Scotland > 1868, 1878 - Slater's (late Pigot & Co.'s) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland > 1878 > Part 1

CLACKMANNANSHIRE.
SLATER'S
ALLOA,
WITH SOUTH ALLOA, TULLIBODY, SAUCHIE AND CAMBUS.
Alloa is a town of considerable commercial importance, and in Alloa; a sheriff court onco every week, and a justice of tlie
the leading one of the county. 30 miles n.w. fmm Edinburgh, 33 s. ' peace court for the county at stated periods, and a Aajs comt
from Perth, 7 from StirUng, the same distance from Dollar, 5 from annually. The Established church, ^ uch was first opened for
Kincardine and 3 from TiUicouJtry. It is situated on the north divine worship on the 20th of June, 1819, forms one of the most
bank of tlie river Forth, at the point where the river ends and the prominent objects in the town. It is a fine structure, m the pomt^ea
Frith beffins. At this spot, and for ten mUes above it, the water is style of architecture, and was raised at an expense of nearly ^T^^^y-
deep enough to admit vessels of 70 tons. Tlie quay stretches along The spire is very handsome, and was added to the tower I'.y P^bhc
the bank, and large vessels or steamboats can thus lie close up to subscription ; the Earl of Mar added considerably to its impiove-
the thoroughfare, to the gr.^at convenience of passengers, and is ment by giving a bell and a fine clock The other places ot
the more worthy of appreciation as this is the only port on the worship are two Free churches, two United Presbytenan churches
Frith at which such can be accomplished with perfect ease and a Baptist chapel, a handsome new church recently erected foi the
safetv at anv tide Till 1854 Alloa was a burgh of barony, under EpiscopaUans, with a peal of bells equal to any in Scothmd, and a
the maua'-ement of trustees, but in February of that year, the Roman Catholic chapel. The educational institutions embrace a
inhabitant's by a large majority adopted the Burgh and Police Act. Burgh school, the Paton school, Board schools, an academy, an
The burgh of \lloa is governed by aboard of nine commiBsioners, infant and juvenile school, an Industrial school, an ^iscopai
constituted agreeably to the provisions of the Police and Improve- school, and one or two of a private character. The Alloa Hospital,
ment Act one of them acting as a chief magistrate, and two of which was instituted in February, 1867, mainly through the
them as junior magistrates. An ordinary meeting is held every liberality of the late Earl of Kellie, is designed for the medical and
Monday and Saturday. Meetings on the second Mondav of the surgical treatment of persons in the County of Clackmannan,
--•'-- ■ ■' ■'--■' J --.^t^i-^- /-\f i„+„ 4.1.^ 4.«„... 1.,,., suffering from disease or accident. A detached building is avauablo
to the local authorities of the burgh and parish of Alloa, for the
reception of persons suffering from infectious disoases. It is under
the management of a committee who are annually appointed from
the subscribers, and is supported by voluntary subscriptions. In
winter two curling clubs, viz., the Alloa club and the Prince of
Wales' club, meet on their respective ponds to practice the
"roaring game." The convivial festival of* "King Crispin" was
first celebrated herein 1824, with the customary pomp, pageantry,
and ceremonies.
Alloa in its immediate neighbourhood presents eccnery at once
Mill street, the principal business street of the town. About the ; lovely, bold and picturesque. On the north side is the proud range
middle of High street is the Corn Exchange, which is used also as of the Ochil hills, covered with verdure to their very summits, and
a public haU. Powers having been acquired for feuing the glebe , which arc, perhaps, unrivalled in the fascination of Scottish
which hes.to the west of the town, a new suburb is making its landscape; the south displays the Forth in all its uatural splendour,
appearance there, the principal building being the Archaeological and its borders, the embellishments of rural tasto. Stirling Castle
Museum and Hall. This institution was erected in 1874, and besides on the west, and the AUoa and Clackmannan Towers on the east,
fui-nishing the members of the Arch^ological Society with suitable empower the pencil to complete the picture^ and present to the eye
months of January, April, July and October. Of late the town has
considerably improved in appearance, many of the oldest houses
having been removed to make room for others of a more modern
class- and even the streets best known in older days have had their
courses altered or been materially improved. Many public build-
ings have been added of late, constructed in such a style as to
enhance the appearance of the town. At the top of Mar street is
situated the Court house, erected at a cost of £7.000, which was
formally opened on the 8th of December, 1835. A branch of the
National Bank of Scotland is accommodated in a veiy handsome
building at the foot of High street, and with a frontage also towards
accommodation for their specimens, library and meetings, affords
advantages to the pubHc for meetings of a smaller kind than those
held in the Corn Exchange. At a little distance from this hall a
new burgh school has been built on the site of the old assembly
rooms and parochial school. The premises are large and ornamen-
tal, presenting a strildng contrast to the old dingy building they
replace. In Greenside street are the Paton school and the
Christain Institute: the former was erected from a trust fund left
by the late Alexander Paton, Esq., of Cowden Park, for educational
purposes, and is suitably endowed. The front of the school faces
the foot of Candle street, and, with its ornamental tower, presents
a handsome appearance. The latter was built by D, Paton, Esq.,
and placed by him under trustees for the benefit of the Young
Men's Christian Association. In Bank street, which is a continua-
tion of West Mill street, are the ^Municipal buildings. The old
Burgh chambers had long been felt to be unsuitable, and, in 1872,
tho commissioners of the town proceeded to erect the very
beautiful buildings which grace the street in which they stand.
Villas are rising to the west in rapid succession, adding much to
the beauty of the place. The trade of Alloa has been gradually
increasing, and it is expected that recent improvements and
enlargement of the dock will contribute to its further development.
