Campaign for new heritage trail around ancient Innerpeffray

fundraising: Efforts to raise sum for a ‘timeline path’ with information panels to chronicle history of the area

A £45,000 fundraising campaign has been launched in an effort to create a new heritage path around the ancient site of Innerpeffray.

Working together, the Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust and governors of Innerpeffray Library hope to raise the sum over the next two years.

The library and school at Innerpeffray were founded by David Drummond, the 3rd Lord of Madertie, in around 1680.

Forward-thinking Lord Madertie made it the first free public lending library in Scotland and made the books available to ordinary people.

The surrounding area is, however, steeped in history and the new timeline path will chronicle it in detail.

The route will be clearly signposted with information panels to highlight the historical context of the library from the glacial deposits of 10,000BC and through the Roman invasion.

It will continue on through the printing revolution, Knox and the Reformation, through to the Scottish enlightenment and the Scottish novels of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

In addition, the library is fundraising to support the development of a new tearoom in the old schoolroom.

The partners hope that it will further enhance the quality of experience for those visiting the library and heritage timeline walk.

These two exciting projects aim to provide an improved range of activities that will enhance and maintain Scotland’s oldest public lending library.

Lord Martie’s generosity was an unprecedented step by a member of the landowning elite and he went further by endowing his library with money through which his successors could support it.

Though Lord Madertie’s funds were eventually exhausted, visitor income and fundraising now supports the library.

Today, it contains a rich collection of books on subjects as diverse as witchcraft, history, farming and medicine, as well as important works of fiction.

Books continue to be donated to the collection every year and visitors are welcome to view any of the books on display when they visit.

To support the heritage walk and café projects, visit mydonate.bt.com/ fundraisers/innerpeffraytimelinewalk.

The library and school at Innerpeffray were founded by David Drummond, the 3rd Lord of Madertie, in around 1680

Picture: Dougie Nicolson. The area around Innerpeffray Library is steeped in history.