Laid out below is an extract from the Third Statistical Account of Scotland. This excerpt, written in 1952 and revised in 1961, was published in 1966 for volume 18 of the accounts, this volume entitled "County of Stirling and County of Clackmannan". Alva, by then located within the County of Clackmannan, comes under the editorship of The Rev. T. Crouther Gordon, with overall organisation being carried out via Glasgow University.
The Third Statistical Account of Scotland – Volume 18, (1966)
Chapter 19
PARISH OF ALVA
(County of Clackmannan.)
by the REV. DR. ANDREW L. DRUMMOND.
Physical Features.
The parish of Alva is bounded on the south by the river Devon and the parish of Alloa. On the north it extends four miles over the Ochil Hills as far as Blackford; the inhabited area, from the Devon to the hill slope, is limited to a strip of about two-thirds of a mile. Alva begins at Tillicoultry golf Course on the east, and extends west to include the village of Menstrie (4 1/2 miles). Till 1890 Menstrie was in Logie parish. Alva, the same year, was incorporated in Clackmannanshire, from which it had previously been disjoined, forming an ‘island’ almost entirely surrounded by 'the wee coonty.' The name Alva (usually pronounced A'va) is derived from a compound Gaelic word (Alilbheach, rock plain) which does justice to the dramatic contrast of miniature mountains and Carse. By 1639 it had become Alveth and by 1700 assumed the Spanish-sounding title of Alva.
The Alloa Circular and Hillfoots Record greets its readers weekly with a picturesque engraving of the Ochils, their inspiring background. Ben Cleuch, the highest peak (2,363 feet) rises in the extreme north-east corner of the parish. So magnificent is the panorama that in the 1880s a mountain railway was projected on the Swiss model with a hostel at the top. Alva nestles at the foot of three landmarks. On the east is the Wood Hill (1,723 feet) - sadly denuded of its fine trees since the first world war. The Silver Glen separates it from the Middle Hill (1,436 feet). Then come Alva Glen and the West Hill (1,682 feet). Through these ravines, by burn and waterfall, the visitor soon penetrates the wild heart of the Ochils, whose very names stir the imagination — ‘Spout of Craighorn,’ ‘Arch Bogie’ and ‘Arch Bann.’
Antiquities.
These include the heraldic and inscribed stones in the west gable of the modern parish church, and its bell. The Standing Stones near Alva Church, referred to in the New Statistical Account, no longer exist.
The Historical Background.
Alva was formerly a struggling, isolated clachan, by-passed by the floods of trade and war. Its earliest landmarks were ecclesiastical. St. Serf (Servanus), a shadowy Celtic missionary, left his mark at Alva and Tillicoultry on his evangelistic tour from the West to Fife (c. 700 A.D.). 'Alveth' emerged into history in 1180, when King William the Lion confirmed the gift of the living by Hugo, Bishop of Dunkeld, to Cambuskenneth Abbey. Its scanty revenues continued to trickle into Cambuskenneth till the Reformation (1560).
In 1581 Alva was incorporated in the new Presbytery of Stirling. Because of the shortage of money and ministers in that disturbed era the Alva parson had to do duty at Tillicoultry as well. But in 1632 the parishes were disjoined, thanks to Alexander Bruce of Culross, who had bought the Alva estate. Bruce built a homely kirk (on the pre-Reformation site) which still bears his initials. The bell (1633), given by two local men, proclaims: 'Cursed be that wretch who preventeth from sacred use or else doth sell.' A glebe of nine acres was provided, but the manse (when eventually built) was primitive.
Passing from ecclesiastical to civil history, we find that by the fifteenth century there was a stockaded fort on the site of the later Alva House. The laird held his Court where Burnside farm-house now stands, and the Gallows Hill (‘the ghouls’) is a grim reminder of feudal justice. A charter of 30 October 1552 granted the barony of Alveth to John Mentieth of Kerse, but a century later the estate passed into the hands of the Erskine family, who took keen interest in the clachan.
