Perthshire

Prior to the 1890s Perthshire’s boundaries were irregular: the parishes of Culross and Tulliallan formed an exclave some miles away from the rest of the county, on the boundaries of Clackmannanshire and Fife; while the northern part of the parish of Logie formed an enclave of Stirlingshire within the county.

Following the recommendations of the council boundary commission appointed under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, Culross and Tulliallan were transferred to Fife, and the entire parish of Logie was included in Stirlingshire.

The coat 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. The Earl of Kinnoull, a native of Perthshire, and commanding officer of the Perthshire Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry, was also Lord 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 the Scottish royal arms, reflecting that Perthshire was the home county of the House of Dunkeld and contains the former royal capital, Scone. Further royal references are made on the canton, which shows Scone Palace surmounted by the Crown of Scotland. The crest is a Highland soldier, reflecting that the famous Black Watch were formed in the county.[1] 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 following burghs, which were largely outside the county council’s jurisdiction:

The Local 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.

Perthshire and Clackmannanshire c. 1851.[2] Parishes outlined in red

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 the landward area of the Local Government councils (the part outside of burgh boundaries) was divided into five districts, replacing the parish councils established in 1894:

• Central District
• Eastern District
• Highland District
• Perth District
• Western District

• The Royal Burgh of Perth originally formed part of the Perth burghs constituency along with burghs in Fife and Forfarshire. The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1832 made Perth a separate burgh constituency.
• The remainder of the county returned a single member as the parliamentary county of Perthshire. The parishes of Tulliallan, Culross, Muckhart, and the Perthshire portions of the parishes of Logie and Fossaway were annexed to constituency of Clackmannanshire and Kinross in 1832.

In 1885 seats in the House of Commons were redistributed: Perthshire received three seats.

• Perth remained a burgh constituency.
• Perthshire Eastern
• Perthshire Western

In 1918 there was a further redistribution. Perthshire was combined with Kinross-shire to form a parliamentary county, divided into two constituencies:

• Perth constituency consisted of the burgh of Perth, the former Eastern constituency and part of the Western constituency. In 1950 it was renamed Perth and East Perthshire. The area included in the constituency was defined in 1948 and 1970 as the burghs of Perth, Abernethy, Alyth, Blairgowrie and Rattray and Coupar Angus; and the Eastern and Perth districts of the county of Perth.[4]
• Kinross and Western Perthshire: the constituency consisted of the entire County of Kinross, the burghs of Aberfeldy, Auchterarder, Callander, Crieff, Doune, Dunblane and Pitlochry; and the Central, Highland and Western districts of the county of Perth.[4]

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 in House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1975 to 2005.

Perthshire has two constituencies and two Members of Parliament.

• Ochil and South Perthshire
• Perth and North Perthshire