Abernethy Round Tower is a stone-built Irish-style round tower which stands in School Wynd in Abernethy,

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

. It is one of two round towers in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, alongside the tower at

Brechin Cathedral Brechin Cathedral is a Scottish Church building which dates from the 13th century. It is the former Cathedral of the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Brechin but has not served that function since the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century. I ...

. The tower is located on the town's School Wynd within the village's cemetery alongside St Bride's parish church. Dating from the 11th century, the tower is protected as a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage, visu ...

History

The tower is associated with the historic abbey or monastery in the village - previously held by

Culdees The Culdees (; ) were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and then in Scotland, subsequently attached to cathedral or collegiate ...

and later as an by

Augustinians Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

before its dissolution in the mid-16th century. Remains of the abbey were still visible in the late 18th century but are now lost. https://canmore.org.uk/site/27936/abernethy-culdees-monastery A plaque on the tower commemorates the site as the place where

Malcolm III of Scotland Malcolm III (; ; –13 November 1093) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore" (, , understood as "great chief"). Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norma ...

paid homage to

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

in 1072, some six years after the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...

, in the Treaty of Abernethy.

Structure

The sandstone tower is high and has a diameter of at ground level, tapering upwards to . The walls are thick. A viewing platform is at the top, open to the public in the summer. Abernethy stone and jougs

The twelve lower layers are of a different coloured stone to the rest of the building, leading to speculation that the base was built earlier than the rest. There are indications that the tower originally had six wooden floors, probably connected by ladders. Fixed to the outside base of the tower is a

Pictish stone A Pictish stone is a type of monumental stele, generally carved or incised with symbols or designs. A few have ogham inscriptions. Located in Scotland, mostly north of the River Clyde, Clyde-River Forth, Forth line and on the Eastern side of the ...

; the tower also has an iron joug or pillory attached. Various changes have been made to the tower over the years, including the installation of an iron spiral staircase when it became a lookout tower, windows and an outside clock. The current clock dates from 1868 - bearing the initials of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. A flagpole with a salmon

finial A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature. In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...

references a traditional industry of the town.

References

{{reflist Round towers Scheduled monuments in Perth and Kinross Historic Environment Scotland properties in Perth and Kinross