In 1690 Sir John Erskine promoted the regular planning of the expanding village by laying out two sides of the Green Square — the community centre for two centuries. Sir John's activities included Jacobitism in addition to silver-mining, coal-mining, and village development; he came out in the '15 Rebellion and was attainted. By the middle of the eighteenth century the Erskine fortunes had revived under James, Lord Alva. As an agricultural pioneer, he abolished tenants’ obligation to cart coal from the nearby mines, and encouraged them to practise rotation of crops, field enclosures and
ditch-digging. Like his forebears he was a town planner. He feued 20 houses with gardens on the ‘Back Raw.’ The ‘Nether Raw’ was appropriately named Erskine Street. Thus, when Lord Alva died in 1763, he had other monuments besides the Latin memorial tablet in the church. A new era opened when the estate passed into the hands of the Johnstone family of Westerhall, Dumfriesshire. They were destined to set their mark on Alva till 1931 and played their part in the expansion of the British Empire.
Industrial Development.
The first half of the nineteenth century witnessed the the transformation of Alva from a village into a manufacturing town, but the industrial upsurge did not involve a radical breach with rural tradition. J. Raymond Johnstone (1768-1830), instead of ignoring or obstructing change, sought to direct it into profitable channels; about 1820 he harnessed water power to nascent industry by constructing a wooden lade from Alva Glen to the Lower Strude Mill. The hillsides provided wool, also burns for washing and dyeing it, and within a generation nine spinning mills were being driven by water wheels. The water supply being too variable, it was augmented by steam engines about 1850. Gas lighting also made regular working hours possible.
The weaver had long been a familiar figure in Alva. The coarse local wools were handwoven from thick hand-spun yarns. Woollen blankets were well wrought, cheap clothing was made for West African negroes, and Alva serge was sold at 1s. a yard in the Lawnmarket of Edinburgh. New manufacturing methods resulted in an extended range of goods for export and the home market - carpets, trouser cloths and shawls. Tartan goods were popular, being publicised by a 'Tartan Ball' about 1845. The introduction of finer wools (from the Colonies in particular) facilitated shawl manufacture, which became the major industry for a time. At the height of the shawl boom, nearly every house in Alva had a loom. Out of a total population of 1,500 in 1845, 565 persons wrought at 80 looms in their own homes. Eight woollen mills operated 90 looms. Mechanisation was coming, but as late as 1847 the East Boll Mill was erected with a handloom at each of its 365 windows. This fine specimen of industrial architecture (now used for storage) is still a landmark of Alva, in harmony with the sylvan and hilly environment.
In 1815 Johnstone, as sole heritor, rebuilt the parish church, incorporating the never-completed 1632 sanctuary and providing, with sittings for 586 persons, 'a commodious and elegant place of worship.' Many villagers, however chafed against the laird's patronage. In 1838 dissentients met in a weaver's garret and in 1842 built a secession kirk on the new main street. In 1843 a Free Church appeared as a further competitor. Although evangelical zeal and radical politics in those days marched together, James Johnstone (1801-1888), unlike many other lairds, refused no sites to dissenters: he even presented the villagers with an ox, wherewith to celebrate the Reform Act of 1832. It was on this occasion that a local lad made his début as orator, - John Eadie (1810-76), self styled 'Son of a highwayman' (a road worker). As a theological professor in Glasgow, he was a pioneer in Biblical Criticism and joined the distinguished company that issued the Revised Version of the English Bible (1881). Dr. Eadie’s Memorial, a fountain, now stands at the entrance to the Glen, and in 1900 the United Presbyterian kirk was re-named the Eadie Church.
In economic affairs as in religion, 'self-help' and 'mutual improvement' were the watch words. 'Co-operation' started modestly in 1845, but growing pains threatened to be dying pains, for within eight years the membership had sunk to 23. In 1865, however, 'the Alva Co-operative Bazaar Society' opened new premises in Cobden Place, and the benevolent laird laid the foundation stone to the festive accompaniment of procession, flags and bands. ‘The Store’ afterwards branched out from baking to ‘fleshing’ and fish, from drapery to footwear, from groceries to drugs, hairdressing and funerals. A library stimulated the thirst for knowledge and debate, so characteristic of that era (1868). Later, a Women's Guild developed the social side.
The twentieth century witnessed the acquisition of additional premises, including the Johnstone Memorial Hall, sold by the parish church. Despite waves of economic depression and two world wars, the Co-operative prospered and proved worthy of its motto, 'Each for all and all for each.' In 1854 sales were £2,600, with a profit of £58. By 1935 sales rose to £20,656. In 1951 sales amounted to £106,820, providing a dividend to members of £10,512.
