A new rural life exhibition exploring the history of a former Perthshire village that disappeared half a century ago has gone on display
The exhibition, titled ‘A Lost Community: Muirton of Ardblair’, explores a traditional way of rural life that has all but vanished in Scotland and features rare photographic prints from 1893.
The once thriving village on the outskirts of Blairgowrie produced flax and linen, as well as turnips, oats, and potatoes, with residents living in simple cottages with earth floors, thatched roofs and no running water or electricity until the 1950s.
By the mid-nineteenth century, it supported a community of flax spinners and linen weavers living in about 20 cottages. These cottage industries died out with the rise of water-powered mills.
Had it not been for the artists and photographers drawn to this once picturesque village outside Blairgowrie, the community, its stories, and traditions might have been forgotten.
Culture Perth and Kinross note: “Fortunately, this moment in time has been preserved and shared with everyone thanks to funding from the National Fund for Acquisitions, which enabled us to purchase the rare photographic prints.”
The exhibition will also feature historic objects, activities for families, and paintings by Ewan Geddes, one of the local artists known as the Blairgowrie Boys, who ‘found artistically all his soul longed for’ in the village.
A Lost Community: Muirton of Ardblair opened on Saturday October 8 and runs until December 23 at Perth Museum and Art Gallery. Free entry but donations welcome.
