Alloa
| Alloa | |
| Clackmannanshire | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NS900920 |
| Location: | 56°6’58"N, 3°47’45"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 18,989 (2001) |
| Post town: | Alloa |
| Postcode: | FK10 |
| Dialling code: | 01259 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Clackmannanshire |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Ochil and South Perthshire |
Alloa is a small town in Clackmannanshire, on the north bank of the River Forth 7 miles east of Stirling.
The town was a burgh of barony, and at one time of considerable commercial importance but is now relatively insignificant.
Buildings
- Alloa Tower (National Trust for Scotland) (the surviving part of the ancestral medieval residence of the Erskine family, the Earls of Mar, with its original medieval wooden roof and battlements. It is one of the largest and earliest of Scottish tower houses.
- Alloa Town Hall and Library (1886-9, designed by Alfred Waterhouse.[1]
- Older buildings surviving 19th and 20th century "slum-clearance":
- Tobias Bauchop's House (1695)
- Inglewood House,
- Gean House
- Greenfield House.
Churches
- Church of Scotland:
- St Mungo's Parish Church
- Alloa North Parish Church
- Alloa West Parish Church
- United Free Church of Scotland: Moncrieff U.F. Church in Drysdale Street
- Episciopal Church: St John's Church
- Roman Catholic: St Mungo's
The headquarters of Action of Churches Together in Scotland, the ecumenical organisation linking Scotland's largest churches, is located at Inglewood House, Alloa.
History
During the 18th century, Alloa thrived as a river port through which manufacture from Glasgow was exported to Europe. At that time, and until the 1950s, the main industry to the north and east of the town was coal mining, and an extensive waggonway existed to take the coal to the harbour. The Earls of Mar owned many of the coal mines, and Robert Bald, an unusually inventive local mining engineer, was instrumental in providing water power from the Gartmorn Dam to operate both the mines and other industries such as weaving. Many 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.
The town itself was known for weaving and glassmaking. Alloa was long associated with the brewing industry too, at least nine major breweries producing ales there. However this industry declined severely during the late 20th century, depressing the town's economy.
References
- ↑ "DSA Building/Design Report". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. 2006. http://www.codexgeo.co.uk/dsa/building_full.php?id=M024733. Retrieved 2008-04-11.