The political overthrow
of King James in 1688 brought strife and turmoil to Scotland, especially to
Crieff. The prominent lairds were Catholic - and therefore
Jacobites
- supporting the ousted Stuart monarchy -
whilst most of the prominent townspeople were mainly Presbyterian and
anti-Jacobite.
Following the defeat of the Stuart cause at Culloden and the flight of
Bonnie Prince Charlie
retribution was swift and savage. Measures were taken to
ensure that there would be no more Jacobite insurrections: tartan, kilt plaid
and the carrying of weapons were banned by law and the lands and feudal
powers of the rebel lairds were forfeited to the Crown.
By 1792 the Anglicisation of the area was making great inroads and the
predominant language in Crieff itself was English, with Gaelic starting about
four miles west and three miles north of the town. The foresight of the
Drummond family in introducing Flemish craftsmen and technology in the 17th
and 18th centuries was to dramatically affect the future prosperity and
social structure of Crieff and the surrounding countryside.
By 1790, the hand loom weavers formed the most important trade in the town
with over 100 men plying the craft. Other trades - dyers, spinsters, yarn
winders, cloth dressers and various apprentices - brought the total involved
in cloth production to around 300, a quarter of the working population.
By 1830 the town population had doubled and when the railway came in 1856,
Crieff was the second largest town in Perthshire.
The second half of the 19th century saw the town embody all the enterprise
and excitement of the Victorian era: Morrisons Academy started life in 1859;
the great Hydropathic Establishment (The Hydro) opened its doors in 1868; the
Highland Games were inaugurated in 1872 and a spate of banks and smart shops
opened to cater for the increasing prosperity, which was to continue unabated
until the 1914-18 War.
Today, Edwardian and Victorian residences still grace the lower slopes of
the Knock: the latest generation is being educated at Morrisons and spills
out to a relative newcomer (only 66 years old) - The Tuckie on Hill Street -
to buy bags of chips and sticky sweeties from rows of old-fashioned jars: the
Crieff Hydro flourishes as always: the Highland Games still take place every
year in August: even the local newspaper, established in 1856, still graces
the news stands.
That most modern of services, the Tourist Information Centre, is situated
in the old Town Hall built in the 1830's on the site of the 17th century
Tollbooth - the dismal cellars beneath were the jail cells.
Just outside the doors of the Town Hall are the unusual old stocks of Crieff
which were in use until 1816. Also there, is the octagonal cross, ten feet high, dating to 1688
which was the cross of the Burgh of Regality of Drummond.
Further up the street on the other side of the road is the famous Cross of
Crieff. This is a sculptured Celtic stone dating back to the 10th century which
once resided in the neighbouring parish of Strowan on the site of the market
that predated that of Crieff.
Victorian facades hide comfortable hotels; tartan hand-loom weaving sits
cheek by jowl with modern mill shops; "fresh-caught" haggis
vie for window space with beef-burgers. This blend of old and new also
extends to Crieff's popular
Visitor Attractions,
where traditional crafts are allied to modern technology to produce the
internationally known Stuart Crystal, Buchan Pottery, Perthshire Paperweights
and, in Scotland's oldest distillery, Glenturret whisky.
