Scotland > 1882-1915 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland > 1903, Part 1 - Slater's Royal National Commercial Directory of Scotland ... (Royal National Directory of Scotland.) With ... map, etc

STIRLINGSHIRE.
THIS is a midland county, marking the commencement of the
Highlands, and is bounded on the south-west by Dumbartonshire,
south by Lanarkshire and Linlithgowshire, on the west bv Dum-
bartonshire, north by Perthshire and on the east by the very
small county of Clackmannan and that of Linlithgowshire ; from
its position at the head of the Firth of Forth it is to some extent
a seaboard county, Q-rangemouth baring an. extensive trade ; its
boundaries are in many places distinctly marked by water-
courses or lakes— the principal boundary line on the north being
the river Forth, the Avon on the east, the Kelvin river on the
south, the Endrick water in the south-west, and Loch Lomond
-on the west. The figure of the county is extremely irregular-
its length from east to west is 36 miles, but following the curva-
ture of its form from east to its northern point, it will measure
upwards of 45 miles; its breadth varies from 12 to 20 miles
except where it turns towards the north, and here the, distance
across is very trifling. The shire comprises an area of 451 3
square miles, or 288,842 acres of land and S.003 of water,
lne population in 1891 was 125,608, and in 1901, 72 126 males
and 69,511 females; total, 141,637; the inhabited 'houses in
1891 were 24,689, and in 1901 was, inhabited, 28,115; unin-
habited, 1,750; buildings, 363. In size Stirling stands as
twentieth, and in population as the ninttt of the counties of
Scotland.
Early History.— Originally part of the Pictish possessions, it
appears to have passed under the Roman rule about A.D. 80, and
they have left traces of their long occupation in camps &c. while
the wall of Antoninus, which extends from the Clyde to the
Forth, runs across the southern portion of the county. Abandoned
by the Romans, in 410 it again fell under the Pictish rule until
they were expelled by the Saxons and Scots, and about 1060 it
became more settled under Malcolm (Ceanmohr), though even
then subject to Norman raids, while two centuries later Edward I
extended his forays thus fax, capturing the castle of Stirling in
1296. The victory of Stirling Bridge by Wallace over the English
in 1197, and a similar victory by Bruce, at Bannockburn, 24th
June, 1314, checked the English for a time. James II. was born
m Stirling castle, and in 1452 he stabbed the 8th Earl of Douglas
in a small room in the same castle. In June, 1488, James fought
his rebel nobles at Sanchiehall. In 1528 James V. having escaped
from the dominion of Angus, the Regent, assumed control of
affairs at> Stirling, where he subsequentlv built the palace still
existing in the castle. On 29 July, 1567, James VI. still an infant
was crowned at Stirling, and Murray (who was 6hot in 1670) as-
sumed the regency; the noble who succeeded him in this office
was killed in September, 1571, by a band of Mary's adherents
who surprised the town, and in 1651 Charles II. started from
Stirling on his expedition to England which terminated so dis-
astrously at Worcester. In the 12th century David I. erected
several religious houses, particularly that at Cambuskenneth,
and these communities tended to civilize the rude manners of
the inhabitants.
Surface, Soil, Produce, Minerals, Manufactures &c— The part
of the county which is adjacent to Loch Lomond, is a mountainous
district; here Ben Lomond rises to the. height of more than 3,192
feet. East from this the land becomes flat, or gently inclining
towards the Forth, or the Endrick. In the centre of the county
the ground is again elevated into a series of hills, of which those
of the greatest altitude are from 1,300 to 1,500 feet high ; from
one of these, in Kilsyth parish, there is obtained a view com-
puted to embrace an extent of 12,000 square miles. Many of the
hills m the central, and more especially in the southern division,
have their 6ides and even their summits clothed with a fine grass
sward, which affords excellent pasturage for sheep. The eastern
division of the county consists of carse land, in many places
quite flat, and in others presenting a succession of inclined planes
gradually rising towards the south from the rich valley of the
Forth. Almost every variety of soil to be met with in Scotland
occurs in Stirlingshire ; but the most common and the most fertile
is the alluvial, or carse land, which occupies many thousand
acres on the banks of the Forth. In this species of soil there are
beds of shells, clay, marl and moss. In the western and central
districts, on the banks of the rivers, the land is generally of a
light and gravelly description ; while patches of rich loam form
the surfaoe in other parts of the county. Large crops of oats,
barley, beans, turnips, potatoes &c. are raised, and the culture of
artificial grasses has also been very generally adopted in this
county. The extensive ranges of moor in the upland district
are exclusively devoted to the feeding of sheep, which are of the
old black-faced, or Highland breed; there are comparatively few
cattle reared, the county being supplied from the Highlands
The chief crops in 1902, as appears from the " Agricultural
Returns for Great Britain," were— oats, 17,387 acres; barlev
or bere, 2,788; beans, 2,820; wheat, 1,854; the total corn
crops being 24,948 acres; turnips and swedes, 4,264 acres-
potatoes, 4,264; total of green crops, 8,084; hay, 16,S68 acres;
clover, sainfoin and grasses, not for hay, 18,428; permanent
pasture, 47,584; bare fallow, 904 acres; total area of land,
288,482, of which there was— mountain and heath land, 134,695
(used for grazing); woods and plantations, 14,920. The live
stock in 1902 comprised— horses used solelv for agriculture and
brood mares, 3,476; unbroken horses, 1,143; cows and heifers
in milk or in calf, 12,425; other cattle, 21,428; ewes kept
for breeding, o3,196; otner sheep 71,760; sows kept for breed-
ing, 238; other pigs, 1,996. The mineral productions, as
appears from the Mines and Quarries General Report and
Statistics for 1901, include coal, fire clay, gravel and sand
igneous rocks, iron ore, limestone, oil shale and sandstone!
