[2] Its name is derived from the process of skinning animals and the tanning of their hides during the Middle Ages.

[5] Skinnergate formerly connected Kirkgate and St John's Kirk with a gateway through the city walls known as the Red Brig Port.

[3] The Old Ship Inn, established in the late 19th century, stands at the corner of High Street and Skinnergate.

[6][7] In the first half of the 20th century, artist John Guthrie Spence Smith (1880–1951) painted the oil-on-canvas "Skinnergate, Perth".

[8] When a building in Skinnergate was demolished in 1854, around 300 coins dating to the reigns of Edward I and others were found.