Dunkeld

"DUNKELD, town and parish in Strathtay, Perthshire. The town stands on left bank of the Tay, ¾ mile north of a railway station of its own name, 15¼ miles north-north-west of Perth; and is approached from the station by a seven-arched bridge, 685 feet long, across the Tay, erected in 1809 at a cost of £40,000. It got its name from being the 'Fort of the Kelts' against invasion from the South; it became the seat of a Culdee cell, a Romanish monastery, and a cathedral; it flourished for ages in connection with its cathedral, and as an occasional royal residence; it witnessed the defeat of Royalist troops, and was nearly all burnt by Jacobite forces after the battle of Killiecrankie; and it now has the size of only a considerable village, and prospers chiefly as a favourite resort for summer visitors and tourists. It stands on low ground; is immediately overhung, round much of its skirt, by lofty, diversified, wooded, picturesque hills; presents from exterior view-points, a very striking appearance; contains a good modern street on a line with the bridge, an old street and some lanes; adjoins a mansion of the Duke of Athole; has a head post office, with all departments, 3 banking offices, 4 hotels, remains of its cathedral, Established, Free, and Congregational churches, a grammar school, and a public library. The Duke of Athole's mansion, Dunkeld House, is a palatial edifice, founded by the fourth duke, but left incomplete at his death in 1830; is in tasteful variety of the Gothic style; was visited in 1842 and 1844 by Queen Victoria; and has very extensive grounds with ornate suites of buildings, and rich diversity of gardens, drives, and walks. The cathedral was erected in times from the middle 12th century till latter part of 15th; is in styles from the latter Norman to the later English, with some geometric and flamboyant features; and contains monuments of the 'Wolf of Badenoch,' two bishops, andthe 42d Highlanders for their service in the Crimea. The greater part of it, measuring 112 feet by 62 is a roofless ruin, with walls 40 feet high; but the choir was renovated in 1820, at a cost of £5400, to serve as the parochial church; and the chapter house is still entire, and contains a statue of the fourth Duke of Athole, and monuments of other members of the Athole family. Pop. of the town, 768. The parish excludes part of the town, is all occupied by the rest of the town and the ducal pleasure grounds, and figures in all statistics as conjoint with Dowally. Acres of the two, 9456. Real property in 1880-81, £3350. Pop. 791.

Wilson, Rev. John, The Gazetteer of Scotland, 1882.