Industry underwent acute fluctuations in the second half of the nineteenth century. After the Franco-German war (1870) a tremendous boom was followed by deep depression. Recovery resulted in a prolific trade with the United States, which was killed by 'the McKinlay Tariff.' Germany then became the best customer till the first world war. 'the slump of 1920 ruined probably more than half the woollen merchants in the county.' Another wave of depression occurred in 1930, and real improvement only set in shortly before the second world war. Depression had sent hosts of Alva folk to the United States of America, whence a few returned, while migration to other parts of Scotland was an economic factor in Victorian times. As Shawl-weaving was a summer industry in Alva, the slack season sent many workers to the tweed mills at Galashiels; but a time came when shawls ceased to be in demand. Power looms began to displace hand looms about 1870 and fewer workers were required. Acute fluctuations in the price of wool threatened the dominant industry of the town, but the introduction of worsted spinning about 1900 adjusted the balance. The local wool of the black-faced sheep is used for carpet manufacture.
Specialisation has made for variety. Two firms - Charles Thomson and Company (90 workers) and J.G. Gray and Company (100) weave and knit only. Another, Archibald Son and Company (109), spins only. James Porteous and Company (150) spin their own yarn as well as weave it. Wilson Brothers (50-60) and Hunter and Donaldson (30-40) weave and ‘finish.’ The principal factories concentrate on high class goods — shawls, scarves, blankets and tweeds. A hand-weaving company (subsidiary to Thomson’s) employing 15 workers continues an old tradition on modern lines. Right into the twentieth century women finished the fringes of rugs and shawls in their own homes. A large number of women are now employed in the mills, most of them resident in Alva; this enables girls to live at home, but the employment of married women with children has obviously social disadvantages. A necessary adjunct to industry is an old-established millwright's workshop (Clark Stephen and Company. with 7 workers) which occupies the picturesque site of the old jail near the Glen. (Its gratings remain. Evil-doers were let out on Sabbath as the kirk Skailed, and an additional penance was to wade the burn as the worshippers passed down the brae).
The first mill-owners were self-made men. Their successors built large villas on the outskirts of the town. One of the manufacturers, however, was a minister in the town at the beginning of the twentieth century. When he ceased to preach, he did not cease to practise. As a business man he did much to bring Christianity to bear on industrial relationships, breaking down the artificial line between institutional religion and daily work. Relations between employers and workers are generally good; there have been no strikes of consequence since 1900. Before 1914 a weaver (or darner) did very well if he earned 17s. a week: in 1951 he could count on £5 (piecework), or if highly skilled £7 a week. For the same periods a day labourer earned 18s. to 19s. for a 56-hour week and now earns about £5 for a 45 hour week. Although the ‘family tradition’ in business has promoted good relations between employers and employees, limited capital has hindered progress. Alva has not fared so well as some neighbouring towns in securing the entry of public companies with ample capital and reserves. Nevertheless in 1949 the annual turnover in Alva mills was estimated by Messrs. A. S. & J. B. Wilson, Dalmore Mill, at about £1,125,000.
Subsidiary industries in recent years have helped to cushion the shock when woollens are adversely affected. During the Second world war a preserves and soft drink firm (McMurray) took over an old factory, where 50 workers are employed. At Longbank Printing Works close on 100 employees carry on the business of letter-press and lithographic printers and book-binders. The founder, Robert Cunningham, started in a small shop in the main street in 1889, and in 1898 moved to the old weaving shed at the foot of the Glen - the nucleus of the present works. Expansion was continuous, and one by one new buildings were added, two substantial additions having been made since the recent war. Longbank is equipped with the most modern machinery and the range of products comprises publishers’ books, fine catalogue work and manufactured stationery for customers all over the British Isles and abroad.
Before motors revolutionised transport, the industries of Alva were somewhat cramped, as the town found itself at the end of a branch railway line from Alloa (1863). The projected main line from Stirling through Alva to Fife had to be abandoned owing to Mr. Johnstone's opposition; his refusal to allow trains to pass through the estate inflicted serious loss on himself as well as the community.
Agriculture.
The following statistics were furnished by the Department of Agriculture for Scotland. The total acreage is 7,632 of which 7,328 are in the landward area. There are 497 acres, tillage; 353 acres, rotation grass; 721 acres, permanent grass; and 5,607 acres, rough grazings. There are 12 full-time farms and 5 part and spare time. The full-time farms are fairly evenly divided between hill Sheep, stock-rearing, dairy and cropping farms.
