Scotland > 1882-1915 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland > 1886 - Slater's (late Pigot and Co's) Royal national commercial directory and topography of Scotland

CLACKMANNANSHIRE
SLATER'S
ALLOA,
WITH SOUTH ALLOA, TULLIBODY, SAUCHLE AND CAMBUS.
ALLOA, a town of considerable commercial importance, and tlie
leading one of the county, is 30 miles n.w. from Edinburgh,
32 8. from Perth, 7 from Stirling, the same distance from Dollar, 5
from Kincardine, and 3 from Tillicoultry. The word "Alloa" is
supposed to be a corruption of the Celtic words lt Aull waeg ;" signi-
fying the way to the sea, or the sea-way. It is situated on the north
bank of the river Forth, at the point where the river ends and the
Frith begins. At this spot, and for ten miles above it, the water is
deep enough to admit vessels of 70 tons. The quay stretches along
the bank, and large vessels or steamboats can thus lie close up to
the thoroughfare, to the great convenience of passengers, and is the
more worthy of appreciation as this is the only port on the Frith at
which such can be accomplished with perfect ease and safety at
any tide. Till 1854 Alloa was a burgh of barony, under the manage-
ment of trustees, but in February of that year, the inhabitants by a
large majority adopted the Burgh and Police Act, and in 1863, the
Commissioners under that Act unanimously adopted the General
Police (Scotland) Act of 1862, known as " Lindsay's Act." The
burgh of Alloa is governed by a board of nine commissioners, con-
stituted agreeably to the provisions of the Police and Improvement
Act, one of them acting as a chief magistrate, and two oi them as
junior magistrates. An ordinary meeting is held on the second
Monday of each month, and statutory meetings on the second
Monday of the months of January, April, July and October. The
ordinary and small debt courts are held weekly, a sheriff court twice
a week, a justice of the peace court for the county at stated periods,
and a fiars court annually. Of late years the town has considerably
improved in appearance, many of the oldest houses having been
been removed to make room for others of a more modern class ;
and even the streets best known iu older days have had their courses
altered or been materially improved. Many public buildings have
been added, and constructed in such a style as to enhance the
appearance of the town. At the top of Mar street is situated the
County Court House, erected in the Flemish stjle of architecture,
at a cost of £8,700, aud which was formally opened on the 8th of
December, 1865. About the middle of High street is the Corn
Exchange, which is used also as a public hall ; it was built in 1862,
at a cost of £1,150, and is the property of a joint-stock company.
Powers having been acquired for feuing the glebe which lies to the
west of the town, a new suburb is making its appearance there, the
principal building being the Archaeological Museum and Hall. This
institution was erected in 1874, and besides furnishing the members
of the Archaeological Society with suitable accommodation for their
specimens, library and meetings, affords advantages to the public
for meetings of a smaller kind than those held in the Corn
Exchange; the total cost was about £2,000. 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 ornamental, presenting a striking contrast to the old dingy
building they replace ; it was opened in 1876, and will accommodate
600 scholars, the cost being about £5,000. In Greenside street are the
Paton School and the Christian Institute. The former was erected
in 1865, 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 continuation of Mill street, are the
Muuicipal buildings. The old Burgh chambers had long been felt
to be unsuitable, and in 1872 the Commissioners of the town pro-
ceeded to erect the very beautiful buildings which grace the street
in which they stand; they are in the Grecian style of architecture,
and cost about £4,000. Adjacent to these is the new Post Office,
a substantial three-storey building in the classic style of architec-
ture, which was opened on the 13th of November, 1882. Villas are
rising to the west in rapid succession, adding much to the beauty
of the place, amongst which may be mentioned the beautiful
mansion of Norwood, the residence of J. Thomson Paton, Esq. ; it
is in the Scottish baronial style, and forms a point of attraction in
the approach to Alloa from the west. In 1877 land was acquired by
the Commissioners, as a feu, from the Earl of Mar and Kellie, which
has been laid out as a public park; it extends over 20 acres, is
triangular in shape, and generally level, with the exception of a
slight elevation at the north-east corner ; it was formally opened on
the 1st of May, 1878. At the east end of the town a new cemetery
has been laid out, which covers an area of six acres.
The trade of Alloa has been gradually increasing, and it is
expected that the improvements and enlargement of the dock will
contribute to its further development. In 1871 a bill was obtained
giving powers for the construction of new works, and under these
powers the Harbour Trustees have greatly extended the dock, and
have also obtained a powerful steam dredger for keeping the dock
and harbour clear of mud. Beside the brewing and yarn trades,
for which the town is so no!ed, many other articles of industry are
produced. There are in the town several foundries— iron, copper
and brass — extensive bottle works, a pottery, to which has been
added a department for glass engraving, machine works, cooperages,
saw mills, a shipbuilding yard, and brick and tile works. The col-
lieries around Alloa are very numerous, and the export trade of tho
port depends to a large extent upon them. The Stirling and Dun-
fermline branch of the North British railway passes through the
suburbs, and has a station at the top of Primrose street, thus afford-
ing quick transit to all parts of the country. There are five branch
banking establishments— the Clydesdale Bank, Limited, the Com-
mercial Bank of Scotland, Limited, the National Bank of Scotland,
Limited, the Union Bank of Scotland, Limited, and the Royal
Bank of Scotland, together with a Bank for Savings. Three news-
papers are published in Alloa weekly— the Advertiser, the Circular,
and the Journal. Immense quantities of whisky are manufactured
o%o
here, the Carsebridge Distillery, one of the largest in the kingdom,
being capable of producing from 50,000 to 60,000 gallons of
proof spirit weekly, and the quality and quantity of the ale exceed
those of any other town in Scotland. About ljOO vessels of various
burthen belong to Alloa and its adjacent creeks. The exports com-
prise ale, whisky, glass bottles, coal, wool and woolleu goods; the
imports are timber, oak, bark, hides, butter, cheese and large sup-
plies of grain for malting. The latter forms now a principal feature
in the imports ; large vessels of 600 or 700 tons may be seen discharg-
ing here at one time. A daily communication with Edinburgh,
Stirling, and the towns on the Frith is afforded by steam packets
throughout tho year ; and the ferry steamboats (on board of which
a carriage and four horses may he driven without either horses
or passengers being removed) give every facility to families proeeed-
ing to the south side of the river. On the south side of the Forth,
opposite to Alloa, are extensive timber yards and sawing and plan-
ing mills, and also a terminus of a branch of the Caledonian railway.
