 In 1583, the kirk session introduced beggars' badges for use in the parish.The use of begging badges continued, with an interruption between 1731 and 1739, until 1762, when the church opened a charity poorhouse on Riding School Lane, now on the site of the Caledonian Hotel.The number of occupants rose from 84 at the poorhouse's foundation to 539 in 1837.