Sunday 3rd October 1819
Sunday Octr 3rd We went to the English Chapel in the morning & heard an excellent sermon afterwards walked to the raceground situated close to the Tay the finest houses
in Perth are built near the race ground we walked a long way by the side of the river which is beautifully interspersed with gentleman’s seats & procured a fine view of Scone Palace
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
St John the Baptist Chapel: After the Rebellions of 1715 and 1745 there had sprung up, in many parts of Scotland, congregations which called themselves “English Chapels” and recognised the authority of an English or Irish Bishop. St John’s congregation is directly descended from the “English Chapel” set up in this way. By 1793 the Parliament House was in a state of dilapidation and so it was decided that a new Chapel should be built. In 1795 a site in Princes Street was bought, but the condition of the sale was that “a place of worship in which only the services of the Church of England should be performed, must be built upon this spot”. In the same year the Chapel was built and the congregation moved in.
Church of St John the Baptist, Perth , Scottish Episcopal Church at the corner of Canal Street and Princes Street. © Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2674060
The local nobility and gentry were greatly involved, for “Sir William Nairne, Lord Dunsinane, paid off the debt of about £550 after completion”, and in 1802 the Earls of Kinnoull and Mansfield joined the congregation.In 1809 an organ was installed in the Chapel – probably the first Church organ in Perth since the reformation. In 1810, according to the minutes, the Vestry decided that “considering that the time of service is lengthened by the organ, it will be necessary for to go in at 11 o’clock”. During the 18th century, the episcopalian clergy had worn the black gown which is still the dress of the Presbyterian minister. In 1808, however, Rev H Skete came to the Chapel and he was probably the first in Perth to wear a surplice. When he wore it to conduct a funeral, stones were thrown at him by some of the populace! Mr Skete had about 120 communicants. He continued the separateness of St John’s by renouncing his allegiance to the Bishop in 1810. He remained Rector until his death in 1846. http://www.episcopal-perth.org.uk/history/ Perhaps it was Rev H Skete who preached an excellent sermon
Perth Racecourse: racing in Perth has taken place since 1613 and was moved to Scone Palace due to a drinking law ban in the North Inch park. Lord Mansfield subsequently offered his land for the construction of a racecourse and the course has been at its present site since 1908. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perth_Racecourse
Past the winning post at Perth racecourse Scone. © Copyright Bill Nicholls and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1985746
Scone Palace was from at least the 9th century the crowning-place of the Kings of Scots and home to the Stone of Scone, more commonly referred to as the Stone of Destiny as well as the site of the first Parliament of Scotland, or Council/Assembly. King Constantine II in 906 called for an assembly to meet at Scone. The assembly was recorded in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba; Alba being the early name for the early medieval Kingdom of Scotland. Neo-gothic in style, the Palace that can be visited today was finished in 1808.
2015: Scone Palace, Perth, Scotland - Front side by Ingo Mehling, the copyright holder of this work, and published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license (CC BY-SA 4.0). https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scone_Palace_-_Front_side.jpg
Scone Palace. http://www.rareoldprints.com/z/16881
1822: Scone Palace. Engraving by H. Hobson after J.P. Neale. https://antique-prints-maps.com/acatalog/ref1.php?imagefile=../largeimages/SESconePalace.jpg
Scone Palace © Copyright G Laird and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5368355
The grounds of the Palace were the first place of introduction to Britain of the Douglas fir tree after being introduced by David Douglas. Douglas was a son of Scone and worked as a gardener and forester for the Earl of Mansfield before embarking upon his botanical career. The first Douglas fir still stands in the grounds today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scone_Palace
Can you help us?
Old Regency Prints, Pictures an Coaching maps: Do you have access to any prints or pictures showing what town and country would have looked like when Lucy travelled through? Any illustrations of what she would have seen in 1819 will enliven our research.
New Pictures: Do you have any modern pictures of the streets, buildings, gardens and views that would enable us to see the changes that two centuries have wrought?