A view of Dunkeld
soon after the
Battle of Dunkeld

The Battle of Dunkeld in 1689

Dunkeld was devastated in 1689 as a result of a rising in favour of the exiled James VII and II which was led by John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee. Religious and secular motives were inseparably inter-mingled in the minds of those who took part in the events of 1689, but there can be little doubt that it was fear of domination by the Campbell faction that made so many Highlanders eager to join in the struggle. The Highland forces achieved a famous victory at Killiecrankie on 27 July and, despite Dundee himself being killed in the course of the battle, the Scottish privy council was so seriously alarmed that it made preparations to withdraw to England.

After this the Cameronian troops of the government force, under the able leadership of Lieutenant Colonel William Cleland, a young man of twenty-eight, moved north to Dunkeld. He fortified the cathedral and the adjacent house of the Marquess of Atholl, in preparation for a battle of desperate street fighting which began at 7 o’clock on the moring of 21 August and lasted until 11 o’clock that evening. After preliminary skirmishing, the rebel Highlanders took possession of many houses. To this the government troops responded by setting fire to the houses, in some cases after locking their doors from the outside so that those within had no chance of escaping. Eventually the rebels were routed with the loss of some 300 men, although Colonel Cleland, the leader of the victorious troops, was also killed during the action, being shot in the head and the liver. He was later buried in a simple grave at the west end of the cathedral nave.

Since it was the most sturdy building in Dunkeld, the cathedral apparently provided the main refuge for the townsfolk during the fighting, and was thus presumably a major target for attack. Damage was also caused by the use of lead from the choir roof for shot, and by the use of its benches as protective barricades once the battle itself was over. It is difficult to be certain how much damage was caused, however, since accounts of the destruction appear likely to be exaggerated in the hope of attracting sympathy.

Apart from the cathedral, most of the other buildings in Dunkeld were destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Amongst the few early houses still to survive, albeit in heavily remodelled form, is the Rectory House by the gates of the cathedral. It appears to have originated as the manse of the canon who held the parsonage of Craigie Church, but probably gained its name from being later occupied by the rector of the Royal Grammar School. There is now little external evidence of this long history beneath its handsome early eighteenth century facade.