Rattray is a parish in the Strathmore district of Perthshire. It comprises a main body and a detached district. The main body is bounded by Alyth, the detached part of Blairgowrie, Bendochy, and the main body of Blairgowrie, and it is separated from the last of these, or in the south and west, by the River Ericht. The detached district is called Easter Bleaton, and lies 3½ miles north-north-west of the main body. It is bounded by Forfarshire, Alyth, and Kirkmichael. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson).
New Rattray, Old Rattray, Rattray, Westfield
Bleaton Hallet, Craighall
The detached part of Rattray at Bleaton Hallet was transferred to Kirkmichael. See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The parish of Rattray formed a prebend belonging to the Sub-Dean of Dunkeld.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1606-1854 | Rattray | 389 | OPR |
| 1855-1932 | Rattray | 389 | RD |
| 1833-1934 | Blairgowrie and Rattray | 335 | RD |
| 2009 | Perth and Kinross, Blairgowrie | 381 | RD |
| 2026 | Perth and Kinross Council; Blairgowrie and Rattray Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Anderson, Brown, Duncan, Low, Robertson, Scott, Smith, Stewart, Taylor, Thomson
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr James Smith.
"The number of inhabitants at present is 500. In the parish are upwards of 42 weavers, 22 of them in the village. In the village are 6 tailors, 5 shoemakers, 4 wrights, 2 smiths, 2 masons, 3 flax-dressers, about 60 Seceders, 3 lint mills for dressing flax, a considerable quantity of which is raised, (one of these mills is soon to be turned into a mill for spinning cotton), 3 bleach-fields, and 2 distilleries."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 4, p. 148
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 10, p. 239
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
