Blairgowrie and Rattray (
Blàr Ghobharaidh and
Raitear in Gaelic, Blairgowrie - likely
Scottish GaelicScottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish...
Blàr Ghobharaidh and Rattray - possibly from an
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
cognateCognates in linguistics are words that have a common etymological origin.An example of cognates within the same language would be English shirt and skirt, the former from Old English scyrte, the latter loaned from Old Norse skyrta, both from the same Common Germanic *skurtjōn-. Words with this type...
of Scottish Gaelic
ràth, meaning fortress + a
PictishPictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
term cognate with
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
tref, meaning settlement) is a
burghA Burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United Kingdom...
in
Perth and KinrossPerth and Kinross is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Amongst locals, the town is colloquially known simply as "Blair".
The second largest town in Perth & Kinross this twin burgh lies in the Strathmore valley and straddles the
River ErichtThe River Ericht is a river in Perthshire, Scotland formed from the confluence of the rivers Blackwater and Ardle.It runs south for around 10 miles before discharging into the River Isla, and eventually the River Tay...
, which flows into the
River IslaThe River Isla is a tributary of the River Tay in Perthshire, Scotland. It runs for 46 miles through Glen Isla and Strathmore . It is not to be confused with the River Isla of Moray, which flows through Strathisla....
and then the
River TayThe River Tay originates in the Highlands and flows down through Strathtay , in the centre of Scotland, through Perth and into the Firth of Tay, south of Dundee. It is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. It is the largest river in the UK by volume of...
.
Blairgowrie and Rattray (
Blàr Ghobharaidh and
Raitear in Gaelic, Blairgowrie - likely
Scottish GaelicScottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish...
Blàr Ghobharaidh and Rattray - possibly from an
English languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
cognateCognates in linguistics are words that have a common etymological origin.An example of cognates within the same language would be English shirt and skirt, the former from Old English scyrte, the latter loaned from Old Norse skyrta, both from the same Common Germanic *skurtjōn-. Words with this type...
of Scottish Gaelic
ràth, meaning fortress + a
PictishPictish is a term used for the extinct language or languages thought to have been spoken by the Picts, the people of northern and central Scotland in the Early Middle Ages...
term cognate with
WelshWelsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh border and in the Welsh immigrant colony in the Chubut Valley in Argentine Patagonia....
tref, meaning settlement) is a
burghA Burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United Kingdom...
in
Perth and KinrossPerth and Kinross is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...
,
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Amongst locals, the town is colloquially known simply as "Blair".
The second largest town in Perth & Kinross this twin burgh lies in the Strathmore valley and straddles the
River ErichtThe River Ericht is a river in Perthshire, Scotland formed from the confluence of the rivers Blackwater and Ardle.It runs south for around 10 miles before discharging into the River Isla, and eventually the River Tay...
, which flows into the
River IslaThe River Isla is a tributary of the River Tay in Perthshire, Scotland. It runs for 46 miles through Glen Isla and Strathmore . It is not to be confused with the River Isla of Moray, which flows through Strathisla....
and then the
River TayThe River Tay originates in the Highlands and flows down through Strathtay , in the centre of Scotland, through Perth and into the Firth of Tay, south of Dundee. It is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in the United Kingdom. It is the largest river in the UK by volume of...
. Rattray is on the east bank and Blairgowrie is on the west.
The town expanded greatly in the 19th century around the many
juteJute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, family Tiliaceae....
mills on the river. It is the market town for the surrounding area and a centre for holidaymakers. Blairgowrie is well known as a passing point for tourists and ski-ers. The town of Rattray dates back to the mid 11th century.
Much of the expanding population works in the nearby cities of
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
or
PerthPerth is a former royal burgh in central Scotland. Sitting on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative headquarters of Perth and Kinross council area. According to the 2001 census, its population is 43,450...
. Soft fruits such as
raspberriesThe raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the subgenus Idaeobatus of the genus Rubus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
, blueberries and
strawberriesFragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberries grown commercially are cultivars of the Garden strawberry...
are grown locally.
Sport
Football
Blairgowrie and Rattray is home to the Scottish Junior Football East Region Premier League side
Blairgowrie F.C.Blairgowrie F.C. are a Scottish junior football club based in Blairgowrie and Rattray, Perth and Kinross. Their home ground is Davie Park.Blairgowrie are amongst the most successful teams in Perthshire, having won ten Currie Cups, eight Perthshire Junior League Championships, and thirteen...
as well as the
Scottish Amateur Football AssociationThe Scottish Amateur Football Association is the organising body for amateur football across Scotland. An affiliate of the Scottish Football Association, the SAFA has in turn 50 regional associations affiliated to it and some 67 different league competitions organised by these associations...
sides
Rattray A.F.C and
Balmoral United A.F.C. which play in the
Perthshire Amateur League.
Skiing
The
Glenshee Ski CentreGlenshee Ski Centre is the largest ski resort in Scotland and is sometimes referred to as the Scottish three valleys. It is located in Aberdeenshire and to the north of Glenshee, on the A93 road between Blairgowrie and Braemar in the southern Highlands of Scotland...
in Glenshee is some 18 miles to the north on the A93
BraemarBraemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an altitude of ....
road.
Rattray
The traditional ball game of Rattray no longer takes place, but the Rattray silver ball which was 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 is now kept at Perth Museum and Art Gallery.
Famous residents
Blairgowrie was the birthplace of:
- Andy Clyde
Andrew "Andy" Clyde was a Scottish movie and TV actor whose career spanned more than four decades. He broke into silent films in 1925 as a Mack Sennett comic...
, actorAn actor or actress is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
- George Anton, actor
- Hamish Henderson
Hamish Scott Henderson, was a Scottish poet, songwriter, soldier, and intellectual....
, famous British Soldier and ScottishThe Scots people and an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.An ethnic group, historically they emerged from an amalgamation of Picts, Gaels and Brythons....
FolkloreFolklore is the body of expressive culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which...
Ethnologist
Blairgowrie is the hometown of:
- Belle Stewart
Belle Stewart became known as a Scottish traditional singer.The general public knew little about Belle Stewart until 2006, when her daughter, Sheila Stewart, wrote the biography Queen Amang the Heather: the Life of Belle Stewart.Sheila Stewart corrects the frequently cited birthdate 17 July to the...
, singer
- Andrew Clark, actor
- Ross Paterson, DJ & music producer http://www.myspace.com/djrosspaterson
- Jake Findlay goalkeeper http://www.lutontown.co.uk/page/GreatHatters/0,,10372~110841,00.html [Aston Villa, Luton Town]
- Andy M. Stewart
Andy M. Stewart is a Scottish singer and songwriter, formerly the frontman for Silly Wizard.Stewart toured with Silly Wizard until the band broke up in 1988. Since then, he has recorded four solo albums, as well as three with Manus Lunny...
, vocalist and guitarist for Silly WizardSilly Wizard were a highly acclaimed Scottish Folk band, forming around a nucleus of musicians in 1971 in Edinburgh. The founder members were two like minded students - Gordon Jones and Bob Thomas who were later joined by a rather youthful Johnny Cunningham still...
The Blairgowrie Citizen of the Year Award:
This award has long recognised outstanding contributions to the life of the local community. It has been given to a number of exceptional individulas who have made their own unique mark upon this proud historic community. The recipients include: William Hood, Ray Field, Dora McKinnes, Ruth Rendall, Peter Pan, Dr Watson and Jeremy Clarkson.
Education
Blairgowrie currently has four schools:
External links