Undiscovered Scotland

 

Perth Museum opened to visitors on 30 March 2024 after a £27 million redevelopment of the former Perth City Hall. It provides a fitting home for a wide range of objects that put Perth and Kinross at the heart of the story of Scotland.

The most significant exhibit in the museum is the Stone of Destiny, or the Stone of Scone, one of Scotland and the UK’s most important historical objects. Returning to Perthshire for the first time in over 700 years, the stone is the centrepiece of Perth Museum and, like the permanent exhibitions of the museum itself, is free for all to view.

Those wishing to see the Stone of Destiny should book a time slot at the reception desk. An impressive audio-visual presentation takes place in the front section of the large “box” that houses the stone, and you are then led through to the rear section to view the stone itself, with another brief AV accompaniment. You get a good chance to view the stone in its glass case up close and the whole experience is thoroughly worthwhile. You won’t be able to take photos of the stone itself, which is why there are none on this page. (Continues below images...)

 

The main museum is distributed around the outer edges of the ground floor and in galleries that run along both sides of it. There is also a broad gallery that runs around the upper floor of the building, which houses more of the museum’s extensive collection of artefacts.

Everyone will have their own favourite exhibits. The collection of carved stones is superb and for us the highlight is the spectacular Pictish Cross slab known as "St Madoes 1". This originally stood beside the Church at St Madoes, on the north side of the Tay five miles east of Perth. It is 1.75m high by 0.91m wide and the front face carries a cross surrounded by animals. The rear carries carvings of three symbols and three mounted warriors. Another remarkable exhibit in terms of rarity and sheer size is the Carpow Logboat which was discovered in the River Tay at Carpow, not far from Perth, in 2001. This is large enough to have carried fourteen passengers or a tonne of cargo.

The history of the City Hall dates back over a millennium. The site it stands on was originally part of the burial ground of the neighbouring medieval St John’s Kirk. By the 1760s, the site was in use as a flesh, butter and meal market. The first city hall was completed in 1844 but didn’t last well, having become very dilapidated by the time it was demolished in 1908. Building work began on its replacement the following year and the new City Hall was officially opened in April 1911.

Perth City Hall was used for a wide range of purposes over the following century and as a music venue everyone from The Who to the Bay City Rollers, via Lulu, played here. It closed in 2005 following the opening of Perth Concert Hall and stood empty until proposals were made to redevelop it as a museum. It took eight years to turn those proposals into the superb attraction you see today.