It calls itself “the fair city”, it has been a royal burgh since 1210 and it was Scotland’s first capital. Its road signs refer to it as a city. But for nearly 40 years, Perth has had to make do with the dowdy legal description of “town”.
Yesterday the enforced loss of self-esteem came to an end as Perth won back its lost status in a competition to mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Chelmsford, in Essex, and St Asaph, in Wales, were also named as cities.
To a cynic, the news might seem unimportant. What, after all, is in a title? But to its civic leaders and citizens, the news put an immediate spring in their step.
It is a triumphant end to a long campaign. For almost three years, Perth has competed with 24 other British towns to acquire city status. Now it joins Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling in Scotland’s civic elite.
The 800-year-old town has a cathedral and thus was always entitled to be called an “ecclesiastical city”.
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But in the mid-70s, the bureaucrats who re-drew Scotland’s local authority map took the title away from Perth. That rankled, and when news came through of the Jubilee competition, Perth didn’t dally. The council made a 50-page submission, detailing its ambition to be a “truly dynamic international city”, with messages of support from Alex Salmond and other Scottish leaders.
A search of the town’s archives uncovered the “Golden Charter”, granted by James VI in 1600 allowing Perth to call itself a city. Acts of Parliament, which were given Royal Assent, have constantly referred to Perth as a city and more recent official documents approved by the former Scottish Office have referred to it as a city.
Nick Clegg, it seems, thought so too. It was on the Deputy Prime Minister’s advice that the Queen used the royal prerogative to upgrade Perth.
The news caused delight in Perth. Dr John Hulbert, Provost of Perth & Kinross Council, spoke of his “excitement at the prospect of a glorious new chapter in Perth’s long history.
“The City and Royal Burgh of Perth was the capital of Scotland from the ninth century until 1437, and then officially the Second City of Scotland until 1975. Full restoration of its ancient dignity is long overdue”, he said.
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Murdo Fraser, a local MSP, who launched the Setting up the City campaign in 2004, said city status would “enhance Perth on the national and international stage”. Mr Salmond described it as “fantastic news”.
So what difference will it make? Professor John Beckett, who has written a book on the subject, said it was about status and little else. Yet, there is other evidence from University of Reading researchers — a town, incidentally, that lost out in the competition — that the economies of other new cities such as Preston, Newport, Stirling, Wolverhampton and Inverness improved on acquiring the status. That is certainly the hope of Perth.
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• Perth, or in Gaelic “Peairt”, has a population of 45,000.
It has been called the “fair city” since the publication of the story Fair Maid of Perth by Sir Walter Scott in 1828.
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In medieval times, it was also called St John’s Toun by its Scots-speaking inhabitants after the main church. The local football club is St Johnstone.
• Perth became known as the capital of Scotland, owing to the frequent residence there of the royal court of Scotland. Royal burgh status was given by King William The Lion in the 12th century.
• In the 16th century, John Knox instigated the Scottish Reformation with a sermon against idolatry in the kirk of St John the Baptist.
• Renewable energy, leisure, insurance, health and manufacturing have helped the city grow.