Blackford, Perth and Kinross

Blackford

Blackford
Blackford
Blackford shown within Perth and Kinross
OS grid reference NN896089
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Auchterarder
Postcode district PH4
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Blackford (Scottish Gaelic: Srath Gaoithe)[1] is located in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the town of Auchterarder. The village is located just off the A9 between Perth and Stirling which has been bypassed since 1978. It is home to Highland Spring water and the Tullibardine whisky distillery.

History

Blackford was first known as a ford over the Allan Water. There is a legend that a King Magnus lost his wife Queen Helen in a storm and she is buried on a nearby hill.

Blackford became a popular stopping place especially when Scotland's first public brewery was started. James VII of Scotland even stopped in Blackford while travelling to sample their ale.

The village was becoming more prosperous by the nineteenth century with manufacturing including two breweries and with a healthy agricultural sector based on wool and flax. The Scottish Central Railway built a line between Perth and Stirling with a station at Blackford in 1848.

Local manufacturing declined at the beginning of the 20th century with many people leaving the village. However, many people in the village were employed when the Gleneagles Hotel was opened nearby in 1924. The Tullibardine distillery was built on the site of the former Sharp's Brewery.

Carsebreck, near Blackford hosted 25 Grand Matches in curling, between 1853-1935. "A piece of ground which could be flooded for the purpose of affording a safe sheet of ice" was leased from Mrs Home Drummond Stirling Moray of Abercairney, at a rental of £15 for 63 acres (250,000 m2) from November to February each season. The final match, on 24 December 1935, attracted 2576 competitors.

In February 2017, yobs trashed the historic Blackford Parish Church, whose origins date back to the 16th century.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ Iain Mac an Tàilleir. "Placenames" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Church History", Blackford Historical Society. Retrieved 9 feb 2017
  3. ↑ "Vandals 'push over pulpit' during break-in at church", STV News. February 6, 2017. Retrieved 9 feb 2017
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