A metal ell measure fixed to an eighteenth-century former hospital recalls the regulation of cloth trading in a town shaped by weaving.
Quick facts
- Date
- By 1757
- Architect / designer
- Unknown
- Type
- Former hospital with shops and historic measure
- Designation
- Listed building, Category B (LB5646)
- OS grid reference
- NO 02556 42633
Architecture and continuing use
The three-storey harled building has light margins, a piended roof and three gabled dormer heads at the top floor. Shopfronts occupy the ground level, while a metal ell or weaver’s measuring gauge survives on the exterior.
Its story
A document described the former St George’s Hospital as newly built in 1757. Later commercial use brought shops to the ground floor. The surviving ell gauge connects the building to a standard measure once used in cloth exchange.
Why it is included
Category B listing recognises a substantial eighteenth-century building, its role in The Cross and the rare survival of a fixed trading measure.
What to notice
- The metal ell gauge attached outside.
- Three gabled dormer heads beneath the piended roof.
- The meeting of older harled upper floors and changing shopfronts.
Reading the surroundings
View the gauge from the public realm without obstructing shops or traffic. Enter only businesses that are openly trading, and treat upper floors and back areas as private.
Timeline
- 1757 A contemporary document described the former hospital as newly built.
- 18th–19th centuries The fixed ell gauge served as a public reference for cloth measurement.
- 1971 The building and its measure entered the statutory list.
- 2025 Council conservation work continued to identify the ell gauge as a defining town feature.
What we know — and what remains uncertain
No dependable source located for this review established the exact present use of every shop unit or upper floor.
Sources & further reading
- Historic Environment Scotland: The Ell House, LB5646 — Current designation status, official mapped location, date, fabric and architectural or archaeological interest.
- Trove designation: LB5646 — Parallel national record identity and archival context.
- Perth and Kinross Council: Dunkeld conservation appraisal — Current conservation-area recognition of the Ell House and its cloth measure.
- Dunkeld and Birnam Tourism Association: shopping — Current town-centre retail context; exact tenancy of all Ell House units is not inferred.
Location
OS grid reference NO 02556 42633 · Location confidence: High: the current national designation supplies an exact mapped National Grid Reference; public text separately states access and current-use uncertainty. · Select the marker to open its satellite view in Google Maps. On desktop, drag Pegman (the yellow figure) onto a blue road. On mobile, turn on the Street View layer and tap a blue road. Other photo markers may be user-contributed.
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