_Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Perth._--The ancient city of Perth possessed many endowed religious establishments, but the only one that survives is the church of St. John the Baptist, from which the city derived its title of "St. John's Town." This church, divided by walls so as to form three separate places of worship, is still the parish church of the town. The first church of Perth was probably connected with the neighbouring Pictish monastery at Abernethy, and was erected by the monks there during the Celtic period. The register of Dunfermline contains the earliest historical mention of the church under the years 1124-1127, when it was granted by David I., with its property and tithes, to that abbey. The church was consecrated by David de Bernham, Bishop of St. Andrews, in 1242, and it is stated that the heart of Alexander III. was buried in the church of St. John.[289] The abbots of Dunfermline allowed the building to become ruinous, and tried to place upon the citizens of Perth the burden of upholding the fabric. The interest of the citizens seems to have been diverted from the church, and directed, probably at the beginning of the thirteenth century, to the building of the Dominican monastery, and about the middle of the century to the erection of the Carmelite or Whitefriars' monastery. It is probable that in connection with repairs necessary for the church, King Robert the Bruce in 1328 granted that stones might be taken from quarries belonging to the Abbey of Scone, "for the edification of the Church of Perth." Of the twelfth century church of St. John nothing now remains to indicate its architecture, although it may have been both magnificent and extensive. After the death of Robert the Bruce in 1329 the restoration begun by him probably ceased, and during the unrest of the fourteenth century the church probably suffered further damage. In 1335 King Edward III. was in Perth, and slew his brother, John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall, before the high altar of the Church of St. John for his excesses and ravages in the western districts of Scotland. In 1393-1394, after a parliament at Scone, Walter Trail, Bishop of St. Andrews, conducted divine service in St. John's Church. From 1401 till 1553-1556 there is a continuous record of the foundation of altars in the church, and of endowment of already existing ones. The chapel in which St. James' altar was situated stood on the south side of the church, and the foundation charter of the altar of St. John the Evangelist, founded in 1448 by Sir John de Bute, states that the altar was situated "in the new choir of the Parish Church." The church consists of a choir and nave, with north and south aisles, and north and south transepts without aisles. The nave and choir are of almost equal length; there was a chapel on the west side of the north transept that no longer exists, but the wide arch of the opening into it is partly visible in the transept. It was two storeys in height.