The Town of Alloa

Alloa is a small town in Clackmannanshire in Central Scotland, 6 miles to the east of Stirling.  It is situated on the north bank of the River Forth, with the Ochil Hills forming a glorious background.  Written information regarding the early history of the town is scarce, however official records first mention Alloa as a small hamlet clustered round the Tower of the Erskines.

Whats in a Name

The name "Alloa" is thought by many to come from the Celtic ath-luath which means a swift ford (of running water).  A visit to Alloa shore to view the rushing River Forth would confirm this.


The Bronze Age Cists

A Bronze Age Cemetery was found in the centre of Alloa at Mars Hill in 1828. Workmen discovered twenty-two cinerary urns, two pure gold bracelets and a cist burial. In March 2003, local Historian Susan Mills attempted to find the cemetery, the location of which had been lost through time.  She found an undisturbed burial cist, constructed of sandstone slabs, which was from the original cemetery.  The skeleton of a woman buried in the crouching position was found along with a exquisitely decorated early Bronze Age Food Vessel and a copper alloy awl.  The Food Vessel was identified by Dr Alison Sheridan of the National Museums of Scotland as a tripartite vase of c. 2000 BC. and the skeleton is currently being processed to obtain an age.

Iron Age Warrior

Soon after the unearthing of the Bronze Age cist, came the discovery of a stone cist, just fifteen metres south east of the earlier cist. The cist was much longer than the Bronze Age one and was made of coarse sandstone slabs.

The skeleton of a man, laid on his back with his head to the east, was contained with the cist.  It was believed that he had been buried fully clothed, and was wearing a belt with sword attached. A glass bead and a copper alloy annular-headed pin fastened near his neckand  two copper alloy rings on his toes.  A spear had also been placed in the cist.  Items in the cist were dated provisionally by Fraser Hunter of the National Museums of Scotland to the late Iron Age, in this region c. 100 BC - AD 100. A provisional radiocarbon date of c90 - 130AD has been obtained from a sample taken from the skelton.

The man's possessions and the care given to his burial, suggest that he was a native warrior in the upper echelon of his social group. The Alloa warrior burial is remarkable. Such richly furnished graves are very rare in Scotland, and this is one of the few discovered undisturbed and investigated in a controlled excavation.

The Earls of Mar

In 1398 the name of Alloa first appears in an authentic document, when King Robert III granted the barony of Alloa to Sir Thomas Erskine.  The arrival of the Erskines encouraged the growth of the hamlet of Alloa and improved conditions for the local people.  A chapel was built in Alloa, sparing the local people a journey to nearby Clackmannan or Tullibody.

The title of The Earl of Mar was awarded to the 6th Lord Erskine in 1565 by Mary Queen of Scots. The Erskine family were given the responsibility of bringing up the Stuart Princes and Princesses, including James VI and Mary Queen of Scots, who both visited Alloa Tower. The first Earl was made a regent of Scotland to rule on behalf of King James VI, who was crowned King aged only 13 months.  The Earls of Mar were appointed Keepers of Stirling Castle and still hold that position today.

The sixth Earl of Mar laid out Alloa, made the largest contribution to the town of Alloa.  He created the largest artificial lake in Scotland (Gartmorn Dam) in 1713 and built a water wheel so that coal could be worked in the local area.  He also improved Alloa harbour and made Alloa a customs port in 1710.  Glasgow merchants established warehouses in the area to hold sugar and tobacco intended for export to destinations in continental Europe.

The Birth of Alloa's Industries

The working of coal in Clackmannanshire and the introduction of water power was the catalyst to spark industrial growth.  Woolen Mills, distilleries, breweries and textile mills appeared in Alloa, powered by wheels turned by the water channelled from the 6th Earl of Mar's dam.

By the 1800s new inventions created new new jobs in Alloa:

    * Distillers
    * Industrial Brewers
    * Glass Makers
    * Potters
    * Ship Builders
    * Coppersmiths
    * Rope Makers
    * Dye Workers
    * Engineers
    * Woollen Mill Workers
    * Sawmill Workers
    * Dockers
    * Railway Workers
    * Sail Makers
    * Iron Foundry Workers
    * Gas Plant Workers
    * Agricultural Machine Manufacturers
    * Coal Miners
    * Weavers

Alloa Harbour was the vital transport link for the industries of the area and by the mid 1800s, 2,000 vessels were using the docks at Alloa and 175,000 tonnes of coal were exported each year.

Alloa was famous for it's breweries, many of which sprung up in the period of the late 1700s to the mid 1800s.  This was due to the local barley, pure water from the Ochils, local coal power and Alloa Harbour to easily export Alloa ales and beers round the world.  Some of the famous breweries in Alloa included:

    *
      Meadow Brewery (1764) owned by George Younger
    * Meiklejohn's Brewery (1774) owned by Robert Meiklejohn
    * Candleriggs Brewery (1787) owned by Robert Meiklejohn
    * Mills Brewery (1804), later owned by James Calder
    * Alloa Brewery (1810), later owned by the Carlsberg Tetley Group
    * Shore Brewery (1816), later known as James Calder
    * Townhead Brewery (1853), Alexander Blair
    * Thistle Brewery (1870), James Maclay

Lady Frances Erskine opened a 'glass house' at Alloa in 1750 as a new way of using some of her coal.  The coal could stoke furnaces to produce the high temperatures required for glass production.  The original bottle were hand blown by local workers who were taught by Bohemian craftsmen, brought to Alloa by Lady Frances.  By 1908 the Alloa glassworks was the first in the UK to have fully automated glass making machinery. In 1955 the company became part of United Glass, producing over 1.5 million bottles per day.

In 1814, John Paton brought the first 'spinning jenny' to his Kilncraig mill beside the Brothie Burn at Alloa. Crowds of people turned out to see it. He began spinning wool for knitting and weaving. The firm became known worldwide as Patons & Baldwins.

The Paton family were generous benefactors, giving Alloa Town Hall to the local people in 1887.  They also provided the first public free library, an arts and science school and a recreation room, public baths and gymnasium. The Paton family supported 'The Temperance Movement' and encouraged locals to join churches and Sunday Schools.
 

Alloa Today

Alloa continued to develop throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.  Today, Alloa very few of Alloa's original industries remain, with exception of glass making by United Glass, which is still a large employer in the area.  Old industries closed, small businesses were taken over by larger ones and companies went out of business. Once Kincardine Bridge opened in 1936, few ships came up river as far as Alloa and the harbour was closed in the 1950s.  Alloa railway station closed in the 1960s, isolating the town further.

The re-introduction of a railway will join Alloa back into the national rail network.  It is expected that passenger trains will be in operation by 2007, with a service from Alloa to Glasgow Queen Street.  In recent years Alloa has been expereincing a facelift and regeneration of many former industrial sites.  The site of the old Alloa Brewery will be turned into a Supermarket, with the railway station adjacent.  The old Maclays Brewery office buildings have been renovated into a pub at a cost of £1.5 million pounds.  The buildings of Patons and Baldwins Woollen Mill have been renovated and are now a large office space.