A wonderful 158 year old tradition
Since 1820 The Perth Balls have been documented as being at the centre of the social calendar in Perthshire. Family folklore, however, place them back as early as 1750. The Ball used to be held on two nights in the Sheriffs’ Court in Perth, where ‘The Balls’ paid for the sprung wooden floor to be laid, which is still in use today.
Other venues have included the Old City Hall, Blair
Castle, Murthly Castle, the Horsecross Centre and
Scone Palace. For many decades it was know as The
Perth Hunt Ball and was held during the September
Race Meeting at Perth Race Course.
Copyright Zygmunt Sikorski-Mazur
All young ladies and gentlemen of the County made their social debut at The Balls.
The Perth Ball has always been part of the Highland ball season, along with the Northern Meeting and the Stirling, Skye, Donside, Aboyne, Angus, Oban and Lochaber Balls.
In 1993 The Ball was handed over to a social committee, was restricted to Members only and became known as ‘The Perth Ball’.
Taking The Ball into the future
In 2012 the founding members (now called Patrons) voted to close the Perth Ball membership list and authorised the committee to open the ball to all-comers, identifying a list of mainly Perthshire residents.
This means that ball attendees no longer have to be founding members to bring a party and ensures that many more people are given the opportunity to experience the fun and grandeur of this much loved traditional Scottish ball.
Enthusiastic supporters can still apply to become a Patron of the ball helping to secure its place on the Perthshire social calendar for the future.