Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross, at the geographical heart of Scotland, contain buildings which range from the remains of a Roman line of forts and watch towers (the fort at Ardoch, of the first and second centuries, is one of the best preserved and least known of such structures in Britain), early historic hill forts, a remarkable array of carved stones erected by the warrior aristocracy of the sixth to ninth centuries, the wilfully inventive medieval Dunkeld Cathedral, and mottes, castles and tower houses, among them the island fortress of Lochleven Castle and Elcho Castle's assertion of baronial status. The grandiose funerary monuments of the seventeenth century at Scone Palace and the Kinoull Aisle presaged the 'court' classicism of Sir William Bruce, which is exemplified by his own mansion, garden and landscape at Kinross House. Blair Castle's mid-eighteenth century stucco work, unequalled in Scotland, celebrates the magnificence of the Dukes of Atholl, this display challenged in the early nineteenth century by the sumptuous Gothic palaces of Scone and Taymouth Castle. A multitude of smaller country houses embrace a variety of styles (classical, Italianate, castellated and Baronial), while Georgian and Victorian churches, many with superb stained glass, abound. Among towns and villages, Dunkeld is the epitome of a small Scottish burgh while the Royal burgh of Perth has expanded from its medieval core with the addition of late Georgian 'new towns' and civic and industrial monuments of the nineteenth century. This is the tenth volume in the "Buildings of Scotland" series.