Scotland’s Oldest and Newest City

What was the biggest challenge to Perth becoming a city again? Why was Perth once more important than Edinburgh? How exactly did Perth execute its successful campaign for city status?

All of this and more is revealed in John Hulbert’s account of how Perth became a city once again. Former Provost of Perth & Kinross and leader of Perth’s campaign, Hulbert is the ideal person to tell the inside story of the tactics deployed to achieve the restoration of Perth’s City Status, the most important event in Perth’s history in nearly 200 years. Beginning with Perth’s history as the ancient capital city of Scotland and tracing its pre-eminence amongst Scottish Royal Burghs, this book explores Perth’s loss of city status in 1975 and the development of the city status application strategy.

Culminating in Perth’s eventual success, this is the story of how its citizens fought to regain its former glory, finally winning against the odds in 2012. Rich with local and national history and with chapters looking forward to the future of Perth, this book, complete with beautiful colour photographs, will appeal to historians, visitors and Perth locals alike.

John Hulbert

John Hulbert was brought up in St. Andrews, and studied medicine at Edinburgh University.  After working in medical research he changed direction and worked for over 30 years as a general practitioner.  In 1979 he and his wife and three children moved to the Perthshire village of Longforgan, in the Carse of Gowrie.

In 1995 he was elected to Perth & Kinross Council, and served as Provost from 2007 – 2012. In 2010 Provost Hulbert led Perth’s high profile 800th anniversary celebrations and then the successful campaign to recover the ancient dignity of City Status, which had been unceremoniously removed when Local government was reorganised in 1975.

As Provost he studied Perth’s history and development, and gained a unique insight into its societies and institutions. He has visited and photographed all of its important buildings.  This information has been crystallised into the first comprehensive guide book for modern Perth.