This booklet was published by Clackmannan District Libraries in 1982, researched and written by Isobel Grant Stewart.
By Isobel Grant Stewart
FOREWORD
Sometimes a sequence of coincidences occurs to fix names and events in our minds. This is what happened to me in the case of the enterprising family of Bald.
While doing sone research at the Central Region's Archives in Stirling, this surname kept recurring, chiefly in the Minutes of the Alloa Commissioners, from the mid-years of the 19th century and continuing at intervals thereafter until the 1890's or later.
John Bald and Company, representing Carsebridge Distillery, was recorded frequently, not always in a favourable light, as, even in those Victorian days, the threat of pollution was recognised.
Then again, glancing one day at my copy of “Memorials of the Parish of Alloa” (John Crawford, 1874) I was surprised to notice that the foreword of the book read, "This volume is reverentially dedicated to the memory of Robert Bald, Esquire, Late Mining Engineer for Scotland, FRSE, FRAEE., etc". The following eulogy had such phrases as - “he never allowed his left hand to know what his right hand gave"; "selfishness was antagonistic to his nature"; “forgiveness was to him a duty and a pleasure”, and, finally, “The friend and counsellor of Prince, Peer and Peasant, the accomplished and renowned Mining Engineer gracefully and graciously performed his mission here below, and his latter end was PEACE".
Even making allowances for the florid prose style of that era, Robert Bald would seem to be a man of sterling character. But who was he?
Finally, in 1978, the Clackmannanshire Field Studies Society (of which I am a Council member) was concerned to hear of the threatened demolition of Craigward Cottage, a late Georgian villa set in its own grounds, south of Grange Road, within a Conservation Area, and listed as being of "local significance", in the December 1973 publication of the County Planning Department - "Scottish Architecture in Clackmannanshire". The CFSS Secretary, Mrs. Roy, and I obtained permission from the owner to visit this derelict and vandalised property.
Through a densely weedgrown garden, we reached the still-impressive front door; with its Georgian pediment and transom above. We gained entrance easily to the hall, and wandered from room to room, noting the fine fireplaces and remnants of decoration, amid the general ruin of the empty house. Some memories stand out; for example, the beautiful proportions of the windows in some of the main rooms, contrasting with the chaos in the old-fashioned kitchen, its floor completely covered in cans, bottles and cartons. Demolition was an obvious fate for such a ruined building. (It may be noted that no blame attaches to the owner who had only recently bought the property).
And who had been the proud original builder and owner of this once-splendid house? None other than Alexander Bald, wood-merchant of Alloa, and, as I soon discovered, a patron of the Arts.
By these separate promptings, I was encouraged to investigate further into this Bald family, which seemed to have played such a large part in the town's past. Soon, I had fitted together many of the facts and added substance to the story of the main characters. Only one puzzle remains - why is there no mention of any of the Balds among the "Notices of Leading Townsmen" or "Natives Who Have Risen", in "Alloa 60 Years Ago"? (published 1911, Buchan Brothers).
Isobel G. Stewart.
For generations past, in the Alloa area, mining and distilling have been two of the major industries.
Interwoven with the colourful tapestry of their development, have been the names of members of a noteworthy family. Their surname sounds blunt and uncompromising - Bald. Too often their surname has reflected their attitude to life and work.
Tradition tells that they were descended from “girdle-makers" and “hammermen” in Culross, on the Fife coast, but the first to be associated with Clackmannanshire was Alexander Bald, who was employed in 1774 as the Earl of Mar's Colliery Manager. For 49 years, he filled this post, overlooking such pits as Carsebridge, (1760) and Collyland, and the “tramroad of wooden rails” sunk in 1706 to transport coal from the collieries to the harbour at Alloa. Bald had judgment and foresight, for he realised how a Forth and Clyde Canal could provide an outlet for Alloa coal - (Grangemouth to Glasgow) before the mining development in Lanarkshire. Some of the earliest residents of the new towns around Glasgow came from Alloa pits. Alexander Bald was noted for his many acts of kindness to the employees.
Although a well-known Alloa man of his day, he is far surpassed by his sons; Alexander (Junior) and Robert Bald, who were entrepreneurs of the Victorian age. Alexander was a pioneer in the timber trade of the Forth, owning a timber yard near the Ferry Pier, and also an important brickworks. About the 1830's, he built a house called Craigward Cottage, south of Grange Road, Alloa, which is now demolished, but which, in 1978, was described by the Scottish Civic Trust, as a "once superb, small late Georgian villa on the former western edge of Alloa; a beautiful example of Palladian planning and design, thought to be from the drawing board of a successor to Robert Adam". Bald showed an interest in science as well as in architecture, for, in the "New Statistical Account of Scotland, dated 1840", he is recorded as setting up meteorological instruments in the garden at Craigward Cottage. He seems to have used a steam engine in his brickworks nearby, an early use of steam power in Scotland, and the local writer John Crawford tells in his “Memorials of the Parish of Alloa” (1874) of how Bald's house; gracious in itself, was a “meeting-place for men of letters” whom Alexander Bald invited to his home.
