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Alloa

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Alloa
Alloa from Clackmannan Tower with the Ochil Hills and Wallace Monument in the distance
Area3.52 sq mi (9.1 km2)
Population18,989 (2001 census)
• Density5,395/sq mi (2,083/km2)
OS grid referenceNS900920
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townALLOA
Postcode districtFK10
Dialling code01259
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland

Alloa (/ˈæloʊə/; Scottish Gaelic: Alamhagh) is a town and former burgh in Clackmannanshire, set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on on the north bank of the Firth of Forth close to the foot of the Ochil Hills, 5.5 miles (8.9 km) east of Stirling and 7.9 miles (12.7 km) north of Falkirk.

The town was a burgh of barony, and today is the administrative centre of Clackmannanshire council. The economy of the town relied heavily on trade through its port with mainland Europe, but due to competition from modern ports it closed in 1970. Nowadays the economy is centred on retail and leisure after the closure of the main industries of the town; only one brewer and one glassmaker survive today. Alloa had a resident population of 18,989 at the time of the 2001 census.[3]

History

Sir Robert Erskine was granted the lands of Alloa and its environs in 1368 for services to King David II and he and his descendants were good stewards, developing the estates and innovating. Unfortunately, the 6th Earl of Mar, who oversaw many far-reaching developments including substantial harbour improvements, a customs house and the building of the Gartmorn Dam, was forced to flee the country and forfeit his lands after disastrously backing the Jacobite cause in 1715. However, his brother was allowed to purchase the forfeited lands and future generations continued the tradition of creative industry by launching a glass-works in 1750 and laying one of Scotland's earliest railways (a waggonway)from the Sauchie mines to down to the harbour in around 1766.[4]

After the improvements were made to the harbour during the 18th century, Alloa thrived as a river port through which the products of Glasgow manufacture were exported to continental Europe.[5] At that time, and until the 1950s, the main industry to the north and east of the town was coal mining. The Earls of Mar owned many of the coal mines, and Robert Bald, a local mining engineer, was contracted to provide water power from the Gartmorn Dam to operate the mines and other industries.[citation needed] Good water supplies and the availability of barley from the carselands encouraged George Younger to set up a brewery in the 1760s and he was soon followed by others. Alloa became one of Scotland's premier brewing centres.[5] Wool was also locally plentiful and in the early part of the 19th century, John Paton set up a small yarn-spinning business in the town, later establishing Kilncraigs Mill. His firm merged with J. & J. Baldwin of Halifax in 1924 to become the world famous Paton & Baldwins Ltd. Traces of the waggonway and the Gartmorn Dam can still be seen today, and although the dam is no longer used for energy production or water supply, it is well used for fishing and leisure purposes.[citation needed]

A glassworks building with large towers on the banks of an area of water
United Glass Works in Alloa

The town itself continued to be known for its weaving and glassmaking industries well into the 19th and early 20th centuries. Alloa was long associated with the brewing industry, with at least nine major breweries producing ales at its height. However industrial decline during the late 20th century has led to the economy relying more on retail and leisure. The first brewing firms in the town were Younger in 1762 and Meiklejohn in 1784.[6] Alloa ale was sent to London and George Younger had an extensive export trade to the West Indies, Egypt and the Far East. Alloa was also home to Alloa Brewery Co developing "Graham’s Golden Lager" in 1927 which was renamed "Skol" in the 1950s.[7] Closures and mergers during the mid-20th century reduced the number of breweries to two and by 1999 only one remained, The Forth Brewery[8] which became Williams Bros. in 2003.[9]

Interesting places to visit near to Alloa include Alva, Tillicoultry, Dollar, Rumbling Bridge, Culross and Falkirk. Alloa is linked to the historic Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders housed at Stirling Castle. Many of the soldiers in WW2 fought under Montgomery at the Battle of El Alamein and Wadi Akrit where their commanding officer Lorne Campbell won a V.C. They were part of the 7th Argylls under the 51st Highland Division.

Landmarks

Alloa's most notable visible landmark is the 15th century Alloa Tower (National Trust for Scotland), the surviving part of the ancestral medieval residence of the Erskine family, the Earls of Mar.

A tall stone building from the 15th century with trees bordering to the sides
Alloa Tower

Despite extensive alterations both externally and internally, the Tower retains its original medieval wooden roof and battlements, as well as some internal features. It is one of the largest and earliest of Scottish tower houses.

The town formerly contained a large number of 17th and 18th century buildings, but most were cleared away as 'slums' in the 18th to 19th century.[10] However, Alloa does retain some historic architecture in the form of Alloa Tower, Tobias Bauchop's House (1695),[10] Inglewood House, Gean House and Greenfield House.

Alloa Town Hall and Library was designed by the architect Alfred Waterhouse and built in 1886-9 at a cost of £18,008.[11]

Alloa is served by many food retailers including Iceland Frozen Foods, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, Asda and Farmfoods. The Asda supermarket, opened in 2007 is adjacent to the site of the new railway station and was built on the land where the Alloa brewery once stood.

