Rugby Club was founded in 1980 (originally as Blairgowrie High School FP RFC) and as of 2019, plays in the Caledonia Regional League Caledonia League 1. The team is based within the John Johnston Coupar Recreational Park on Coupar Angus Road, which formed part of an old berry farm which was bequeathed to the town in the 1970s for use as a sports and recreational facility. Golf Blairgowrie Golf Club
1104-470: The annual "Cateran Yomp" regularly complete it in under eleven hours. Rattray The traditional ball game of Rattray no longer takes place, but the Rattray silver ball, the trophy retained by the winners, is still in existence. It is believed to have been donated by Sylvester Rattray of Nether Persie who became minister of Rattray in 1591 and continued there until his death in 1623. The Rattray silver ball
1152-754: The area along the Boat Brae and Balmoral Road dates from 1777 when the River was spanned by the Brig o' Blair. The town lies on the north side of Strathmore at the foot of the Grampian Mountains . The west boundary is formed by the Knockie, a round grassy hill, and Craighall Gorge on the Ericht. Blairgowrie and Rattray developed over the centuries at the crossroads of several historic routes with links from
1200-537: The beginning to be a space in which to hold concerts. When the 1901 exhibition ended, a Councillor urged the Glasgow Corporation (now Glasgow Council) to purchase the organ, stating that without it, "the art gallery would be a body without a soul". Purchase price and installation costs were met from the surplus exhibition proceeds, and the organ was installed in the Centre Hall by Lewis and Co. The present case front in walnut with non-functional display pipes
1248-549: The berry season. One of the best examples was the Tin City at Essendy, which housed workers in a complex of tin huts with its own chapel, post office, shop, kitchens, etc. The Tin City has gone but now every fruit farm has a caravan site to house the hundreds of Eastern European students who arrive every summer to pick the fruit. The coming of the railway revolutionised the textile and soft fruit trade. Blairgowrie railway station
1296-500: The edge of Craighall Gorge above the river Ericht, is Craighall Castle, the ancestral home of the chieftain of Clan Rattray . The castle is no longer occupied by a Rattray, having been sold in 2010. On the west side of Blairgowrie are Newton Castle, home to the chieftain of Clan Macpherson , and Ardblair Castle , home to the Blair Oliphant family. Blairgowrie has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). The surrounding area
1344-430: The first Statistical Account in 1792. The second Statistical Account of 1853 notes a disproportionate increase due to an influx of families attracted by the expanding textiles industry. Gaelic was declining but still partially spoken in the upper part of the parish at that time, with all speaking English. Blairgowrie was made a barony in favour of George Drummond of Blair in 1634 by a royal charter of Charles I, and became
1392-413: The first to be closed by snow. Blairgowrie , a seaside town south of Melbourne , Victoria, Australia , and Blairgowrie , a suburb of Johannesburg , South Africa , were named after the town. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow , Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums . The building is located in Kelvingrove Park in
1440-416: The hospital failed. Eventually land for a hospital was gifted by Mrs Macpherson of Newton Castle and subscriptions were raised to found the hospital. As well as these monetary donations, furnishings for the hospital were provided while the architect Lake Falconer took no fee for his work on the hospital. At the time of opening it had two large wards. It is now known as Blairgowrie Community Hospital. In 2014
1488-569: The largest collections of Pictish sculptured stones is housed 5 miles (8 kilometres) east of the town at the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum . The size of the collection, all of which were found in Meigle , suggests this was an ecclesiastical centre of some importance in the 8th to 10th centuries. From around 1600 to the beginning of the 19th century, Blairgowrie had a fairly stable population, recorded at 425 inhabitants in
Blairgowrie - Misplaced Pages Continue
1536-503: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blairgowrie&oldid=1049103560 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Blairgowrie and Rattray Blairgowrie and Rattray ( / b l ɛər ˈ ɡ aʊ r i ... ˈ r æ t r eɪ / )
1584-453: The nearest airport is Dundee . Services to Perth and Dundee are frequent. The bus station is located in the Wellmeadow. Churches represented are Church of Scotland (Blairgowrie and Rattray Parish Churches), St Stephen's RC, St Catherine's Episcopalian, Evangelical Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, Church on the Way, Lifeplus Church, Methodist Church and Plymouth Brethren. In 1996, Blairgowrie hosted
1632-489: The population had increased from 400 in the 1700s to 4,000. The disused mill buildings can be seen from the riverside walk west from the bridge and from Haugh Road to the east . Keithbank Mill has been converted to apartments. Soft fruit growing, mainly raspberries and strawberries developed in the 20th century and became a very important part of the town's economy with Smedleys opening a cannery in Haugh Road, Adamsons
1680-626: The river. This tradition started in the 1960s to encourage travellers returning from the Braemar Highland Games (then held on a Thursday), which attracted huge numbers of visitors due to the attendance of the Royal Family, to stop in the town and quickly grew into a huge programme of entertainments, pipe bands, fireworks, funfairs etc., drawing tens of thousands not only returning south from Braemar but on special excursions from Perth and Dundee. When Blairgowrie Games restarted in