A free shipping port is formed at this part of the Forth. The great
depth of water, together with the facility of railway transit, show
this locality as eminently eligible for the purpose, as is proved by
the fact of the large number of vessels daily arriving. In 1878 an
Act was obtained in Parliament for the purpose of making a railway
from the South Alloa branch of the Caledonian line to the town,
with a bridge over the Forth, the undertaking being promoted by
an independent company, backed by the Caledonian Company, who
subscribed £40,000 of thie necessary capital. The foundation stone
of the bridge was laid on the 5th of April, 1882, and has been suc-
cessfully completed. It consists of seventeen spans, two of 100
feet, two of SO feet, and thirteen of 6H feet, the piers on which the
girders rest rising to a height of 24 feet above high water mark. In,
the fairway of the channel are two opening spans of 60 feet each,
which turn on a massive central pier, consisting of six cylindrical
columns, to permit of vessels passing up and down the river. Each
of the girders was tested with a pressure reaching to 2 cwt. to
oach foot of space. All are of malleable iron of such quality as will
bear a tensible strain of 22 tons per square inch before fracture, and
of 11 tons per square inch when in permanent way. The bridge, which
has one line of rails, is 17 feet in breadth outside, and 14 feet in-
side the girders; the estimated cost of tho line and bridge was
£64 000. Messrs. Watt & Wilson, of Glasgow, were the contractors.
The parish church, which was first opened for divine worship
on the 2Gth of June, 1819, forms one of the most prominent objects
in the town. It is a fine structure, in the pointe d style of architec-
ture, and was raised at an expense of £3,000. The spire is very
handsome, and was added to the tower by public subscription ; the
Earl of Mar added considerably to its improvement by giving a bell
and a fine clock. St. Andrew's church, in the early English style
of architecture, and presenting a simple though massive appear-
ance, was opened on the 26th of November, 1S82. The other places of
worship are two Free churches, two United Presbyterian churches,
a Baptist chapel, a handsome new church erected for the Episco-
palians, with a peal of bells equal to any in Scotland, a Roman
Catholic chapel, and one for Swedenborgians. Tho educational in-
stitutions embrace a Burgh school, the Paton school, Board
schools, an academy, an Episcopal school, a Roman Catholic
school, and one or two of a private character. The Alloa Hospital,
which was instituted in February, 1867, mainly through the
liberality of the late Earl of Kellie, is designed for the medical and
surgical treatment of persons in the county of Clackmannan, suffer-
ing from disease or accident. A detached building is available to
the local authorities of the burgh and parish of Alloa, for the recep-
tion oi persons suffering from infectious diseases. It is under the
management of a committee who are annually appointed from the
subscribers, and is supported by voluntary subscriptions. Alloa
Day Home, which was formerly a ragged school, was instituted on
the 29th of January, 1884, to aid in securing the elementary educa-
tion of poor and neglected children in Alloa, by providing superin-
tendence and one or more meals a day. Children under 14 years of age,
of both sexes and of all denominations, are eligible for admission.
In winter three curling clubs, viz., the Alloa club, the Prince of
Wales' club, and the Alloa Park club, meet on their respective ponds
to practice the " roaring game." The convivial festival of "King
Crispin " was first celebrated here in 1824, with the customary
pomp, pageantry and ceremonies. The town is well supplied with
gas, the Alloa gas works, which were up to 1877 in the possession of
a private company, being now tho property of the Commissioners,
having been acquired by them at a cost of £23,250, the amount fixed
by the valuators. Until 1822 Alloa was very badly supplied with
water, but in that year a supply was obtained from a large artificial
loch known as Gartruorn Dam, which covers 160 acres of ground,
and in 1867, the supply being inadequate, two large filtering beds
were constructed in addition, the water being conveyed to the town
through 10-inch and 12-iuch main pipes; the total costof the water-
works up to the present time is £6,000.
Alloa in its immediate neighbourhood presents scenery at once
lovely, bold and picturesque. On the north side is the proud
range of the Ochil hills, covered with verdure to their very summits,
aud which are, perhaps, unrivalled in the fascination of Scottish
landscape ; the south displays the Forth in all its natural
splendour, and its borders the embellishments of rural taste,
Stirling Castle on the west, and the Alloa and Clackmannan
Towers on the east, empower the pencil to complete the picture,
and pieseut to the eye 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 these
appanages by their landlord, the late John Francis, Earl of Mar
(who had endeared himself to the tenantry by a life devoted to