Beside the brewing and yarn trades, for which tho town is so noted,
many other articles of industry are produced. There are in the
town several foundries — iron, copper and brass^estensive bottle
works, a pottery, to which has been added a department for glass
engraving, machine works, cooperages, saw mills, a ship building
yard, and a brick and tile works. The collieries around Alloa are
very numerous, and the export trade of the port depends to a large
extent upon them. The Stirling and Dunfermline branch of the
North British railway passes through the suburbs, and has a station
at the top of Primrose street, thus affording quick transit to all
a panorama of no common brilliancy. The noble and ancient
family of Mar have long been the proprietors of this place. They
forfeited the earldom by their participation in the ill-digested
rebellion of 1715, and the title and privileges were not restored until
June, 1824, when the inhabitants, on the welcome intelligence of
the resumption of thsse appanages by tlieir landlord, the late John
Francis, Earl of Mar (who had endeared himself to the tenantry
by a life devoted to the promotion of their happiness and the
prosperity of Alloa), celebrated the event by every demonstration
of gratitude and joy. Alloa Tower was lon^^ tlie residence of this
family. It is a quadrangular building, and though time and the
elements are hastening its decay, it is still a place of great strength.
The walls are eleven feet thick, and the highest turret is eighty-
nine feet. It was built by the sovereigns of Scotland previous to
the thirteenth century, and is' a stately remnant of feudal grandeur.
It has frequently been the resort and residence of royalty. The
beautiful and unfortunate Mary spent a portion of her youth and
maturity with the Mar family ; her son James also passed many of
his youthful days here, having been committed by his mother to
the "then Earl of Mar; and his son, Prince Henry, received a part
of his education in this tower, under the celebrated George
Buchanan. The prospect from the summit is beautiful and exten-
sive, and worthy the attention of the tourist and stranger. The
tower is now uninhabited. Alloa market is abundantly suppHed
with every necessary dm-ing the week, and more particularly on
Saturday. Cattle fairs are held on the second Wednesday in
February, IMay, August and November, all new style. The parish
of Alloa embraces an area of 5,499 statute acres, with a population
in 1871 of 9,940 ; the town at the same period containing 9,362.
Cambxts is small village situated on the Forth, in the parish of
Alloa, and two miles therefrom, and five from Stirling, its post
-- ^ , -, , rni, *: 1 i, v " i"- i vi- i . towu. It is also a station on the Stirling and Dunfermline section
parts of the country. There are five branch banking establishments ^ ^j^ ^^^ ^^-^.^ il ^^^ ^^ ^- 1^ j.^ to Alloa. The
—the Clydesdale Banlung Co., the Commercial Bank of Scotland, ';. r)p^„„ r-ere discharces
the National Bank of Scotland, the Union Bank of Scotland, and ^'^*^^ i^evon neie aiscnaiges
the Royal Bank of Scotland, together with a bank for savings.
Three newspapers are published in Allo'a weekly — the "Advertiser,"
the "Circular," and the "Journal." Immense quantities of
whiskey are made here for the London market, and the quality and
quantity of the ale exceeds those of any other town in Scotland,
itself into the Forth, and there is a
pier where small vessels are enabled to discharge and load.
Brewing and distilling are extensively carried on here.
South Alloa is a viUage and thriving seaport in the parish of
Airth, situated on the south bank of the Forth, opposite to Alloa,
in the county of Stirling ; it is crossed by a ferry. There is
About one hundred vessels, of various burthens, belong to Alloa and station here on thejSouth Alloa branch of the Caledonian main line.
i'o'tt^'JrS! rof Sd Z'!^an!Zf. :^i^^'J^^^^, l Sa.ohxk 'N- and Old, are V'ny^^m.o. irnmediat.ly
bark, hides/butter, clieese, and large supplies of grain for malting contiguous to cacli otber in the pansliea of AUoa an 1 Glaclm-.an-
The latter forms iow a principal featSe in tlie imports; iar£e ?™'°'t^^^'™ ™''^^ "™*^f™" '^i"^' °V'''' T'^*°/^Tr ^'""™
vessels of 600 or 700 tons iay be seen discbarr^ing bere at mo time. ] '^ ^"^ ,^,"''"?^"''??, "^T^ ^''^''- 4 great number of colliers em-
rS communication mtb Edinburgh, Stirling, and tbe towns on Iv^^y"^ Dv the Alloa Company, reside in these villages and there
the Fdth is afforded by steam packets throughout the year; and are schools in which their children are instructed, and also a Board
the ferry steamboats (on board of which a carriage and four horses , ^^ ">■ subscription school.
may be driven without either horses or passengers being removed) '■. Tullibody parish was united to that of Alloa about the time of
give every facility to families proceeding to the south side of the the Reformation. The ancient kirk of Tullibody was unroofed
river. On the south side of the Forth, opposite to Alloa, are the under circumstances of a peculiar character. In the year 1559 it
extensive timber yards and sawing and planing mills of the Messrs, was made to serve the purpose of a bridge across the Devonior the
Thomson & Stephens, and also a terminus of a branch of the French troops when they retreated before tho English. The
Caledonian railway. The landed proprietor here is Sir Alexander church continued in a dismantled condition for upwards of two
Gibson Blaitlaud. A free shipping port is formed at this part of centuries, when it was again covered in by George Abercrombie,
the Forth. The great depth of water, together with the facility of Esq., of Tillibody, and fitted up as a place of worship for the use of
railway transit, shows this locality as eminently eligible for the this populous district. It is again in disuse, there being erected
purpose, as is proved by the fact of the large number of vessels adjoining a neat and modern edifice. There is a Board school in
dailv arriving. Tlie ordinary and small debt courts are held weekly the village. Population in 1871, 649.
536
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