Methven (; ) is a large village in the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

region of

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

, on the

A85 road The A85 is a major road in Scotland. It runs east from Oban along the south bank of Loch Etive, through Lochawe and Tyndrum, Crianlarich, Lochearnhead, St Fillans and Crieff before passing through Perth, where it crosses the River Tay vi ...

due west of the city of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. It is near the village of

Almondbank Almondbank is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, about northwest of Perth, Scotland, Perth. With the building of Royal Naval Aircraft Workshops, Almondbank grew significantly during and after the Second World War. RNAS Almondbank The e ...

. The village has its own primary school, church, bowling club, community halls, playing field with sports facilities and skate-park, and a variety of businesses. There is a local primary school in the village, and a large co-educational boarding and day

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

nearby, called

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

, described by '' The Good Schools Guide'' as providing an "outstanding" quality of education.

Etymology

A Brittonic name, ''Methven'' is thought to be derived from words equivalent to Welsh ''medd'' "mead", and ''maen'' (in this case, mutated to ''faen'') "stone".

Businesses

To the south of the village, along Station Road, a small industrial estate occupies the former site of Methven Station. Closed since 27 September 1937, the station was originally the western terminus of the Perth, Almond Valley and Methven Railway. Strathearn distillery, a single malt Scotch

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

is located to the south-west of the village.

Local Issues

Work began on a new pedestrian crossing in the village in 2008, but was slow to progress, with it not completed until August 2009. Locals had campaigned for a crossing for years because of the busy main road that cuts through the village. The work to install it (as well as nearby works to upgrade the gas pipe network in the village) caused some disruption.

History and legacy

The

Battle of Methven The Battle of Methven took place at Methven, Scotland on 19 June 1306, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The battlefield was researched to be included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Sco ...

took place in 1306, when Scottish forces (led by newly crowned King

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

) were ambushed by English forces (led by

Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke ( 1270 – 23 June 1324) was an Anglo-French nobleman. Though primarily active in England, he also had strong connections with the List of French monarchs, French royal house. One of the wealthiest and mo ...

), resulting in a victory for the English. This was part of the

Scottish Wars of Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of Scotla ...

, in which the Scots eventually vanquished the English invaders and restored the nation’s independence. There used to be a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

station nearby called RAF Methven. Smiddy House, at 42–44 Main Street, was built around 1840. It is now considered at-risk due to its condition.

Notable people

Very Rev Dr James Oswald was minister of Methven from 1750 to 1783. He served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

in 1765. Dr William Marshall born 26 Aug 1834 in Methven was appointed Queen Victoria's resident doctor at Balmoral in 1871. He was a royal physician until 1881. He died in Crieff on 22 Dec 1884. A note of his Royal service is made on his headstone erected by his father and in the Methven cemetery.British Newspaper Archives: The Evening Telegraph
Dec 16, 1884, 2nd Edition. Sir

Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch (19 October 174818 December 1843) was a Scotland, Scottish Aristocracy, aristocrat, Politics, politician and British Army Officer (armed forces), officer. After his education at University of Oxford, Oxford, he ...

, a military hero, was born and raised at the family home of Balgowan House in the area and is buried in the large stone vault south of the main church. Methven is the birthplace of the Reverend Dr

Robert Stirling Robert Stirling (25 October 1790 – 6 June 1878) was a Scottish clergyman and engineer. He invented the Stirling engine and was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2014. Early life Robert Stirling was born at Cloag Farm ...

, inventor of the

Stirling engine A Stirling engine is a heat engine that is operated by the cyclic expansion and contraction of air or other gas (the ''working fluid'') by exposing it to different temperatures, resulting in a net conversion of heat energy to mechanical Work (ph ...

and of the banker Sir Alexander Kemp Wright.

References

External links

Methven Online
{{authority control Villages in Perth and Kinross