On April 25th 1852 an earthquake lasting several seconds shook Comrie in Perthshire, accompanied by an “ominous rumbling.”
Known as Shaky Toun or, in Gaelic, Am Baile Critheanach, Comrie is the earthquake capital of Scotland and indeed the British Isles. Despite the country not being generally associated with earthquakes we actually housed the world’s first seismometer, which was built and installed in Comrie.
The first written records of earthquakes in the British Isles also came out of Scotland at Iona, some time in the 6th century by St Columba.
The first reported earthquake in Comrie was recorded as far back as 1788, and an early seismometer was installed in the village in 1840. Built on a rocky outcrop (so it directly experiences any tremors), in a field to the west of the village, Comrie is also home to Earthquake House, one of Europe’s smallest listed buildings.
It was once a centre for seismology, recording tremors that were common to the area in the 19th century.
Built in 1869, it was the first purpose-built earthquake observation centre in the world - just a shame it was built a few decades too late, as seismic activity had declined somewhat in the area by the time it was built. It is said that during the 1830s, over 7,000 earth tremors were recorded in the area.
In 1816 an earthquake took place, so fierce, it was felt over much of Scotland.Lasting six minutes, an Inverness sailor claimed he was “tossed on his bed, as he had never been tossed out at sea, for five full minutes.”
In 1839. measuring an estimated 4.8 on the Richter scale, another powerful quake was felt across the country. Many houses in Comrie were damaged and the impact caused a dam near Stirling to fail.
Known as the Great Earthquake of 1839, the action prompted postmaster Peter Macfarlane and shoemaker James Drummond, known as the ‘Comrie Pioneers’, to set up an instrument to measure earthquakes and began keeping formal records.
In 1869 a fresh set of tremors momentarily renewed interest in earthquakes. But by 1911 technology had moved on, and the building became redundant. The building was refurbished in 1988 after falling into neglect, and remains active - a modern seismograph, and a model of an early wooden seismoscope invented by Robert Mallett are installed at the house. Although the original has now been replaced with more modern equipment, a replica is still on show. It is so sensitive that it managed to pick up the tsunami on Boxing Day 2004 in Indonesia.
The last Earthquake o hit Shaky Toun was just last June when residents reported hearing a "really loud bang" while one person said "it sounded like an explosion". On Facebook, one person said the thought a "massive truck just hit my building," while another said said "it was the biggest tremor I have ever felt having lived here my whole life". She added: "My house shook too and cannot ever remember that happening before."