TILLICOULTRY, a parish, in the county of Clackmannan;
containing, with the villages of Coalsnaughtoa
and Devonsidc, about 3560 inhabitants, of whom about
2300 are in the town or village of Tillicoultry, 4 miles
(N. E. by N.) from Alloa. The name is by some writers
supposed to be of Gaelic etymology, and descriptive of
the situation of Tillicoultry on a rising ground in the
rear of the county. Others deem it a corruption from
the Latin, denoting that the place was a settlement of the
ancient Culdees. Tillicoultry was the property of the
family of Mar, to whom the lands' were granted in the
twelfth century by Alexander III.; and the estate continued
in the possession of that family till about the
commencement of the seventeenth century. The parish
is watered by the river Devon. It is about six miles ia
length, and from one mile to two miles and a half in
breadth, comprising an area of more than 7500 acres, of
which 5000 are chiefly hills, including some of the highest
of the Ochil range. The remainder of the area forms a
plain, sloping gradually from the foot of the hills towards
the south, and intersected by the Devon, beyond which
the surface rises gently into a ridge nearly parallel to
the Ochils. The most lofty of the Ochils within the
parish is Bencleuch, which has an elevation of 2400 feet
above the level of the Forth, and commands from its
summit an unbounded view of the surrounding country,
embracing the Grampian mountains, and the Dundaff,
the Lomond, and the Pentland hills. Among the hills,
which are interspersed with romantic glens, rise several
springs, which, issuing down the declivities, swell into
burns. Of these, one, partly bounding the parish on
the west, and passing between richly-wooded banks,
makes some picturesque cascades; but the largest of
the burns is that of Tillicoultry, formed by the union of
two streams which rise about the middle of the Ochil
range, and, flowing through the plain, turn the machinery
of some mills. The Devon has its source in the
hills behind Alva, in Perthshire, and falls into the Forth
at the village of Cambus.
The SOIL is various, in some parts a rich fertile loam,
in others sandy and gravelly; and on the hills are large
tracts of deep moss. The crops are oats, barley, and
wheat, with the usual green crops. Agriculture is in a
highly improved state: the lands are well drained, and
inclosed partly with stone dykes, and partly with hedges
of thorn kept in good order; the farm-houses are substantial,
and all the more recent improvements in implements
of husbandry have been adopted. Upon the hills
is good pasturage for sheep, of which considerable numbers
are reared, chiefly of the black-faced breed, and
remarkable for the fineness of their wool. The plantations,
which arc situate both north and south of the
Devon, consist of oak, ash, elm, beech, plane, birch, larch,
and pine; they are well managed, and in a thriving
state. In the parish are strata of sandstone of every
variety, whinstone, and coal. Iron-ore has been wrought
to a considerable extent; it was partially worked about
fifty years ago by the Carron Company, and more extensively
sin<e by the Devon Company. Copper-ore
was wrought about a century ago for several years by a
company from London, and four different veins were
found, one of wliich was eighteen inches in thickness;
but though of good quality, the proceeds did not repay
the expense of procuring it, and the works were consequently
abandoned. Coal of various quality is abundant.
Tliere are several seams of it, of which the uppermost is
of rough cherry coal, three feet thick, and found at a
depth of seventeen fathoms. The second, of finer quality,
and five feet in thickness, is at a depth of twenty-six
fathoms; and a seam of splint coal is found below this,
at a depth of thirty-two fathoms, and three feet in thickness.
The lowest is a seam of main coal, six feet thick,
which lies at forty-two fathoms from the surface. The
produce of the collieries is distributed throughout the
surrounding districts, and not exported. The annual
value of real property in the parish is £.5 109. Tillicoultry
House and Harviestoun, both modern mansions pleasantly
situated in grounds embellished with plantations,
are the principal seats.
The village or town of Tillicoultry, which is rapidly
increasing in population and extent, is neatly built, and
contains several handsome houses, inhabited by persons
engaged in the manufactures carried on in the vicinity.
There are shops well stocked with wares and merchandise
for the supply of the neighbourhood. The chief
articles manufactured are woollen tartans of clan and
fancy patterns, consisting chiefly of shawls, cloakings,
and tweeds; the taste displayed in the manufacture of
fine tartans is unrivalled, and the quantity of these
goods made here is greater than in any other district of
Scotland. The patronage of Her Majesty some years
ago, when she first visited Scotland, gave a great stimulus
to the manufacture of fine tartans here. Blankets
and serges are made by one firm. There are various
well-built mills and factories in full operation, affording
employment to 1200 persons, of whom more than 600
are women and children; and many other people are
engaged in hand-loom weaving at their own homes.
The quantity of wool annually consumed in these manufactures
is 40,000 stones. In the village is also an
extensive manufactory for all kinds of machinery connected
with the mills; and various handicraft trades
are carried on. A branch of the Edinburgh and Glasgow
Bank has been established here, and there is a
post-office subordinate to that of Alloa. Facility of
communication is provided by the roads to Alloa, Stirling,
and Kinross, which pass through the parish; the
bridge over the river Devon has been widened, and
there is also a bridge of wood below the village, for
foot passengers. In 1846 an act was passed authorizing
the construction of a branch railway to Tillicoultry.
There are two other villages in the parish; namely, Coalsnaughton,
which is chiefly inhabited by persons engaged
in the collieries, and is rapidly increasing; and Devonside,
where there are four or five woollen-mills.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
limits of the presbytery of Dunblane, synod of Perth
and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £240. 12. 7.,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £44 per annum;
patrons, the heirs of R. W. Ramsay, Esq. Tillicoultry
church, a handsome structure erected in 1829, and
situated in the centre of the parish, contains 650 sittings.
There are also places of worship for members
of the Free Church, the United Presbyterian Church,
and Unitarians. The parochial schoolmaster has a
salary of £25. 13., with a house and garden, and the
school fees. There are two subscription schools in connexion
with the Established Church, one of them at
Tillicoultry, the master of which has a salary of £8,
paid by the Ramsay family, and Mr. Johnstone of Alva;
and the other at Coalsnaughton, built by the Ramsay
family, who pay the master a salary of £5, in addition
to the fees. In both villages are also evening schools
for the children employed in the factories. On Castle-
Craig, above the village of Tillicoultry, are some remains
of an ancient fort; and at Cunninghar, remains of a
Druidical circle of granite stones. Near Harviestoun
House was found a sword in 1796, and in 1802 an urn,
both supposed to be Roman: the latter, inclosed within
a rude stone coffin, contained some ashes, and a spearhead
of flint.