Following the old road at the base of the Ochils from Alva House, we come to Burnside, a mixed farm famous for its pigs; the forebears of the present tenant were factors of Alva estate for over a century. Stepping westwards up the brae. we reach Rhodders farm overlooking Alva. On the hills roam some 3,000 sheep (black-faced stock, cross lambs). Continuing along the 'back road' to the west of the town we reach Balquharn, an arable farm. Further on is 'the Myretoun,' former Dower House of Alva estate, which, like Balquharn, is largely an eighteenth century house. The oldest portion of Burnside House was built of boulders and clay 350 years ago. On the south side of the main road through Alva are a dairy farm, the Boll, and small holdings at the South Boll, Greenhead (two) and Caroline; these are all that remain of the 35 crofts in the parish a century ago. The burgh is less farm-conscious than 50 years ago, when many townsfolk still kept a pig in their back yard.
From Village to Burgh.
The population statistics of the parish are as follows:-
(1801), 787; (1851), 3,204; (1891), 5,360; (1901), 5.641; (1911), 5,265; (1921), 5,120; (1931), 4,853; (1951), 5,503. (Between 1891 and 1901 the boundary was altered.)
The population of the burgh increased from 3,820 in 1931 to 4,107 in 1951.
The town centre shifted from the Green Square to the main Hillfoots road, which in 1800 replaced 'the old toll road' that still winds along the base of the Ochils. The new thoroughfare (Stirling Street) is one of the broadest main streets in Scotland; it would have been improved by a row of trees on each side (like South Street St Andrews), but the local officials lacked imagination; they even altered street-names with an old-world flavour, exchanging the poetry of 'the Boll Lane' for the prose of Brook Street. The warmth of reddish pantiles yielded to the dullness of sombre slate. The impetus which the Erskines had given to planning contributed regularity to several new streets, named in honour of the Johnstone family. Three-storeyed tenements are few. Two-storeyed houses are common (actually flats, with outside stairs behind, the cement steps and iron railings lacking the picturesque aspect of the older 'forestairs'). Comfortable cottages with gardens are numerous.
Owner-occupied houses in 1951 numbered 220. The total number of houses in Alva in 1961 is 1,454. The worst housing is often due to improvisation - the conversion of weaving sheds into tenements - an unnecessary economy in an era when building was cheap.
Not till 1845 did a rudimentary form of local government appear. Hitherto the laird had administered his barony by a bailie and an officer. The parochial board appointed a sanitary inspector, a collector of rates and a medical officer. Cholera visited Alva in 1832 and again in 1853, but it was hard to persuade the indwellers that their 'clarty' traditions spread disease - middens, ashpits, cesspools and small backyards full of livestock. Gas was introduced in 1845, but the streets were ill-drained and lacked pavements till the end of the century. The board took over poor relief from the kirk session. In 1841 there were rarely more than a dozen applicants, but periodic unemployment subsequently became a problem that demanded public relief. Step by step local administration was built up. A registrar was appointed in 1854. Rates for poor relief and sanitation were first levied in 1860. The Town Hall, built by subscription in 1858, is now one of two garages in the burgh. A reservoir was constructed in 1870, so at the villagers were no longer dependent on 'Eadle's Well' or 'the Strude Well.' The inspector was authorised to enforce elementary hygiene in the mills, and was also asked to see that all children received the rudiments of education. Not till 1872 did the Education Act provide for elected School boards throughout Scotland. In 1875 a new school was built, facing the Johnstone Park.
Enlargement followed, culminating in a higher grade department (1900), which justified the impressive title - Alva Academy. The school buildings of various dates are not well integrated but there is a fine gymnasium, excellent facilities for games, and up-to-date 'visual aids.' In 1886 a separate infant school was erected at Dalmore in the ‘scholastic Gothic’ of that era. In the 1930s these drab interiors were re-decorated in bright colours. It would not be reasonable to compare Alva Academy with more modern schools, but it is a good example of its period. The total number of pupils as at May 1951 is 646, of whom 165 attend Dalmore Infant School, and the staff numbers 32, including the rector, a secretary, and 5 visiting teachers. A new Alva Academy is being planned and Dalmore School is to be thoroughly modernised.
The parochial board touched the fringe of the housing problem by investigating overcrowding in an area appropriately known as ‘the Ark.’ The churchyard was also overcrowded and a cemetery had to be extended on the hillside (1873). Three years later Alva became a police burgh and in 1900 the ‘chief magistrate’ became a provost (without the crowning glory of official robes). A feature of local municipal life is the annual ‘greetin’ meeting,’ when the councillors have to give an account of their stewardship - and ‘face the music’ of discordant heckling.
