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K H Eadie 19th Century
Comrie Hills from Crieff with The Baird Monument after Rain 1868

signed inscribed and dated 

pencil and watercolour
15 x 28 cm.
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 A hill-top memorial to General Sir David Baird (1757 - 1829) located at the summit of Tom a' Chaisteil to the south of the A85 Trunk Road between Comrie and Crieff. Built in 1832 on the instructions of his wife, the monument comprises a grey granite obelisk, some 25.6m (84 feet) in height, with panels providing a lengthy exaltation of Baird's character and recording his victories. It was the work of William Stirling (1772 - 1838). The monument was damaged by lightning in 1878 and subsequently repaired. Baird's Monument was B-listed in 1971.

"Oor Davie"
 
General Sir David Baird (1757 –1829)
 

 
 
David Baird was born at Newbythe in East Lothian, the fifth son of David Baird an Edinburgh merchant on the 26th December 1757. Technically he is not a Strathearn man but such was the impact he made on our community, that it is incumbent on the author to include “ Oor Davie “ in this "Blog". The family were descended from the Bairds of Auchmeddan in Aberdeenshire and moved a few years later to a large house at the top of Castle Hill in Edinburgh .His father died when he was only eight and his mother found herself having to bring up seven boys and seven girls. He purchased a commission in the 2nd Foot (the Queens Regiment) that had been intended for one of his older brothers who had died unexpectedly. He was an ensign and not yet fifteen. After a year at a Military Academy, Baird joined his Regiment at Gibraltar and so began his illustrious military career. What transpires from early on is that Baird was unlike so many of his contemporaries such as Wellington, Moore, Hope and Graham. He did not spend time moving in the social and political circles of the time which were regarded by the others as an essential part of career advancement. Physically Baird had grown to some 6’ 3” and his imposing physique was to stand him in good stead. On returning from Gibraltar, Baird joined the newly formed McLeod’s Highlanders which were essentially Gaelic speaking having a muster of some 850 Highlanders, 236 Lowlanders and a some 36 English and Irish. The regiment marched from Fort George to Portsmouth a distance of 600 miles. Their transportation to India was not available and they move to Jersey to thwart a possible French invasion which did not materialise. Returning to Portsmouth they spent some time awaiting the ships being billeted about the town. The attitude of the southern natives was one of total disregard considering them little better than savages. 

 

He was sent to India in 1779 with McLeod’s Highladers, who became  the 73rd (afterwards 71st) Highlanders, in which he was a captain. Immediately on his arrival, Baird was attached to the force commanded by Sir Hector Munro which was sent forward to assist the detachment of Colonel Baillie, threatened by HyderAli.  In the action which followed the whole force was destroyed, and Baird, severely wounded, fell into the hands of the Mysore chief. The prisoners remained captive for over four years. Baird's mother, on hearing that her son and other prisoners were in fetters, is said to have remarked, "God help the chiel chained to our Davie." The bullet was not extracted from Baird’s wound until his release.

 

He was promoted to major in 1787, visited Britain in 1789, and purchased a lieutenant-colonelcy in 1790, returning to India the following year. He held a brigade command in the war against Tippoo Sultan and served under Lord Cornwallis in the Seringapatam operations of 1792. He captured Pondicherry being promoted colonel in 1795. Baird served also at the Cape of Good Hope as a brigadier-general, and he returned to India as a major-general in 1798. In the last war against Tippoo in 1799 Baird was appointed to the senior brigade command in the army. At the successful assault of Seringapatam , Baird led the storming party, and soon took the stronghold where he had previously been a prisoner.

 

Disappointed that the command of the large contingent of the nizam was given to the then Colonel Arthur Wellesley and that after the capture of the fortress the same officer obtained the governorship, Baird felt he had been treated with injustice and disrespect. He later received the thanks of parliament and of the Honourable East India Company for his gallant bearing on that important day, and a pension was offered him by the Company, which he declined, apparently in the hope of receiving the Order of the Bath from the government. General Baird commanded the Indian army which was sent in 1801 to co-operate with Ralph Abercromby in the expulsion of the French from Egypt.  Wellesley was appointed second in command, but owing to ill-health did not accompany the expedition. Baird landed at Kosseir, conducted his army across the desert to Kena on the Nile and then to Cairo He arrived before Alexandria in time for the final operations.

 

On his return to India in 1802, he was employed against Sindhia but being irritated at another appointment given to Wellesley he relinquished his command and returned to Europe. In 1804 he was knighted, and in 1805—1806, being by now a lieutenant-general, he commanded the expedition against the Cape of Good Hope with complete success, capturing Cape town and forcing the Dutch general Janssens to surrender. But here again his usual ill luck attended him. Commodore Sir Home Popham persuaded Sir David to lend him troops for an expedition against Buenos Aires the successive failures of operations against this place involved the recall of Baird early in 1807, though on his return home he was quickly re-employed as a divisional general in the Copenhagen expedition of 1807. During the bombardment of Copenhagen Baird was wounded.

