Markets and Fairs of Perth

Mercat Cross

Traditionally, the Mercat Cross was the point to which goods were brought for sale on specific market days.

The medieval mercat (or market) cross of Perth stood in the High Street at its junction with the Skinnergate, until its destruction by Cromwell's army in 1651. The site where it stood is today marked by a granite octagon, set into the roadway.

The modern mercat cross, designed in 1913, was erected as a memorial to King Edward VII. Though not used as a mercat cross it is, appropriately enough, adjacent to the modern St John's Centre shopping mall at its King Edward Street entrance.

Market day in Perth

In medieval times, markets were held on certain days each week, usually Wednesday and Friday, but special markets were also held on fair days, usually on or around a saint's feast day. One such was called the Andermass fair, held to celebrate the feast day of St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, at the end of November or beginning of December.

Another fair celebrated the feast of the beheading of St John the Baptist, Perth's own patron saint, around the beginning of September. On ordinary market days the burgesses of the town had a monopoly on trade, but on fair days there were fewer restrictions and country folk could come to sell their wares freely.

On sale could be found wool, woollen cloth, leather hides, skins, butter, cheese, meat, salmon, salt cod, herring, oatmeal, pottery vessels and other household goods. People would crowd in to the town, which would be seething with flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, small horses and swine from the Perthshire countryside and beyond, accompanied by drovers, fleshers and their dogs.

Keeping order over the buying and selling was difficult, and special courts were set up to deal with anyone breaking the rules: the crimes of forestalling and regrating (buying and selling goods before offering them for open sale in the market) were particularly frowned on and subject to severe punishment laid down by Parliament.

Flesh and Fish markets

Cattle and sheep came to market on the hoof, and according to the laws had to be slaughtered in full view of prospective buyers. The meat was inspected by burgh officials called appreciatores carnibus (appraisers of meat) to make sure it was fit for sale, and cut into joints of beef and mutton on the spot. Needless to say, this would have been a messy business, and it was the job of Perth's shore porters to 'cleng and dycht' (cleanse) the market area.

In the 18th century, the old way of butchering and selling meat had become outdated and was moved indoors. A fleshmarket, shown on Rutherford's 1774 map of Perth, was built on the spot where the present City Hall now stands.

The fish market was located at the eastern end of South Street, near to the river. Salt, an essential commodity used for preserving fish and meat, was sold at the salt market, which gave its name to the Salt Vennel.

Bread and Ale

Bread was one of the most important staple foodstuffs, and its price and weight were scrupulously regulated by burgh officials. Breaking the rules by selling underweight loaves incurred stiff penalties, including fines and smashing the ovens used by offenders. Ale, made from barley malt, was the commonest drink in medieval Scotland. Price and quality were regulated by official ale-tasters. Overcharging was punished by breaking up the brewing vessels.

Cattle marts in Perth

By the middle of the 18th century, cattle markets or marts were held in the Gallows Park on the Burgh Muir, where 'a guard of burgesses armed with Lochaber axes' were necessary to keep the peace. From 1785, all cattle markets were moved to the South Inch, on the site of the now demolished Cromwell's Citadel, where the event was known as the Sands Market. Nowadays, travelling pleasure fairs still visit the Inch, which is also the site of Perth's annual Agricultural Show.

In the 1870s the selling of live cattle moved to the Auction Mart in Caledonian Road. The well-loved sculptures of bull, ram and horse heads were removed when this building was demolished, and they can now be seen in the foyer of the modern livestock mart at Huntingtower.

Perth's long tradition of outdoor markets has recently been revived with great success, and adds to the continuing vitality of the town centre as a busy shopping area.