Housing and Amenities.
James Johnstone’s interest in the community continued after it had ceased to be a village. In 1856 he gave a public park for sport and instituted annual games (which still flourish); he did not even debar ‘democratic gatherings’ - he believed they let off steam and sometimes generated necessary reforms. In 1873 he presented the town with swimming baths - an amenity lacking in many a larger burgh. When he died in 1888, his daughter continued to take a close interest in the community, founding the Nursing Association, which maintained a voluntary service till the State took over this responsibility, and fostering the Scottish Girls’ Friendly Society, in the interest of maids (then a numerous class); through her endeavour a holiday hostel (the Lady Aberdeen Home) was founded, also a Girl's Friendly Society Home of Rest (Norton House). When Miss Johnstone died in 1931; she was commemorated by a fountain in the Johnstone Park, near the War Memorial.
The declining fortunes of her family and the break-up of the estate constituted a sad loss to Alva.
Alva House, on the Wood Hill, midway between Alva and Tillicoultry, was a plain seventeenth-century mansion, much enlarged in 1819. The villagers were allowed free access to the policies.
They were proud of 'the Big House,' which at its zenith had at least 30 bedrooms, employed 19 servants, and accommodated 19 horses in the 'Greek Revival' stables. Some Alvonians who admired Alva House as children lived to see it reduced to a roofless ruin (to avoid taxation).
The benefactions of the Johnstones stimulated the citizens to do something for themselves. Several charitable bequests were made in the interests of the poor. The Hunter and Guild Fund (1889) allocates coal to deserving persons at New Year. The Miss Laing bequest consists of a house in Johnstone Street with rooms for spinsters or widows (1938). The funds are now inadequate to maintain the house as the trustees would wish. Further opportunities for recreation were provided. Two bowling greens were laid out. The approach to Alva Glen, disfigured by refuse, was transformed into a public garden named 'the McArthur Braes' in honour of the late Provost McArthur. Here was literally 'beauty for ashes' (Isaiah 61 : 3).
A fresh wave of philanthropy reached Alva in the twentieth century. The Cochrane brothers did for their generation what the Johnstones had done as Pioneers. Three poor lads left Alva in the 'eighties. They prospered in Philadelphia but never forgot their native town. In 1922 they gave the Cochrane Park, an extensive area adjoining the Johnstone Park, wherein Johnstone’s dream was fulfilled by the provision of facilities for cricket, croquet and tennis, besides boats on the pond and swings for the children. The Cochrane Park is a favourite resort for Sunday School parties and on Summer Saturdays can accommodate some 2,000 people. The Cochrane Hall, a beautiful and spacious edifice, provides not only shelter for holiday-makers but a stately setting for Weddings, concerts and dances. The Cochrane Foundation (1942) administers the bequest, the capital amounting to about £400,000. Besides making regular grants to several hundred aged beneficiaries in the burgh, the directors acquired a mansion at Skelmorlie where a succession of parties (a dozen persons in each) enjoy a fortnight's free holiday between spring and autumn amidst the picturesque scenery of the Clyde, but this property has now been disposed of. Cottage homes for retirement at Alva are now in full occupation.
The town's main thoroughfare has not changed much since the Cochranes emigrated. There are about the same number of shops, excellent in quality for a small burgh; but they face a much keener competition from the Co-operative store. One of the leading draperies is still conducted by a member of the same family who were factors of Alva estate and managed the post office (and much else) for a century. Among buildings familiar to the Cochranes in their youth is the Union Bank (1863). The Clydesdale Bank has gone, but the Commercial (1922) and Savings (1936) Banks have been added - our local symbols of stability, thrift and enterprise.
Alva remains a parallelogram bisected by Stirling Street, but it has been extended at the east and west ends by municipal enterprise. A beginning was made with Minto Gardens in 1919 (intended mainly for tradesmen). Subsequently families have been transplanted from the central congested area to new housing schemes - Greenhead, Coblecrook, the Strude, the Glebe, and Tollcross (prefabricated Houses). Since 1919 council houses to the number of 462 have been erected. The burgh now contains 1,454 houses of which 211 are owner-occupied. Various types of houses are represented in the new schemes, some of them excellent, but flat roofs are not adapted to our climate, and piecemeal planning has perpetrated many a cul-de-sac. The demolition of condemned dwellings has given the older part of the town rather a 'blitzed' look, but re-planning has started around the Green Square, the former town centre. It is hoped that the traditional Scots note will find expression in the architectural aspect of reconstructed Alva. Some houses in Alva are now being affected by undermining.