 

Shortly after his return, he was sent out to the Peninsular War in command of a considerable force which was sent to Spain to cooperate with Sir John Moore, to whom he was appointed second in command. It was Baird's misfortune that he was junior by a few days both to Moore and to Lord Cavan, under whom he had served at Alexandria, and thus never had an opportunity of a chief command in the field. At the Battle of Corunna he succeeded to the supreme command after Moore's death, but shortly afterwards his left arm was shattered, and the command passed to Sir John Hope. Once again thanked by parliament for his gallant services, he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Bath and a baronet in 1809. Sir David married Miss Campbell-Preston, a Perthshire heiress, in 1810. He was not employed again in the field, and personal and political enmities caused him to be neglected and repeatedly passed over.

 

After losing his arm at the Battle of Corunna in 1809, Baird convalesced in Hertfordshire in southern England. He was awarded a KB and a Baronetcy for his military achievements and a year later met and married Ann Campbell Preston on the 4th of August 1810. She was descended from the Prestons of Culross and Valleyfield in Fife and was niece of Sir Robert Preston of Valleyfield, Bart.  The family had connections to the ancient Bruces and had made their monies from coal and salt panning over the centuries. Lady Campbell Preston owned Ferntower Estate in Crieff. Baird was not given the full rank of general until 1814, and his governorship of Kinsale was given five years later. In 1820 he was appointed commander-in-chief in Ireland and made a Privy Counsellor for Ireland, but the command was soon reduced, and he resigned in 1822. Baird  was made Governor of Fort George near Inverness in 1828 but died at Ferntower the following yerar aged seventy two . He  had no children and the title passed to his nephew .

 

The sales particulars drawn up for the disposal of  Ferntower in 1911 by Edinburgh solicitors Mesrrs T & RB Ranken WS make fascinating reading. Extending to over 3 300 acres and falling into the parishes of Crieff, Madderty and Monzievaird, they are a fascinating insight into the social structure of the times. The small mansion house of Ferntower sitting on the southern slopes of the Knock is alas all but no more. The vicissitudes and ravishes of time had played their part and the building was partially demolished by the army in the early 1960s leaving only the former stable complex standing. It was not even by local standards a particularly large dwelling having twelve bedrooms, two dressing rooms a double drawing room, two sitting rooms and dining room. When David Baird married Ann Preston a number of improvements and extensions were implemented between 1810 and 1820. The picture below gives some indication of the charm exuded by the old building. Accommodation comprised an entrance hall, dining room, double drawing room. two sitting rooms , twelve bedrooms , two dressing rooms and ample servants’ quarters . This must have the view that Queen Victoria had when she called upon Lady Baird during her trip to Strathearn in 1842. Indeed when the Queen and her consort Prince Albert arrived in Crieff from their sojourn in Taymouth Castle, they passed through the town heading south to Drummond Castle where they were to reside during their visit. The bridge at Bridgend had, according to Porteous, triumphal arches at either end. At the north end was McLaurin of Broich with his tenantry whilst on the south side Lady Baird on horseback had drawn up her tenantry.   

 

                                                                                                          
Ferntower itself failed to stand the ravages of time and with rot and decay rampant was eventually partially demolished in the 1960s by the Army. Parts were still utilised as staff accommodation for the owners, Crieff Hydro up until the late 1980s. 

 

David Baird’s memory will not easily be forgotten. His grieving widow established the small hamlet of St Davids Madderty as a sanctifying gesture to her departed spouse and also erected that impressive pinnacle on top of Tom Na Chastille, the ancient site of one of the many castles of the Earls of Strathearn. As a vociferous member of the Parish Kirk over the years, it is not surprising that a memorial tablet was placed in the old St Michaels in Church Street. This was removed and replaced in the foyer of its successor in Strathearn Terrace.
Sir David Baird was a man whose memory does indeed live on!
 
 

 

 
Baird's most significant achievement was the defeat of the Indian ruler of Mysore, Tipu Sahib, at Seringapatam in 1799. By this action, British ascendancy in southern India was assured and the influence of France diminished in the sub-continent. Ten years later Baird was with General Sir John Moore in Spain; he was injured at Corunna and lost an arm. Sir David's wife considered that her husband had been insufficiently rewarded. After his death, she commissioned Wilkie to paint a heroic picture in which the general is seen discovering the dead body of Tipu Sahib. The painting now hangs in the Scottish National Gallery. 

