Perth - The Carthusians Traditional Cache
perth pathfinders: Archived
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
King James I founded the Charterhouse or Carthusian monastery in Perth in 1429 for a prior and 12 monks. This was the first and only Carthusian Monastery founded in Scotland and James' intention seems to have been to encourage the reformation of religious life in Scotland and to develop a new, royal Mausoleum.
The name of the Perth house was the "Vale of Virtue".
The Carthusian order had been founded by St Bruno in 1084 at La Grande Chartreuse, near Grenoble in France. Unusually, the monks lived as hermits in individual cells, each with a garden attached, arranged round a central cloister, meeting in their chapel only for services. Pomarium Street is probably named after the monastic orchard or pomarium.
James I was buried in the church in 1437, following his murder in Perth. His widow, Joan Beaufort was buried there in 1445, and Margaret Tudor, widow of James IV and sister of Henry VIII of England, was buried there in 1541.
The monastery was destroyed at the Reformation in 1559, although a gateway from the monastery is supposed to have been rebuilt as a porch in St John's Kirk.
The impressive white building was once the King James VI Hospital, founded by a Royal Charter. It was granted all the properties and revenues of the various altars, chapels and monasteries in Perth.
The Minister and Kirk Session of St John's Kirk were appointed the managers of the Hospital on behalf of the " poor, maimed, weak, distressed persons, orphans and fatherless chidren" in the burgh, and they were to choose a Master of the Hospital annually to administer the funds. On 29th July 1587, King James VI, having attained his majority, granted the Hospital a new charter, which confirmed the grants to the Hospital made in the previous charter.
It has now been turned into flats, but once a year there is an open day when you can have a look around the board room, with its wooden panelling and plaques. It is still managed by the church, and flats are rented out mainly to the elderly, with just the top floor to younger adults due to the stairs, but no families with children are allowed.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
zntargvp