1728-736: The riverside areas. "Snow Road" Blairgowrie is the southern point of the Cairngorm National Park Snow Road tourist route which runs through Glenshee, Braemar, Ballater and Tomintoul to its northern end at Grantown-on-Spey. The route includes the highest point on the UK road system at the Cairnwell Pass and the Cockbridge to Tomintoul road over the Lecht Pass which is well known on winter road reports as one of
1776-482: The site now occupied by Kelvingrove Park's skatepark. The Kelvingrove Museum's growing collection led to a new wing being added to the house between 1874 and 1876. The original Kelvingrove House was demolished in 1899, with the museum wing being demolished in 1911. The construction of Kelvingrove was partly financed by the proceeds of the 1888 International Exhibition held in Kelvingrove Park. The gallery
1824-448: The start and finish of the marked 64-mile (103-kilometre) Cateran Trail long-distance walk which follows a circular route through Glenericht and Strathardle to Bridge of Cally, Kirkmichael and Enochdhu, over Ben Earb to Spittal of Glenshee, through Glenshee and Glenisla to Kirkton of Glenisla and Alyth and finally back to Blairgowrie. The trail is divided into five stages and can easily be walked in five days or less, although winning teams in
1872-445: The town to Perth , Coupar Angus , Alyth and Braemar . The roads to Coupar Angus and Braemar form part of General Wade's military road from Perth to Ayrshire then over the tiny bridge to the hill Fort George . The town's centrepiece is the Wellmeadow, a grassy triangle in the middle of town which hosts regular markets and outdoor entertainment. The name Blairgowrie means "Plain of Gowrie" in Scottish Gaelic , in which language it
1920-581: The town, as well as a Neolithic long mortuary enclosure 4 miles (6 kilometres) west-southwest at Inchtuthil. Several stone circles of this age can also be found in the area, notably the circle bisected by the road at Leys of Marlee , 1 mile (1.5 kilometres) west of Blairgowrie. Numerous Neolithic and Bronze Age artifacts have been found in the immediate area, including a number of flint arrowheads, spearheads, knives and scrapers found at Carsie, 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 metres) south of Blairgowrie, and which are now displayed at Perth Museum, and bronze axes, and
1968-538: The world and a vast natural history collection. The art collection includes many outstanding European artworks, including works by the Old Masters (Vecellio's Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Dorothy , Rembrandt van Rijn , Gerard de Lairesse , and Jozef Israëls ), French Impressionists (such as Claude Monet , Pierre-Auguste Renoir , Camille Pissarro , Vincent van Gogh and Mary Cassatt ), Dutch Renaissance , Scottish Colourists and exponents of
Blairgowrie - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-483: Was commissioned at this time from John W. Simpson. Simpson was the senior partner of Simpson & Milner Allen, architects of the gallery building. There is an urban myth in Glasgow that the building was accidentally built back-to-front, and the architect jumped from one of the towers in despair upon realising his mistake. In reality, the grand entrance was always intended to face into Kelvingrove Park. Kelvingrove
2064-564: Was designed by Sir John W. Simpson and E.J. Milner Allen, and opened in 1901 as the Palace of Fine Arts for the Glasgow International Exhibition held in that year. It is built in a Spanish Baroque style, follows the Glaswegian tradition of using Locharbriggs red sandstone, and includes an entire program of architectural sculpture by George Frampton , William Shirreffs , Francis Derwent Wood and other sculptors. The centrepiece of
2112-571: Was founded in 1889. There are now two 18-hole courses, Rosemount and Lansdowne, and a 9-hole course. Skiing The Glenshee Ski Centre in Glenshee ( Scottish Gaelic : Gleann Sith , "Glen of the Fairies"), is some 18 miles (29 kilometres) north at the Cairnwell Pass on the A93 Braemar road, which is the highest public road in the UK. Hillwalking Blairgowrie is normally considered
2160-449: Was introduced to make the building more visitor-friendly, which was designed and executed by London-based museum design company, Event Communications . As part of the renovations a Spitfire (serial LA198) that had previously been operated by the No. 602 Squadron RAF (City of Glasgow) was hung from the ceiling above the life gallery. Immediately after its 2003–2006 refurbishment, the museum
2208-508: Was reopened by Queen Elizabeth II on 11 July 2006 after a three-year closure for major refurbishment and restoration. The work, which cost around £35 million, was one-third funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and one-third by public donations to the appeal and included a new restaurant and a large basement extension to its display space to accommodate the 8,000 exhibits now on display. A new layout and wayfinding scheme
2256-562: Was the most popular free-to-enter visitor attraction in Scotland, recording 2.23 million visitors in 2007. These numbers made it the most visited museum in the United Kingdom outside London that year. From 2006 to 2009 the museum had 5 million visitors. The museum's collections came mainly from the original Kelvingrove Museum and the McLellan Galleries . It has one of the finest collections of arms and armour in
2304-607: Was the terminus of a branch from Coupar Angus on the Scottish Midland Junction Railway , later part of the Caledonian Railway . The last train ran in the 1960s, and the extensive railway yards are now the site of the Tesco supermarket and Welton Road industrial estate. Blairgowrie had a busy livestock market at the bottom of the Boat Brae but this closed in the 1960s and is now the site of
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