Brief History of the area
Crieff has for centuries been recognised as the capital of Upper Strathearn. It was the seat of jurisdiction of the Earls Palatine until 1483 and of the Seneschal’s criminal courts until 1747, when certain hereditary jurisdictions were abolished.
The strategic significance of the town lay in it being the natural place to cross the swathe of treacherous bogs, mosses and swampland that fringed the formidable Grampian mountain range to its north, thereby effectively forming the border line which historically separated Highland and Lowland Scotland.
At the beginning of the 17th century Crieff’s dominant trade was hand-loom weaving. Initially wool was woven but after 1707, linen took over and finally the weavers changed to the production of cotton. At one time, 40 percent of the working population of the town was involved in some capacity in the industry.
In the early 18th century Crieff, on the Highland boundary, was mutually chosen as the safe meeting place [Tryst] for the sale and purchase of Highland cattle and ponies. People came from far and wide to see up to 30,000 beasts change hands at Michaelmas. The Tryst arose from the Lowlander’s reluctance to venture into the lawless Highlands.
It was also an important frontier settlement from Roman times until the mid-18th century, when the Jacobite lairds in Strathearn [the clans including Drummonds, Murrays and Oliphants] found their lands forfeit to the Crown as a penalty for supporting the cause of the exiled Stuart Kings.
With the forfeiture of Jacobite lands and the abolition of the Heritage Jurisdiction of the Lairds in the aftermath of Culloden [1746], Crieff became the centre of administration of those estates in the ‘Brae Country’, the south-east foothills on the Highland line.
According to the Statistical Account for Crieff [1794]: “…the drovers from Argyll, Inverness and Ross-shire paid nothing for pasturing their cattle on the way to the market; but in the improved state of the country, grass became more valuable, the roads more confined and the drovers were forced to enquire after the most convenient and cheap roads for their several homes to the principal market now at Falkirk”.
The market was held in the second week of October. This principal day was known as Michaelmas Market which dated back to the early charters granted to the Barony of Drummond. The market [or tryst] was under the control and patronage of the James, Earl of Perth who obtained by Act of Parliament in 1672 the right to a yearly fair and weekly market in Crieff. The Earl held court for the purpose of regulating disputes and keeping order. It was common for his fruars [i.e. those who held property on the Drummond Estate lands] to have an obligation to act as guards and police the market. The Earl was entitled to levy ‘market dues’ amounting to two pence a beast. Much of the trade was done by means of bills and during the second quarter of the 18th century, Crieff came to be regarded as one of the main financial centres of Scotland.
By the last decade of the 18th century, the cattle coming down the ‘Sma Glen by-passed the town the day before the date fixed by the Tryst thus avoiding the market dues which were levied. The ‘Sma Glen was the traditional route from the north while cattle from the north east came down Strath Tay or from Blairgowrie and Alyth converging at Dunkeld and heading up Strath Bran to Amulree and down to Crieff. The cattle crossed the Earn at Dalpatrick Ford on a direct line from Gilmerton at the end of the ‘Sma Glen road. The name Highlandman is a relic of those days.
The drove then headed for Muthill [Highlandman Park] and over the Ochill to Greenloaning and Sheriffmuir [where there was common grazing] to Bridge of Allan and the valley of the Forth on to Falkirk. Sadly for Crieff and Strath, the high days of the Tryst were well and truly over.
An exhibition reliving the lives of these drovers can be seen at Crieff’s Visitor Centre. The occasion is marked by an annual walking and entertainment festival each October.
When the railroad came to Crieff in the late 19th century the area became fashionable as a holiday town and this carried on to this day. The Strathearn Hydropathic, locally known as ‘The Hydro’, dominates the town’s skyline from the southern approach road through Muthill. The Drummond Arms, which overlooks James Square is one of the oldest coaching inns in Scotland and well known as a popular haunt of Rob Roy MacGregor during the Tryst.
The town and district is a hidden gem with tourists and locals enjoying the craic as they ponder their days in tranquil surroundings. Crieff has a number of well stocked shops and attractions with the oldest distillery in Scotland being one such attraction alongside the Visitor Centre and its new antiques area. Of course, much of what is on offer is rightly overshadowed by the majestic formal gardens that dominate the Drummond Estate to the south of Crieff. There are also a number of well maintained parks in which to relax and enjoy the mature surroundings - Macrosty Park being the largest.