He had, for instance, met James Hogg, (the Ettrick Shepherd) before he had become famous and made every attempt to speed the young poet on his way to success.
Bald was also a patron of the John Crawford mentioned above, since he introduced the young house-painter to "those who could appreciate his genius and promote his welfare". Crawford, however, seems to have accepted these favours as his due, although in 1850, he dedicated a book of original poems and songs, “Doric Lays” to his patron and friend, Alexander Bald, who aided him by sending presentation copies to such celebrities as Miss Mitford, author of "Our Village". This lady, in one of the last letters she ever wrote, gave her opinion to Alexander Bald, regarding "Doric Lays" - “This is a true thing - a flower springing from the soil, not merely cut and stuck into the earth. Will you tell Mr. Crawford how much pleasure he has afforded a poor invalid?”
An account of Alexander Bald's life appears in the Dictionary of National Biography where it is noted that “his leisure was devoted to the encouragement of literature”.
Even more renowned was his brother, Robert Bald, since his story becomes more fascinating as one investigates it further. This Alloa resident was influenced early in life by Thomas Telford, a fellow-Scot and first president of the Institution of Civil Engineers - the same Telford who constructed 900 miles of road in Scotland and, a greater work still, the Caledonian Canal. Robert Bald had begun his apprenticeship as an engineer under his father in Alloa and in other parts of Scotland; he studied mining methods before becoming assistant to his father. However, in 1808, he was one of those who accompanied Telford when he went to Sweden to survey the site for the Gota Canal, proposed to be built from Goteborg to the Baltic. For his part, Robert received a gold snuff-box set with diamonds from King Charles of Sweden. It was Bald's idea to lease Schawpark Estate from the Earl of Mansfield and develop a pit there at New Sauchie.
The Earl of Mar died in 1825, and, that same year, Bald published the first edition of the book, ‘A General View of the Coal Trade of Scotland - an Inquiry into the conditions of the women who carry coals under ground in Scotland, known by the name of Bearers’. Robert Bald was hoping to arouse public indignation by describing "the conditions of this class of women whose peculiar situation was but little known to the world". His book reveals the crusading zeal he had in common with John Francis, 14th Earl of Mar, and yet Bald's attitudes later caused a quarrel between the two men.
Bald felt that drunk or lazy workmen (miners) should be treated leniently as their living and home conditions left so much to be desired; but, as with many reformers, his motives were misunderstood by the very people he meant to help.
The miners felt that any improvements would only lead to increased profits for the Earl of Mar. Bald persisted with his reforms, some of which were the following; to increase housing accomodation, as their houses were shabby, small and dirty; to remove ashpits from the front of houses and to sweep the surrounding streets daily; to begin lectures on "Order and Cleanliness" and circulate a set of rules about these, such as cleaning their house once a week and white-washing it once a year; and not keeping cattle, pigs, poultry or dogs in the houses!
As one might expect, inspectors appointed by Bald for the interiors of miners' houses were locked out by infuriated women and abuse was hurled even at Bald himself.
A climax was reached in the summer of 1832 when 33 persons died in an outbreak of cholera in Alloa, Collyland and New Sauchie. Bald arranged for a leaflet, similar to a religious tract, to be distributed to every house in the three mining communities, and in this, he placed the responsibility for this "very dreadful and afflicting dispensation of Divine Providence" at the door of "many of you (who) have been seen drunk from the using of whisky in immoderate quantities, and, what makes it worse, particularly at Dregies".
(These were similar to a “wake” after the death of a friend or relative). Bald did not, however, disapprove of the "very ancient custom of a Service before Lifting" as he says "That maybe continued if you choose". (This may mean a drink before the mourners carried the coffin).
His solution to the drink problem was as follows:-
"We have ordered a supply of good and moderate-priced wine to be kept at the Colliery Change-houses, so that on mournful occasions your friends can have a refreshment and avoid the very bad effects of an immoderate drinking of whisky". Instant dismissal would follow if these regulations were disregarded. Bald signed this leaflet and issued a warning that the Alloa Bailies and watchmen in the nearby villages would patrol the streets at night and report those who were found to be drunk. This system of “snoopers” aroused even more anger among the work-people.
Prayer Meetings were begun at the three collieries, with 12 rules to give weekly procedures and lines of conduct for the members. The system for a drunkard seems to have been to try to reason with him, firstly - "man to man" - then, by two of the members, then in public before the meeting, and if he would not repent, to exclude him from the Society.
