Comrie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Comrie is a small town and parish towards the western end of the Strathearn district of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, seven miles west of Crieff.
Comrie sits at the confluence of three rivers. The Ruchill and the Lednock are both tributaries of the Earn, which itself eventually feeds into the Tay. The name Comrie is of Gaelic origin and means 'a place where rivers meet'. Due to its situation on an ancient fault line, giving rise to frequent small earthquakes, Comrie has the nickname "Shaky Toun". These tremors are, however, so minor they almost never cause damage or injury. Comrie became the site of one of the world's first seismometers in 1840.
Comrie's early prosperity was from weaving. This was mostly done as piecework in people's own homes. Comrie was also important as a droving town. Cattle destined for the markets of the Scottish Lowlands and ultimately England would be driven south from their grazing areas in the Highlands. River crossings, such as at Comrie, were important staging posts on the way south.
The White Church, the former parish kirk, is Comrie's most striking building, with its prominent tower and spire situated on the roadside of the ancient churchyard at the heart of the village. This is an early Christian site, dedicated to the obscure early saint Kessog or Mokessog, who may have flourished in the 8th century. Comrie is also graced by a little-known Charles Rennie Mackintosh building, a shop with first floor corner turret in a version of the Scottish vernacular style in the main street (not visible in the above illustration).
Much of the land around Comrie was owned by the Drummond family, Earls of Perth, latterly Earls of Ancaster, whose main seat was Drummond Castle, south of Crieff. Another branch of the Drummonds owned Drummondernoch, to the west of the town. Here also lies Aberuchill Castle, originally a Campbell seat.
To the south of the town is a military camp at Cultybraggan. During World War II this housed Italian and later German prisoners of war.
[edit] External links
 This Perth and Kinross location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
