Tower Bakery

Quick facts

Date

Part eighteenth century and part early nineteenth century

Architect / designer

Designer not recorded

Type

Two-storey painted and partly stuccoed Main Street building

Designation

Listed building, Category C (LB20885)

OS grid reference

NO 19029 16370

Architecture and continuing use

The two-storey building is painted and partly stuccoed. Its older portion is distinguished by smaller windows with margins, while later fabric creates a subtly varied frontage rather than a single uniform composition. The close-set elevation contributes to Main Street’s layered sequence of modest houses and shops.

Its story

Part of the structure dates from the eighteenth century and another part from the early nineteenth. It was formerly listed under the name William Greig and later became known as Tower Bakery, a name that reflects both commercial use and proximity to the round tower. The official record also notes that Main Street was historically called the Highgait.

Why it is included

It offers a compact example of incremental building change and the continuity of trade within Abernethy’s historic core.

What to notice

• The smaller openings marking the older portion.
• Changes between painted and stuccoed wall surfaces.
• How the narrow frontage fits the grain of Main Street.

Reading the surroundings

Use public pavement and respect current signs, customers and residents. The historic name does not guarantee that a bakery is trading or that the interior is open.

Timeline

1. 18th century The earliest small-windowed portion of the building was formed.
2. Early 19th century Later construction enlarged or regularised the Main Street property.
3. 20th century The premises became recorded under the Tower Bakery name.

What we know — and what remains uncertain

Neither the boundary between construction phases nor the current internal use has been independently established; interpretation is restricted to the visible exterior and official record.

Sources & further reading

• Historic Environment Scotland: Tower Bakery, LB20885 — Current designation status, statutory identity, official mapped point, date, fabric and significance.
• Perth and Kinross Council: Abernethy Conservation Area Appraisal — Local-authority evidence for the settlement’s development, street pattern, landmark buildings, archaeology and conservation context.
• Trove: Tower Bakery — National heritage inventory entry for designation identity, mapped location, related records and available archive material.
• Perth and Kinross Council: conservation areas — Current council context confirming Abernethy as a managed conservation area and explaining the role of its appraisal.