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Comrie is a village and parish in the southern Highlands of Scotland, towards the western end of the Strathearn district of Perth and Kinross, 7 mi (11 km) west of Crieff. Comrie is a historic conservation village in a national scenic area along the river Earn. Its position on the Highland Boundary Fault explains why it has more earth tremors than anywhere else in Britain. The parish is twinned with Carleton Place, Ontario, Canada.Comrie lies within the registration county of Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) and the Perth and Kinross local council area. The name Comrie derives from the original Gaelic name con-ruith or comh-ruith (from con/comh 'together', and ruith "to run", "running") translating literally as "running together", but more accurately as "flowing together" or "the place where rivers meet". In modern Gaelic the name is more often transcribed as Comraidh, Cuimridh or Cuimrigh. This is apt as the village sits at the confluence of three rivers. The River Ruchill (Gaelic: An Ruadh Thuill, The Red Flood) and The River Lednock (Gaelic: An Leathad Cnoc, The Wooded Knoll) are all tributaries of the Earn (Gaelic: Uisge Dubh-Èireann) at Comrie,[3] which itself eventually feeds into the Tay (Gaelic: Uisge Tatha).

Due to its position astride the Highland Boundary Fault, Comrie undergoes frequent earth tremors and has an old nickname of "Shaky Toun/Toon" (Scots) or 'Am Baile Critheanach' (Gaelic). In the 1830s around 7,300 tremors were recorded and today Comrie records earth tremors more often and to a higher intensity than anywhere else in the United Kingdom.[4] Comrie became the site of one of the world's first seismometers in 1840, and a functional replica is still housed in the Earthquake House in The Ross in Comrie.[5] The position of Comrie on the Highland Boundary Fault also gives the village a claim to the contested title of Gateway to the Highlands. To the north of the village, Ben Chonzie and the Grampian Mountains rise majestically, while to the south of the village broad open moorland is joined by lesser mountains and glens that provide a wide range of terrain and ecology.

There is significant evidence of prehistoric habitation of the area, marked by numerous standing stones and archaeological remains that give insight into the original prehistoric, Pictish and later Celtic societies that lived here.

In AD 79, the Roman General Agricola chose what are now the outskirts of Comrie as the site for a fort and temporary marching camp, due to the area's strategic position on the southern fringe of the Highlands. It is one of the line of so-called "Glen blocking" forts running from Drumquhassle to Stracathro and including the legionary fortress of Inchtuthil. The temporary camp was c. 22 acre (c. 9 ha) in size. An infamous battle between the Celts and Romans is known to have occurred on the unidentified mountain Mons Graupius. The area around Comrie, Strathearn, is one of several proposed battle sites.

James V of Scotland came to Comrie and Cultybraggan regularly in September to hunt deer. Records survive of the food he consumed included bread, ale and fish sent from Stirling. His consort Mary of Guise and her ladies in waiting also came to the hunting in Glenartney.

Comrie's early prosperity derived from weaving. This was mostly done as domestic piecework. Comrie was also important as a droving town. Cattle destined for the markets of the Scottish Lowlands and ultimately England would be driven south from their grazing areas in the Highlands. River crossings, such as at Comrie, were important staging posts on the way south. Much of the land around Comrie was owned by the Drummond family, Earls of Perth, latterly Earls of Ancaster, whose main seat was Drummond Castle, south of Crieff. Another branch of the Drummonds owned Drummondernoch (Gaelic: Drumainn Èireannach – Drummond of Ireland), to the west of the town. Aberuchill Castle, however, just outside Comrie was originally a Campbell seat.

Over the years the village has grown to incorporate many smaller satellite settlements, including The Ross (Gaelic: An Ros) a small settlement to the west of the village contained within a river peninsula (An Ros literally translates as peninsula) which became more accessible when the Ross Bridge was constructed in 1792. Before that the peninsula was only reached by a river ford. Similarly, the once isolated communities in the surrounding glens and mountains, such as Invergeldie in Glen Lednock and Dalchruin in Glen Artney, have generally come to be seen as part of Comrie village. Previously, they existed as small isolated settlements – for instance, Glen Lednock contained 21 different settlements of 350 individual structures and 25 corn-drying kilns. However, these exclusively Gaelic-speaking hamlets were largely eviscerated by the Highland Clearances of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Comrie underwent something of a renaissance in the early 19th century and Victorian periods as an attractive location for wealthy residents and visitors, an image which has been maintained to this day. This popularity helped to bring the railway in 1893, when the Caledonian Railway completed a branch line from Crieff. The line was later extended to meet the Callander and Oban Railway at Lochearnhead. The Comrie–Lochearnhead line was closed in 1951 and the Comrie–Crieff line in 1964, due largely to the improved road network in the area.

Comrie's mountainous setting with abundant streams and lochs brought a number of hydro-electric power plants into the area in the earlier 20th century. A dam was built in Glen Lednock and water piped to another plant from Loch Earn in the west.