The miners joined with their wives in rebelling against this interference, and stayed away from work so that the Earl of Mar and his factor had to remonstrate with the stubborn engineer, who replied that, if they did not agree, he would resign from an active role as manager, or take over the collieries himself when the lease expired in 1835.
Eventually, due to competing interests, Robert Bald took over Collyland, Woodlands and Devonside, while a group of Alloa business men, friends of the Mar family were successful in acquiring the lease of Alloa Colliery.
Shortly before this, history records a lucky escape for Robert Bald and his assistant manager at Collyland when a candle-flame ignited rotten prop wood in an old part of the pit when they were passing through the "wastes".
Even after 1835, he continued in his schemes for benefitting his colliery employees although few approved of his ideas, least of all, his business partners, who saw their investments being wasted on unnecessary schemes. At last, they withdrew, and the three pits passed into the hands of the Alloa Colliery Company, while Bald became a Consulting Engineer, in private practice, along with John Geddes, another expert. He was well-respected, being the adviser to the well-known business families in the West of Scotland- the Bairds, the Dixons and the Dunlops.
His interest in improving the industry for owner and miner extended to helping the Earl of Shaftesbury in his campaign resulting in the 1843 Act, "prohibiting any women, or boys under 10, from being employed in any mine or colliery; and anyone under 15 in charge of a winding-machine". At last he must have felt his efforts had borne fruit. Robert Bald, one-time Mining Engineer for Scotland, died in 1861 at his Alloa home; in Bedford Place, at the age of 65, a distinguished man and greatly esteemed as a leader in his profession.
But what of the Distilling strand of the Bald Family history?
The original Alexander Bald who served the Earl of Mar as Colliery Manager had a brother, John; who founded the distillery at Carsebridge around 1797. Two houses and the distillery building were put up on land originally owned by the Earl of Mar.
John Bald left his share to a son, another Robert Bald, who in the 1840's, was involved in an expensive lawsuit against the Alloa Colliery Company. The dispute arose over a supply of water taken for his house at Carsebridge from the aqueduct which linked Gartmorn Dam to the old waterwheel driving the Colliery Company's pumping machine to the distillery and to the woollen mill at Kellarsbrae. The resulting ill-feeling lined up the whole Bald family against the Coal Company; as the Carsebridge Robert Bald called in his cousin of the same name; the mining expert, to support his claim. The latter, probably still aggrieved over the loss of his three pits to the Company, advised his cousin to reject all offers of a settlement. The colliery partners eventually lost their case at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, but Robert Bald of Carsebridge had died in 1849, and it was his Trustees who were awarded the large sum, for those days, of £1,000.
Meanwhile, turning to the Minutes of the Alloa Commissioners from 1854 onwards we are constantly reminded of the Bald family's stubborn ways. May 1694, recalls: "The inhabitants of Alloa are supplied with water from a burn which passes through the town from a Dam about two miles to the East of it. The Superior of the Town gives off certain feus on the side of the Burn (obviously the Brathie or Brothy) upon which manufactories have been erected and from which the water is polluted". The Town's Commissioners sought permission to erect a Reservoir at Hawkhill - afterwards changed to a place called Keilarsbrae halfway between town and dam. Water would be passed in lead-painted pipes to the town at great extra expense. Alloa House Mansion and gardens had water free of charge from 1841 to 1893 (but the Gartmorn Dam had been originally built by a previous Earl of Mar). At this time, the town comprised 8000 - 10,000 inhabitants.
The first signs of protest appear in late July of 1855, when a petition from Mr. D.J. Lambert, owner of a woollen mill founded in 1837, complains of the state of Gaberston Dam, and of water from Carsebridge through the Old Town. There was a minute inspection from Alloa Tower to Carsebridge and the report stated that “the Burn was in a very dirty state along its whole course apart from a short piece below Carsebridge which has been recently cleared out".
Part of the trouble was that public works and the public generally were "using the Burn as a Common Sewer". Carsebridge was silent and so there was no opportunity "of verifying if pollution is occasioned by refuse sent down from that distillery".
In early 1856, the Commissioners wrote to the Lord Advocate of Scotland complaining of a "Monster Nuisance” in the shape of a Mill Dam. They proposed to introduce a "dam" into the description of Nuisances in a certain Nuisances Removal and Police of Towns - Scotland Act of 1856.
The old bridge at this time was quite dilapidated and in an unsafe state; it was suggested that its bed should be contracted and the Burn welled. In 1859 the Procurator Fiscal himself complains of Alloa Burn being a nuisance in consequence of refuse thrown into it by John Bald and Company, Carsebridge Distillery - "but alleged cause of nuisance lies beyond the limits of the Burgh".
