Skinnergate

Skinnergate is one of Perth's oldest streets and is a northward continuation of Kirkgate. In the 12th century the street connected the Kirk of St John to Perth Castle, which stood where Perth Museum and Art Gallery now stands. At its southern end, the importance of the Skinnergate was marked by the location of the Mercat Cross at the junction with the High Street.

As Perth expanded westwards, the High Street became dominant. Skinnergate was constricted by the small size of its building plots and, after the castle was destroyed by flood in 1209, its importance began to dwindle. It nevertheless remained the principal route into the northern suburb, which grew up around the Blackfriars' Monastery.

Leatherwoking in Perth

During the Middle Ages, Skinnergate became the centre for the tanning of hides and skins, mainly for export, and also of the leather working industry. The Glovers occupied many of the shops in the Skinnergate, and gloves made in Perth were celebrated throughout the Kingdom.

The Glover Incorporation became one of the biggest landowners in the area and at its peak was curing 30,000 sheep and lamb skins each year as well as cow hides and calf skins. More than 30,000 pairs of gloves were made each year from kid skins and many of these gloves were sold in the shops and stalls of the Skinnergate. However, kid leather became scarce when goat-keeping in the Highlands was no longer encouraged because of the damage they caused to forestry plantations.

This once important industry no longer exists in Perth; the last recorded working glover was William Prop, who carried out his business in the Skinnergate until his death in the 1800s.

This gravestone, in Perth's Greyfriars Graveyard, is full of Glover symbols. The gloves are self explanatory. Beneath are a buckle and shears, and on either side a stretcher used for shaping the fingers. The object above is leather breeches, one of the articles that apprentices had to make to enter the Glover calling. Between the gloves is a bundle of five bells (like sleigh bells) used in festive dancing. The Glovers'Dance was an ancient tradition in Perth. The only surviving Dance Dress is on display in Perth Museum and Art Gallery.

The Red Brig Port

The Red Brig Port is long gone, but the Red Brig still stands, carrying Skinnergate over the Lade, the town's defensive ditch. Excavations in 1991 showed that the present bridge is still supported by a waterlogged sleeper beam, perhaps medieval. The present wall is a later one on the line of the original medieval town wall, the foundations of which were also discovered in the 1991 excavations. These showed that the foundations survived some 2 metres below ground.