Today Comrie is an attractive retirement village, recording the highest proportion of over-65s in Scotland in the 1991 census. Its economy is supplemented by adventure and wildlife tourism. Like other Highland villages, it has seen an influx of residents in recent decades. Some have bought buy-to-let and second-home conversions, which has tended to raise housing prices and cause tensions with locals. Even so, Comrie retains its spirit, traditions and community feel.


Crieff is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. The A822 joins the A823 to Dunfermline. Crieff has become a hub for tourism, famous for whisky and its history of cattle droving. Attractions include the Caithness Glass Visitor Centre and Glenturret Distillery. The nearby Innerpeffray Library (founded about 1680) is Scotland's oldest lending library. St Mary's Chapel beside it dates from 1508. Both are open to the public: the library is run by a charitable trust; the chapel is in the care of Historic Scotland. Star Wars actors Ewan McGregor and Denis Lawson were raised and educated in Crieff and have featured in several movies from the franchise.

For a number of centuries Highlanders came south to Crieff to sell their black cattle, whose meat and hides were avidly sought by the growing urban populations in Lowland Scotland and the north of England. The town acted as a gathering point for the Michaelmas cattle sale held each year, when the surrounding fields and hillsides would be black with the tens of thousands of cattle, some from as far away as Caithness and the Outer Hebrides. (In 1790 the population of Crieff was about 1,200, which gave a ratio of ten cows per person.)

During the October Tryst (as the cattle gathering was known), Crieff was a prototype "wild west" town. Milling with the cattle were horse thieves, bandits and drunken drovers. The inevitable killings were punished on the Kind Gallows, for which Crieff became known throughout Europe.

By the 18th century the original hanging tree used by the Earls of Strathearn had been replaced by a formal wooden structure in an area called Gallowhaugh – now Gallowhill, at the bottom of Burrell Street. What is now Ford Road was Gallowford Road which led down past the gallows to the crossing point over the River Earn. In such a prominent position, Highlanders passing along the principal route would see hanged bodies dangling overhead, prompting from them the words, "God bless you, and the Devil damn you." Lord Macaulay's history talks of a score of plaids hanging in a row, but the remains of the Gallows – held in Perth Museum – suggest the maximum capacity was only six. Crieff's parish church kept a strong Episcopalian dominance from the Reformation in 1560 until the Revolution of 1688. In 1682 William Murray ignored the Presbytery and brought Episcopalian format into worship, including the Lord's Prayer and the Doxology. The Apostles' Creed was also used at baptisms. After the Jacobite victory at Killiecrankie, Murray quoted the 118th Psalm: "This is the day God made, in it we'll joy triumphantly".

Rob Roy MacGregor visited Crieff on many occasions, often to sell cattle. Rob Roy's outlaw son was pursued through the streets of Crieff by soldiers and killed. In the second week of October 1714 the Highlanders gathered in Crieff for the October Tryst. By day Crieff was full of soldiers and government spies. Just after midnight, Rob Roy and his men marched to Crieff Town Square and rang the town bell. In front of the gathering crowd they sang Jacobite songs and drank a good many loyal toasts to their uncrowned King James VIII.

In 1716, 350 Highlanders returning from the Battle of Sheriffmuir burned most of Crieff to the ground. In 1731, James Drummond, 3rd Duke of Perth, laid out the town's central James Square and established a textile industry with a flax factory. In the 1745 rising the Highlanders were itching to fire the town again and were reported as saying "she shoud be a braw toun gin she haed anither sing". But it was saved by the Duke of Perth – a friend and supporter of Prince Charles. In February 1746 the Jacobite army was quartered in and around the town with Prince Charles Edward Stuart holding his final war council in the old Drummond Arms Inn in James Square – located behind the present abandoned hotel building in Hill Street. He also had his horse shod at the blacksmith's in King Street. Later in the month he reviewed his troops in front of Ferntower House, on what is today the Crieff Golf Course.

In the 19th century, Crieff became a fashionable destination for tourists visiting the Highlands and a country retreat for wealthy businessmen from Edinburgh, Glasgow and beyond. Many such visitors attended the Crieff hydropathic establishment, now the Crieff Hydro, which opened in 1868. Crieff still functions as a tourist centre. The large villas stand as testaments to its use by wealthy city-dwellers.

Crieff was once served by Crieff railway station, which linked the town to Perth, Comrie and Gleneagles. The station was opened in 1856 by the Crieff Junction Railway, but closed in 1964 by British Railways as one of the Beeching cuts.

Crieff was praised by the poetaster William McGonagall in "Crieff".

"Ye lovers of the picturesque, if ye wish to drown your grief,
Take my advice, and visit the ancient town of Crieff."