From this time onwards, at frequent intervals up to 1863, the Minutes of the Commissioners mention complaints by petitioners about the Distillery and its refuse. Eventually legal proceedings were to be taken against John Bald end Company, in August of that year, but two months later, certain "operations to remove or abate the nuisance" were completed. Two years later, however, the inhabitants of Gaberston are again petitioning to the effect that the Dam and water-course leading to and from it is in a state of stagnation and a nuisance spreading disease throughout the neighbourhood. In September 1665, there was on arrangement with the Earl of Mar to fill up Gaberston Dam. His factor, Mr. Moir, sent a letter to say that the public should lay rubbish in the bed of the Dam to fill it up and the rate should be 2d. per cartload. The Dam should be constructed to confine water to a water-course "only sufficient for a stream on the South side of the Dam". The Tacksmen of the Burgh Customs assessed this at about £60 expenses.
However, almost two years later, a letter from the Earl of Kellie complains strongly of the “offensive state of Alloa Burn in Alloa Park and elsewhere”, at which the Board at once wrote to Carsebridge Distillery (and to Keilarsbrae Spinning Company) to prevent pollution by refuse.
A month Later, “John Bald and Company” counters by applying for an allowance for alleged damage to road leading to Jellyholm past Carsebridge by laying new water pipes, etc.
In 1869, after another letter from the Earl of Kellie's factor complained grandly of the ‘offensive effluvia being emitted from the Town Burn’, an inspection followed. Part of the blame was again placed at the door of "J. Bald" and the Parochial Board of Alloa Parish was advised that it "ought to compel a reservoir to be made at Carsebridge for the reception of the liquid coming from the Distillery" - and (later) "that the dam-head at Gaberston ought to be demolished". Interdicts were to be put out by the Procurator Fiscal if "all contributors to the nuisance did not remove it without delay".
In 1869, another dispute arises when John Bald and Company object to paying Customs on Whisky. Customs "was never hitherto paid, as the grain paid Custom Duty", and "on draff, because Custom was paid on it when it passed to the Distillery as grain". They were willing to pay Custom on other goods, rated as "inhabitants" but not "strangers".
In January, 1871; a letter from Messrs John Bald and Company, requested "permission to allow a road engine to be used for traffic between their works at Carsebridge and the Harbour". A month later, a "Road Steamer" was authorised, subject to existing laws.
In September of that year, “all parties interested” including proprietors of Carsebridge, met the Committees involved, to estimate the expense of a pipe track to carry away sewage. Mr. Wm. Robertson Copeland of Glasgow reported as to a main intercepting sewer for the Eastern part of Alloa and eventually estimated the cost in September, 1873 (sewer from Kilncraigs upwards to Carsebridge) as amounting to £4,463.
On several occasions, “J. Bald and Company”, contribute to the maintenance of the road and streets of the town (as in 1874, the sum of £1,000) possibly because of the "Road Steamer" and the damage it might have caused.
That same year, Carsebridge Distillery owners, among others, were ‘ordered and required’ to connect drainage pipes with the new sewage pipes. They were also "called on", regarding their taking the use of the town water without giving notice; however, Mr. Harvey, director (related to the Balds on the distaff side) apologised and said at the time it was "of immediate necessity as the whole works were in imminent danger of being burnt to the ground should fire have occurred in any part thereof".
In 1875, in the Statement of the Cost of Drainage works, John Bald and Company's subscription was assessed at £400. In the same year, we note a letter from Major Harvey, seeking permission for the Distillery to connect a water-pipe with fire-plugs to the Burgh water-pipe in the road opposite Carsebridge Stores, in the Peacock Park - these to be only used in case of fire. This was granted, but a request made, "in the event of fire occurring in Alloa, to give use of his fire engine and brigade on payment being made, water to be supplied per meter".
Thus, somehow, an amicable arrangement had been worked out over drainage and water, after years of wrangling.
Carsebridge Distillery duly became the Distillers' Company Limited - but that's another story, and although very little remains as a memorial to the Bald family, perhaps these pages may serve to show the originality and determination of these Culross "girdle-makers and hammermen".
Bibliography
1 Minutes of Alloa Commissioners.
2 J.L. Carvel - One Hundred years in coal: the history of the Alloa Coal Company.
3 New Statistical Account for Scotland. Vol. 8 (1841)
4 J. Crawford Memorials of the Parish of Alloa. (1874).
Bald Family Tree
Below is an additional entry giving Isobel Grant Stewart's initial researches into the family tree of the Bald family. I'm sure a more detailed and informed version could now be produced given the advent of the internet since 1982, but here is a starting point if anyone wishes to take this further. We would gladly accept any further research on this.
We were able to add a little detail to the tree, and have laid out our findings below. It is still far from complete.
