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Auchterarder Scottish Gaelic: Uachdar Àrdair
Auchterarder High Street in the sunshine: Star Hotel, Post Office and Town Hall
Auchterarder Auchterarder shown within Perth and Kinross
Population	3,945 [1] (2001 census) est. 4,450[2] (2006),
OS grid reference	NN945125
Council area	Perth and Kinross
Lieutenancy area	Perth and Kinross
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	AUCHTERARDER
Postcode district	PH3
Dialling code	01764
Police	Scottish
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
EU Parliament	Scotland
UK Parliament	Ochil and South Perthshire
Scottish Parliament	Perthshire South and Kinross-shire
List of places UK Scotland 56°17′35″N 3°42′22″W / 56.293167°N 3.706142°W / 56.293167; -3.706142Coordinates: 56°17′35″N 3°42′22″W / 56.293167°N 3.706142°W / 56.293167; -3.706142

Old church tower, Auchterarder, 1660

Auchterarder Free Church (now Aytoun Hall)

Auchterarder (/ɒxtəˈrɑːrdər/ (listen); Scottish Gaelic: Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the famous Gleneagles Hotel. The 1.5-mile-long High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "The Lang Toun" or Long Town.

The modern town is a popular shopping destination with a wide variety of independent shops and cafes.

History

In the Middle Ages, Auchterarder was known in Europe as 'the town of 100 drawbridges', a colourful description of the narrow bridges leading from the road level across wide gutters to the doorsteps of houses. The name appears in a charter of 1227 in a grant of land transaction to the Convent of Inchaffray ^[3] The Jacobite Earl of Mar's army torched the town in 1716, but it quickly rose to prominence again thanks mainly to the handloom industry.

In 1717, a controversy over the selection of a parish minister, following the recent passing of the Veto Act, allowed the parishioners of Auchterarder to reject the chosen minister, Rev Robert Young. Whilst this might have ended with the selection of an alternative, Young took the issue to the High Court. The court's decision concluded a link between state and church, directly contradicting the church's own view, and causing the first in a chain of events which would ultimately lead to the 1843 schism in the Church of Scotland. The remains of this church – the tower – have recently been renovated, and there is a plaque explaining what the church used to look like. As a result of the troubles of 1834, Auchterarder became one of the first towns in Scotland to build its own independent Free Church, indeed appearing to pre-empt the Disruption by commissioning the architect David Cousin to design their church in advance, such that it was completed in 1843 as soon as the Free Church formally came into existence.^[4]

The Burgh (Police) Scotland Act of 1892 bestowed Burgh status upon the town and a provost, two bailies, an honorary treasurer, Dean of Guild and six councillors were appointed to manage its affairs.^[3]

In 1983 the A9 was diverted to the south, bypassing Auchterarder and Aberuthven, to improve the connection between Stirling and Perth.

The 31st G8 summit was held in the town in July 2005 at the five-star Gleneagles hotel. The neighbouring golf courses are world-renowned.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, it was revealed that Caledonian Crescent and another street in Auchterarder had the most expensive house prices in Scotland.^[5]

Auchterarder Castle

This castle stood to the north of the town in the area now known as Castleton. It is said to have been a hunting seat for King Malcolm Canmore in the 11th century and was visited by King Edward I in 1296. It was made ruinous in the 18th century and only fragments remained at the end of the 19th century.^[6]

Notable people

• 
  Elsie Haldane, Scottish singer, viola player, and English as a Foreign Language teacher.


• 
  Andrew Fairlie, two-Michelin-starred chef, lives in Auchterarder^[7]
  


• 
  Eve Graham, singer with The New Seekers, was born in Auchterarder^[8]
  


• 
  Sandy Gunn, Spitfire photo reconnaissance pilot shot down and taken prisoner in Norway during the Second World War, and executed after the "Great Escape"
  


• Rev Robert Haldane preached here 1797 to 1806


• 
  Stephen Hendry, seven-time world snooker champion, lives in Auchterarder^[9]
  


• 
  James Kennaway, novelist, was born in Auchterarder^[10]
  


• Rev Dr G. A. Frank Knight DD FRSE (1869–1937) minister of the Free Church 1892–1900


• 
  John Rutherford Gordon, sometime editor of the Sunday Express, who latterly wrote a column frequently praising the common-sense of the people of the town^{[citation needed]}
  


• 
  Rev Robert Nisbet DD FRSE (1814–1874) religious author


• Prof John Monteath Robertson FRSE (1900–1989) crystallographer^[11]
  

Notable interments

• George Jacque (18261896) author (churchyard)


• Alexander George Reid FSA (1824–1901) author (cemetery)


• Heather May Law (1916–1942) a rare female victim of the Second World War killed whilst in the Royal Observer Corps during a raid on Rosyth naval yard (cemetery)

References

External links

• Auchterarder Website with details of local places and businesses


• Auchterarder Newspaper online and in print


• Visit Scotland - Auchterarder and The Ochils


• Auchterarder Golf Club


• livingLOCAL: Auchterarder community magazine Dec-Jan'19