In 1951 the University of Edinburgh established the School of Scottish Studies “ to collect, preserve, research and publish material relating to the cultural traditions and folklore of Scotland.”

Blairgowrie and Rattray’s famous son Hamish Henderson joined the School in 1954 and played a crucial role in building the School’s collection.

It was in Blairgowrie and Rattray’s berryfields that he harvested a rich crop of traditional songs, stories, rhymes and customs. The berryfields were where traveller families gathered during the fruit picking season and Hamish would set up camp among them, learning their traditional ways of life and recording their songs and stories. Other local families were also able to provide recordings.

Recordings made here in Blairgowrie and Rattray in the 1950s and 1960s are treasured at the School of Scottish Studies and provide invaluable resource material for students from home and abroad.

We pay tribute to a few well known members of the travelling community on our website: Belle Stewart, Sheila Stewart and Betsy Whyte.

The Traditional Music and Song Association (TMSA) was formed in the early 1960s and in 1966 the first TMSA festival weekend was held in Blairgowrie. For a few memorable years Blairgowrie and Rattray was said to be the folk capital of Scotland.

Fifty years after that first TMSA festival weekend, a 'Back to Blairgowrie' celebration concert was held in August 2016 in Blairgowrie Town Hall, Brown Street, Blairgowrie.

To learn more visit
https://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School-of-Scottish-Studies
https://www.ed.ac.uk/local/projects/school-of-scottish-studies-archives
https://www.josephbriffa.com/SCHOOL-OF-SCOTTISH-STUDIES
https://www.tmsa.scot