lhe principal coal pits are in the southern base of the Lennox
Hills ; but this valuable article is also obtained in the eastern
district m the vicinity of the Forth and Clyde canal, and in such
quantities as not only to be sufficient for home consumption
but to admit of exportation. The production of coal in 1901
l^r^n^!^? 8 ' 1 ' 238 ; 391 t™ 8 ; ™lue, £495,356; West Stir-
ling, 1,068 489 tons; value, £440,752; fire clay, 82,294 tons,
value £14,401; iron ore, 6,172 tons. There are four blast furl
naees, but the production is not separately returned. The pro-
duction or oil shale was 2,049 tons; gravel and sand, 571442
w'nVa lg ™ US . r ° C , kS ' 64 ' 33 , 9 tons ; """stone, 25,311; sandstone,
52,066. The staple manufacture of this county is iron goods
both cast and malleable, the chief seat of which is at Carron'
near Falkirk. The making of nails for carpenters' work is
also_ earned on in several parishes (especially in that of Saint
JNinians) ; at Saint Ninians are likewise manufactured tartans ;
at Stirling, carpets, tartans and shawls; and at Bannockburn
.weeds are produced, while in other towns and localities are
calico printing works, 'arge distilleries, tanneries, breweries,
"J 6 ? 1 ^ 1 and other establishments. At Grangemouth 3 steamers,
of 1 83o net tonnage, were built and 1 of 974 tonnage, built
ior foreigners.
Rivers, Mountains and Railways.— The Forth is the principal
river in Stirlingshire. It takes its rise from a spring near tne
summit of Ben Lomond, and, after receiving in. its course the
loitn, the Allan, and the Devon, expands into the estnary called
the Firth of Forth. Between Stirling and Alloa, a distance of
only 7 miles m a direct line, the stretch is more than 20 by the
course of the river, owing to the numerous windings, which are
termed "the links of the Forth." The next river in magnitude
is the Carron, which has its source in the central district, and is
navigable for vessels of large burthen for about 2 miles from the
place where it forms a junction with the Forth. The other
streams are the Avon, the Endrick, the Blank, and the Kelvin.
Loch Lomond, a fine inland lake 23 miles in length by 5 in breadth
at the widest part, to< a little over 1 at the narrowest, extends
from Balloch, 5 miles north of Dumbarton, to Ardlui, 2 miles
south of Inverarnan, and contains several considerable islands, of
which three principal ones, Inch Cruin, Inchfad, and Inchcaelloch,
belong to this county, and a line drawn from'the lake shore 1
mile west of Buchannan Kirk, to the centre of the Loch, and thence
continued northward, passing to the east of Inchlonaig, up the
middle of the Loch to a point just east of Inchvow, above Invers-
naid, forms the western boundary of the county ; there is some
fishing and the Loch is much frequented by tourists in search of
scenery. Ben Lomond lies to the east, about half way up the
Loch, and the western side is skirted by large mountains for
most of its length. The Forth and Clyde canal and the Union canal
pass through the county ; the first named debouching at Grange-
mouth and the Union joining it from Edinburgh, at Falkirk.
There are also numerous springs, but the most noted are the Airth-
rey Wells, at Bridge of Allan, the waters of which contain saline
and other properties. The eminences of great altitude above the
level of the sea are: Ben Lomond, 3,262 feet; Ben a Choin,
2,524; Maol Mohr, 2,200; Ben Bhrearc, 1,922; Ben Uird, 1,957;
and Earls Seat, Campsie Fells, 1,894 feet.
The railways running from Glasgow into the south of the
county are the Alloa, Stirling and Perth branch of the North
British line, which enters the county at Castlecary, and passing
by Larbert and St. Ninians to Stirling, throws out a branch
to Alloa, where it joins the line of the same railway from
Stirling, via Dunfermline, to Edinburgh; there is another line
from Glasgow and Yorker, entering the county at Summerston
and runs, to Kilsyth, from whence a branch goes to Bonny-
bndge, and over this the Caledonian line runs to Larbert; the
J.orth British railway has also a branch from Lenzie Junction,
via Kirkintilloch, running north-west, by Strathblane to Gart-
ness, where it joins the line from Stirling to Balloch and from
Buohlyvieon this latter line nearer to Stirling runs a branch to
Aberf oyle ; the only other line is that running north and north-
west from Stirling to Doune and Callander, by Bridge of Allan;
this belongs to the Caledonian railway.
Divisions, Representation Ac— Stirlingshire comprises 22 com-
plete civil parishes and 25 complete and 12 parts of ecclesiasti-
cal parishes, in the synod of Perth and Stirling. It contains
two parliamentary burghs^Stirling (which is the onlv royal
burgh of the county), and Falkirk; the former join's with
Culross, Queensferrr, Dunfermline and Inverkeithing in re-
turning a member to Parliament, and Falkirk is associated in
representation with Linlithgow, Lanark, Airdrie and Hamilton.
The county sends one representative. The parliamentary con-
stituency in 1903 was 17,750.
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE COUNTY.
James McKillop esq. D.L., J.P. Polmont park, Polmont S.O.
Stirlingshire