Transport

After the closure of the Stirling-Alloa-Dunfermline line in 1968, rail links to the town did not exist for 40 years up until 2008. The Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine rail link project[12] was completed in May 2008,[13] after much preparatory work, including drainage, and grouting of a large number of shallow mine workings with the laying of the new track commencing in September 2006. The project also involved the construction of a new bypass road and bridge which replaced a major level crossing which ran through the town. Alloa railway station reopened in May 2008.

A railway platform with a train stopped at the station. A few passengers are scattered along the platform
Alloa station on the day of opening in May 2008, 40 years after it closed

First ScotRail now operates an hourly service from Alloa railway station to Glasgow Queen Street via Stirling, Larbert and Lenzie between 0641 and 2241 Monday to Saturday and between 1041 and 2141 on Sundays. Passengers can travel to Inverness, Edinburgh Waverley and Aberdeen with a change at Stirling, however for journeys to or from Edinburgh passengers with heavy luggage may find it more convenient to change at Larbert, where Edinburgh and Glasgow services use the same platform.

The new railway opened for traincrew route learning in early April 2008, followed by the opening to the public on Monday 19 May 2008. This had been preceded by an official opening on 15 May 2008, where Class K4 61994 "The Great Marquess" hauled four specials to Stirling. The return workings were hauled by Deltic 55022 "Royal Scots Grey." Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson officially reopened the line.

Education

The town has two high schools; Lornshill Academy and Alloa Academy. Also five Primary schools: Claremont; Park; Sunnyside; St John's and St Mungos.

Religious sites

Alloa is currently served by two churches in the Church of Scotland, namely Alloa Ludgate Church ( formed by the union of Alloa North Parish Church and Alloa West Parish Church in 2009 in the building of the former West Church) and St Mungo's Parish Church.In 1978 the Very Rev Dr Peter Brodie (then minister at St Mungo's) was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Alloa is within the Church of Scotland's Presbytery of Stirling.

In addition, the United Free Church of Scotland serves the town centre through the congregation at Moncrieff U.F. Church in Drysdale Street.

There are churches of other denominations in the town, including Baptist Church,a Catholic church also named St Mungo's and St John's Episcopal Church. There are also congregations of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah's Witnesses in Alloa.

The headquarters of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS), the ecumenical organisation linking Scotland's largest churches, is located at Inglewood House, Alloa.

Sport

Alloa is home to one professional football club: Alloa Athletic Football Club. The club was formed in 1878 under the name of Clackmannan County but changed to its present day name of Alloa Athletic in 1883. The team currently compete in the Irn-Bru Scottish Football League Second Division after being promoted as Champions of the Scottish Third Division at the end of the 2011-12 season. Their home games are played at Recreation Park in Alloa.

Notable people

Notable people from the burgh include the former footballer and commentator Alan Hansen who was born in Alloa, raised in Sauchie and attended Lornshill Academy, Alloa, and the artists Lys Hansen and Emma Scott-Smith. The Canadian politician George Brown, who also founded the Globe and Mail newspaper, was born in the town in 1818. The founder of Forte Holdings which later merged with Trust House to become Trust House Forte, Lord Charles Forte, was raised in Alloa. Scientist Andrew Norman Meldrum also was born in the town in 1876. Actor Robert Fyfe, who is most notably known for playing the character of Howard Sibshaw in the long running TV series "Last of the Summer Wine" was born in Alloa on June 25, 1925. Steven Wardlaw, a noted writer for Whatculture.com, was raised and lived in Alloa for 19 years.

See also

References

  1. ^ Mac an Tàilleir, Iain (2003) Placenames. (pdf) Pàrlamaid na h-Alba. Retrieved 2009-08-08
  2. ^ Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba ~ Gaelic Place-names of Scotland
  3. ^ "Comparative Population Profile: Alloa Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 29 April 2001. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
  4. ^ Hutton, Guthrie (2002). Old Alloa. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. p. 3. ISBN 9781840332230.
  5. ^ a b Hutton, Guthrie (2002). Old Alloa. p. 3.
  6. ^ Archibald, Jannette (2003). "The Origins of Brewing in Alloa". Nae Sma' Beer (exhibition catalogue)Template:Inconsistent citations{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  7. ^ Hornsey, Ian (2003). A history of beer and brewing. Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 615. ISBN 0-85404-630-5.
  8. ^ "Scottish Brewing Archives: FAQ Alloa Breweries". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  9. ^ "Forth Brewery Company". Directory of UK Real Ales.
  10. ^ a b "Thistle Brewery Alloa: Archaeological Appraisal" (PDF). Stirling Council. 17 May 2001. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  11. ^ "DSA Building/Design Report". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. 2006. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  12. ^ "SAK Railway Project". Transport Scotland. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "First train in 40 years arrives". BBC. 2 April 2008. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2008. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  • "Alloa and its Environs: A descriptive and Historical Sketch", Alloa Advertiser, 1861

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