County town: Perth
Perthshire was one of Scotland's central provinces, a vast county established as a sheriffdom from the 12th century. Perth was Scotland's capital for much of the medieval period.
Perthshire is Scotland's geographic heart, its landscape spanning from the flat farmlands of the Carse of Gowrie on the Tay estuary to the Highland peaks of Ben Lawers and Schiehallion. Perth served as Scotland's capital for much of the medieval period, and Scone, immediately north of the city, was the coronation site of Scottish kings — the Stone of Destiny, on which they were crowned, was removed to Westminster by Edward I in 1296 and returned to Scotland in 1996. Dunkeld Cathedral, Blair Castle, and Huntingtower Castle reflect the county's rich medieval inheritance. The Highland Line — the geological and cultural boundary between Highland and Lowland Scotland — runs diagonally across the county.
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland — the Old Statistical Account (1791–99) and the New Statistical Account (1834–45) — provide detailed parish-by-parish descriptions of Perthshire at two moments of transformation. Aubrey draws on these accounts when generating reports for Scottish locations, providing historical context specific to the parish and county.
Scotland's 33 traditional counties, established as sheriffdoms from the 12th century onward, were the administrative framework of the country until the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1975 replaced them with regional councils. They remain the reference framework for historical records, genealogy, and cultural identity.
An Aubrey report for a specific location in Perthshire draws on historical maps, archaeological records, Domesday data, Statistical Account records, and landscape history to tell the full story of any site in the county.
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