CLACKMANNAN, a parish, in the county of Clackmannan, of which
it is the county town, 2 miles (E. S. E.) from
Alloa; containing 5145 inhabitants, of whom 10*7 are
in the town. This place, the name of which, in the
Gaelic language, signifies "the church town of Annan",
anciently belonged to the Annandale family, of whom
the last heiress, Agnes, conveyed it by marriage to the
ancestor of the royal family of Bruce, on his first settling
in Scotland, in the twelfth century. The Tower of Clackmannan
is said to have been built by King Robert Bruce,
on the site of the baronial residence of the family, soon
after his accession to the throne; and it appears to have
been the residence of several of his successors, kings of
Scotland, till 1330, when it was granted by David II. to
his kinsman, Robert Bruce, first lord of Clackmannan.
The lordship continued in the possession of the descendants
of that family, till the male line became e.xtinct by
the death of Henry Bruce, the last lord, in 17*2, after
which, on the decease of his lady, the lands became divided
among various proprietors.
The TOWN is beautifully situated on an eminence rising
gently from the Forth to a height of 190 feet, and chiefly
consists of one street. In the centre are the remains of
the ancient tollbooth, of which only the steeple is standing;
the gaol and court-house formerly attached are now
in ruins, and a county-hall has lately been erected to the
north of the town, though the courts are held, and the
public business transacted, at Alloa. The houses are
irregularly built, and of very mean appearance; in addition
to those in the principal street are several rows of
cottages, mostly inhabited by persons employed in the
collieries. There are two public subscription libraries.
Several of the inhabitants are engaged in various handicraft
trades, and there are numerous shops for different
wares; but from the proximity of Alloa, very little business
is transacted. Two markets are held yearly, and
there is a post-office subordinate to that of Alloa: facility
of intercourse is afforded by good roads, by the Stirling
and Dunfermline railway, and by the steamers that ply
between Granton Pier and Stirling, which call at Alloa,
and at Kincardine in the parish of Tulliallan.
The PARISH is bounded on the sonth-vvest by the river
Forth for about two miles and a half, and thence stretches
towards the river Devon, by which it is bounded on the
north. It is nearly six miles in length, and comprises
an area of about SOOO acres, of which 6000 are arable
and pasture, I7OO woodland and plantations, and the
remainder waste. For more than a mile from the bank
of the Forth the surface is level carse land, beyond which
it rises in gentle undulations to the vale through which
the Black Devon flows, and thence, more precipitously,
to the vale of the Devon. The Black Devon has its
source in the hills of the parish of Saline, on the east, and,
after sweeping round the western base of the hill on
which the Tower of Clackmannan is situated, flows into
the Forth about two miles from the town. The Forth is
about one mile in breadth opposite the parish, having been
considerably contracted by an embankment, by which a
considerable portion of land has been gained from it.
Though various, and resting chiefly on a cold tilly subsoil,
the soil is not unfertile; the chief crops are oats,
barley, wheat, turnips, and potatoes. The system of
husbandry has been improved under the auspices of the
Clackmannanshire Agricultural Society; the lands have
been well drained and partly inclosed, and the farmhouses
and offices are generally substantial and commodious.
The cattle are mostly of a mixed description, but
there are also several of the Teeswater, and many of the
Ayrshire breed. The annual value of real property in
the parish is £13,704. The plantations are principally
oak, larch, and Scotch and spruce firs; they are well
managed, and in a thriving state.
The SUBSTRATA are ironstone and coal, which are very
abundant, and sandstone, of which there are several quarries.
The coal-field contains eleven workable seams,
varying from two to nine feet in thickness, and the lowest
of which is found at a depth of 110 fathoms; the
most important collieries are those of the Clackmannan,
the Devon, and the Alloa Companies. The seams principally
wrought are, the upper and under five feet, the
nine feet, and the three-and-a-half feet seams, which are
all of the best quality; and the upper two feet seam,
which is found only in the northern part of the parish.
The upper five, the nine, and two feet seams are wrought
by the Devon Company, chiefly for their smelting-works;
and the others, by the Clackmannan and Alloa Companies.
In the aggregate the quantity raised daily is about
500 tons, of which 200 are consumed in the parish, and
the remainder conveyed by tramroads from the mines,
to be shipped to various parts of Scotland, for which
purpose facility is afforded by the harbour of Kennetpans,
and the construction of extensively-projecting piers,
at the mouth of the Black Devon. The collieries give
employment to about 70O men. The Devon Company's
iron-works in the parish are situated on the banks of the
river Devon, and employ three furnaces, for the making
of pig-iron, of which about 6000 tons are annually produced;
and connected with the works is an extensive
foun(fry, in which large quantities of cast-iron goods are
made. At Kilbagie is a distillery, which has been long
established, but at present no operations are carried ou.
The buildings occupy an area of nearly seven acres, inclosed
with a high wall, and for their supply with grain
S.50 acres of land were formerly expressly cultivated.
The vyorks were carried on upon a very extensive scale,
and 700 cattle were fed tipon the premises; the whisky
was chiefly for the London market. There is also a distillery
near the town, upon a smaller scale, chiefly for
the home market. A large brick and tile work has been
established, and there are three saw-mills, the machinery
of which is propelled by water.
The principal mansions in the parish are, Schaw Park,
a spacious ancient house, containing many handsome
apartments, and finely situated in grounds tastefully
embellished; Kennet House, situated on rising grounds
overlooking the Forth; Aberdona, in a beautifully secluded
spot; Brucefield; Kennetpans, commanding a
fine view of the Forth; and Kilbagie, pleasantly situated
about a mile from the river. Ecclesiastically the parish
is within the bounds of the presbytery of Stirling, synod
of Perth and Stirling. The minister's stipend is £'284,
with a manse, and a glebe valued at £16 per annum;
patron, the Earl of Zetland. Clackmannan church,
erected about the year 1820, is a handsome structure,
with a tower of lofty elevation, and contains 1300 sittings.
An additional church has been erected in the
north-west district of the parish, which contains 620 sittings.
There is a place of worship in the town for the
United Presbyterian Synod. The parochial school is well
attended; the master has a salary of £34, with a house
and garden, in addition to the fees. The ancient Tower
of Clackmannan is still tolerably entire; it is eighty feet
high, containing several apartments, and from the summit,
to which is an ascent by a spiral staircase, a truly
interesting prospect is obtained. On the banks of the
Devon are the remains of Sauchie Tower, formerly the
seat of the Cathcart family, and now the property of the
Earl of Mansfield; this tower is in a still better state of
preservation than that of Clackmannan.