| Perthshire | |
|---|---|
| Historic county | |
 Perthshire within Scotland | |
| Area | |
| • 1975 | 2,528 sq mi (6,550 km2) (5th) |
| History | |
| • Succeeded by | Tayside Region |
| Status | Local government county (until 1975) Land registration county (1868–) |
| Chapman code | PER |
| Government | |
| • HQ | Perth (county town andadministrative centre) |
| • Motto | Pro Lege et Libertate ('For Law and Liberty') |
 Coat of arms of the county council | |
Perthshire (locally:[ˈpɛrθʃər]ⓘ;Scottish Gaelic:Siorrachd Pheairt), officially theCounty of Perth, is ahistoric county andregistration county in centralScotland. Geographically it extends fromStrathmore in the east, to thePass of Drumochter in the north,Rannoch Moor andBen Lui in the west, andAberfoyle in the south; it borders the counties ofInverness-shire andAberdeenshire to the north,Angus to the east,Fife,Kinross-shire,Clackmannanshire,Stirlingshire andDunbartonshire to the south andArgyllshire to the west.
Perthshire is known as the "big county", or "the Shire", due to its roundness and status as the fourthlargest historic county in Scotland. It has a wide variety of landscapes, from the rich agriculturalstraths in the east, to the high mountains of the southernHighlands.
Perthshire's origins as ashire (the area administered by asheriff) are obscure, but it seems to have been created during the reign ofDavid I (reigned 1124–1153).[1]
TheSheriff of Perth had authority over severalprovinces, includingAtholl,Breadalbane,Gowrie,Menteith andStrathearn. Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. In 1667Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire, which would serve as the main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890.[2] Following theActs of Union in 1707, the English term "county" came to be used interchangeably with the older term "shire".
Elected county councils were established in 1890 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). The burgh ofPerth was deemed capable of managing its own affairs and so was excluded from the administrative area of the county council, although the county council still chose to base itself there.[3] Perthshire County Council held its first official meeting on 22 May 1890 atPerth Sheriff Court, then also known as County Buildings, the courthouse (built 1819) which also served as the meeting place for the commissioners.[4][5]
The 1889 Act also led to a review of boundaries, withexclaves being transferred to a county they actually bordered, and parishes which straddled more than one county being adjusted such that each parish was entirely in a single county. There were several such changes affecting the boundaries of Perthshire, notably including the exclaves ofCulross andTulliallan being transferred toFife.[6]
Reforms in 1930 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1929 saw the burgh of Perth brought within the administrative area of the county council, and merged the county councils of Perthshire and the neighbouring small county ofKinross-shire for most purposes. The two county councils continued to be elected as separate bodies, but operated together as the "Perth and Kinross Joint County Council", serving the combined area of the two counties.[7][8]
As part of the same reforms, the county council took over the functions of the abolished Perthshire Education Authority. The education authority had bought the former County and City Infirmary on York Place in Perth (completed 1838) in 1920 to serve as its headquarters; after 1930 it served as the headquarters of the joint county council, and was renamedCounty Offices.[9][10]
Perthshire was abolished as an administrative area in 1975 under theLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1973. It was split between theCentral andTayside Regions:
The two-tier system introduced in 1975 was superseded by a system of unitary authorities in 1996. The districts of Tayside and Central Scotland all became unitary authorities, withLongforgan being transferred from Dundee to Perth and Kinross. The majority of historic Perthshire lies inPerth and Kinross. The exceptions are the southwestern part that is now in theStirling council area and a few parishes that are now inClackmannanshire. Perth and Kinross also contains some areas that were not historically in Perthshire, such as Kinross-shire. Thelieutenancy areas in the area of historic Perthshire are mostly coterminous with the council areas, the exception being that the Stirling council area forms part of a larger Stirling and Falkirk lieutenancy.[11] The boundaries of the historic county of Perthshire are still used for some limited official purposes connected with land registration, being aregistration county.[12]
Thecoat of arms of the County of Perth appears to have been granted for use on the colours and standards of the volunteer and militia units of the county raised at the end of the eighteenth century. TheEarl of Kinnoull, a native of Perthshire, and commanding officer of the Perthshire Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry, was alsoLord Lyon King of Arms at the time, and he presented the arms to the county in 1800. The grant document was discovered in the Lyon Office in 1890, and forwarded to the newly formed Perth County Council.
The shield is very similar to theScottish royal arms, reflecting that Perthshire was the home county of theHouse of Dunkeld and contains the former royal capital,Scone. Further royal references are made on thecanton, which showsScone Palace surmounted by theCrown of Scotland. Thecrest is a Highland soldier, reflecting that the famousBlack Watch were formed in the county.[13] The supporters are an eagle and a warhorse, the former from the arms of the city of Perth.
By the 1890s the county contained the followingburghs, which were largely outside the county council's jurisdiction:
TheLocal Government (Scotland) Act 1929 divided burghs into two classes from 1930:large burghs, which were to gain extra powers from the county council, and small burghs which lost many of their responsibilities.
Of the twelve burghs in Perthshire, only Perth was made a large burgh. There were ten small burghs: Blairgowrie and Rattray being united into a single burgh. In 1947 Pitlochry was created a small burgh.
In 1894 parish councils were established for the civil parishes, replacing the previous parochial boards. The parish councils were in turn replaced by district councils in 1930.
Following the boundary changes caused by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, the county contained the following civil parishes:
In 1930 thelandward area of the Local Government councils (the part outside of burgh boundaries) was divided into five districts, replacing the parish councils established in 1894:
The county forms part of theHighland geographic area; it consists of predominantly mountainous and hilly land within theGrampian Mountains, interspersed with numerous lochs and glens. The highest point isBen Lawers at 1,214 m (3,983 ft), making it the 10th highest peak in Scotland.[15] Most towns are fairly small, with the larger ones being clustered in the flatter south-east of the county. In the far south along the borders with Clackmannanshhire and Kinross-shire lie theOchil Hills, and in the south-east part of theSidlaw Hills lie within the county, continuing on into Angus. Perthshire borders theFirth of Tay in the south-east, which provides access to theNorth Sea; along the north shore lies theCarse of Gowrie, an extremely flat area of land given over to agriculture. Within the Forth can be found the small island ofMugdrum.
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TheHighland Main Line railway line connects Perth to Inverness, and in the far west theWest Highland Line criss-crosses the Perthshire-Argyllshire boundary. Other lines in the south-east link Perth to the towns of Fife and Stirlingshire.
Following theAct of Union, Perthshire returned members to theHouse of Commons of theParliament of the United Kingdom from 1708.
In 1885 seats in the House of Commons were redistributed: Perthshire received three seats.
In 1918 there was a further redistribution. Perthshire was combined withKinross-shire to form a parliamentary county, divided into two constituencies:
These boundaries continued in use until 1983, when new constituencies were formed based on the Local Government regions and districts created in 1975.
Perthshire was represented inHouse of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1975 to 2005.
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Perthshire has two constituencies and twoMembers of Parliament.
