Place:Dron, Perthshire, Scotland

NameDron
TypeParish
Coordinates56.327°N 3.383°W
Located inPerthshire, Scotland     ( - 1975)
Also located inTayside, Scotland     (1975 - 1996)
Perth and Kinross, Scotland     (1996 - )
source: Family History Library Catalog


The hamlet

the following text is based on an article in The Gazetteer for Scotland

The village of Dron is located in the valley of Strathearn in the Perth and Kinross Council Area in Scotland. Dron lies on the River Farg in the northern foothills of the Ochil Hills, a mile (2 km) to the southeast of Bridge of Earn. There are a number of buildings from the early 19th century and Balmanno Castle built c.1580 and restored by Sir Robert Lorimer in 1816-21 for the Glasgow shipowner William Miller.

Dron existed as a medieval parish and a parish for both civil and religious purposes from the sixteenth century until 1975. The parishes of Kirkpottie and Ecclesmoghridain were annexed into Dron in 1652. The boundaries of the civil parish were altered by the Boundary Commissioners in 1891.

The parish

From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland, 1868

"DRON, a parish in the county of Perth, Scotland, stretching along the Ochills, in Strathearn. It is bounded on the S.E. by Fifeshire, and on the other sides by the parishes of Arngask, Forgandenny, Dunbarnie, and Abernethy. It extends between 3 and 4 miles from E. to W., with a breadth of 3 miles. The surface is well cultivated, one third being pasture, and the remainder, except 400 acres under wood, arable. The principal seats are Balmanno Castle and Glenearn House. The road from Perth to Edinburgh traverses the parish, and there is easy access to the Scottish Central railway, and the Perth fork of the Edinburgh and Northern railway. This parish is in the presbytery of Perth, and synod of Perth and Stirling, and in the patronage of the crown. The minister has a stipend of £167"

Dron is a small parish, which lies in the Perth and Kinross Council Area , some 5 miles (9 km) south of Perth in Perth and Kinross and 7 miles (11 km) west of Newburgh in Fife.

Prior to 1975 Dron was located in the old county of Perthshire, which was replaced by the Tayside region and in 1996 by the unitary authority of Perth and Kinross.

The parish has an area of 17.6 sq. km (6.7 sq. miles). The only settlement is that of the hamlet of Dron.

Research Tips

Notes for Perthshire

Family history societies and historical associations covering Perthshire are:

All of these associations publish their aims on their websites as well as a list of publications. In many cases the publications are also available through the Scottish Genealogy Society (see below).

Sources for Old Parish Registers Records, Vital Records and Censuses

  • Scotland's People This is a pay website providing vital statistics and census data for all of Scotland with original images. There is a description at Scotland under Genealogical Resources.
  • See the publications lists of the above Family History Societies.
  • The FreeCen Project for Perthshire has a searchable (not browsable) transcription of the major part of Perthshire for 1841 and 1851. The Scotland FreeCen page states that some work has also been done on 1861.

Transcriptions of Gravestone Inscriptions

  • The Scottish Genealogy Society provides a series of monumental inscriptions either in print in booklet form or on CD. Most of these were prepared by John Fowler Mitchell and Sheila Mitchell and published 1967. A new edition has been printed, with corrections, as a 4 volume set.
  • GENUKI has further details

Further Sources of Reference

Please note and respect the copyright warnings on these websites.

  • GENUKI article on Perthshire. This was last updated in February 2014.
  • The Gazetteer for Scotland article on the the county of Perthshire. The tabs on the right provide more information, and a map of the parish within its surrounding area, with small settlements highlighted and linked to more information.
  • The FamilySearch Wiki article on Perthshire provides direct reference to FamilySearch holdings on many topics with respect to the county.
  • The National Library of Scotland have a website devoted to maps from the 1600s right up to the present. Comparisons of modern-day and old maps of the same place can be made. From the home page click on "Find by place" and then follow the instructions on the next page. Once you are viewing the place you want, use the slider <----> at the top of the map to compare the layout of roads and the place names of smaller areas, perhaps even farms, with the landscape today. The website takes some getting used to. The One-inch 2nd edition, Scotland, 1898-1904 OS is a series of maps with the parishes delineated. Each of these maps cover an area of 18 x 24 miles and will zoom to comfortable reading size with a couple of mouse clicks on the map itself. Unfortunately, they are not geo-referenced, and it is necessary to go to the OS One Inch 1885-1900 series to locate places by latitude and longitude.
  • The Statistical Accounts for Scotland In the 1790s and again in the 1830s, the ministers of the all the parishes of the Church of Scotland were asked to provide a description of their parish to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The original account request included 160 questions to be answered. These accounts are available in print in 20 volumes and are also online where it is freely available to browse. The browsing portal is below the viewing area of most computer screens. Scroll down to "For non-subscribers" and click on "Browse scanned pages". This brings you to another page on which one can enter the name of the parish in which you are interested.
  • Excerpts from The Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885 are provided by Scottish Places. Selections from Groome and other gazetteers from the 19th century are also found on GENUKI.