Changes in the way of life.
Overcrowding was so common fifty years ago that 'hurly-beds' for the bairns had to be wheeled out, to supplement the set-in 'box-beds.' Older folk are still proud of their massive chest-of drawers, wardrobe and grandfather clock. Younger married couples strive for better taste in banishing china dogs, faded photos, garish oleographs and horsehair chairs; they realise that small rooms can look larger and more cheerful with few furnishings, economy of ornament and bright colour scheme. Electricity makes artistic lighting easy; unfortunately only gas was installed in council houses till 1938, although electricity reached Alva as early as 1921. While all council houses have baths and proper sanitation, a large number of older houses have only outdoor conveniences, which makes life hard for invalids and aged persons (especially when they live in an upstairs flat). When the telephone reached Alva in 1902 there were twenty subscribers. Householders who could easily afford the 'phone were slow to install it, even tradesmen, whose business would thereby have profited. In 1947 the subscribers numbered 111. The substitution of mechanical dialling ended 45 years of public service on the part of the family who operated the local exchange; something neighbourly went out of the community in the interests of impersonal 'efficiency.'
A century ago there were four 'smiddies' in Alva. Now there is one - the only one between Bridge of Allan and Dollar. Fifty years ago the only public transport between Alva and Tillicoultry was an hourly horse-bus. Even a railway journey to Stirling was a tedious experience, involving a long wait at Cambus. The introduction of a frequent bus service to Stirling and Alloa and a through bus to Glasgow has threatened the very existence of the local branch line, now to be closed down under the Beeching Plan. People travel considerable distances to work, as well as recreation, and this increased mobility has broken down isolation, but produced a restlessness previously unknown. The natives are less suspicious of 'incomers,' but it is doubtful whether they have become neighbourly among themselves. The old rivalry between Alva and Tillicoultry still persists, though it is not taken as seriously as formerly. Local worthies are dying out. Fifty years ago Alva 'characters' abounded; they come to life in a lantern-slide exhibition based on old photographs collected by a late factor of Alva Estate and now in possession of his family.
Old Alva was 'couthie;' many of its traditional links between man and man have been retained and extended. Organisations still abound - fraternal, sporting and cultural. The Freemasons (1890) are 500 strong; they can count on a weekly attendance of 100 to 200 at their substantial hall on 'the island' acquired in 1922. The Order of the Eastern Star was introduced in 1949 to meet the needs of their wives and daughters. The Oddfellows (1871) claim a big membership (428 males, 58 females, 340 juveniles), The Rechabites (1901) uphold the cause of total abstinence; the Good Templars used to have a branch in Alva. The Red Cross (1911) has about 60 members. The British Legion (1937) numbers upwards of 400 men (some of them in Menstrie). The last two organisations possess their own halls in Alva.
Cultural aspirations have ebbed and flowed. The Literary Society and the Choral Union which flourished before 1914 are now extinct, but dramatic societies exist in the town and Academy, and two Burns Clubs uphold the work and spirit of ‘the Bard.’ The musically-minded may join or enjoy the work of the Alva Town Band, Alva Pipe Band, or Alva Male Voice Choir.
Sport and Recreation.
Entertainment plays its part in local politics, billiards, for example, attracting many to the party club rooms. There are Unionist, Labour and Liberal branches, Scottish Nationalists are not now so active.
Of the non-political organisations for mutual welfare, the Old Age Pensioners’ Association (1945) has 350 members, and the Old Mens Club 32 members, who foregather at their own 'howff.'
Sport has always been strong here. Several football teams have come and gone, but at present Alva Albion Rangers thrive in the Edinburgh District Junior League with Alva Swifts, British Legion Amateurs, and Alva Youth Club in local leagues. Cricket, swimming, tennis, hockey, badminton, golf, bowls (two greens), angling, cycling, and homing-pigeon clubs - all exist to satisfy the needs od sportsmen. Horticulture is stimulated by a Gardening Guild. Residents are annoyed by gangs of lads who systematically strip their gardens of fruit (even when unripe). Most families in Alva possess gardens, but some do not trouble to cultivate them.
Children are more dependant on organised games than in the past. A native of Alva, returning home after 50 years, asks nostalgically, "Whatna laddie now makes his ain ‘draigon’ to flee? Whatna laddie plays 'bools,' 'peavers' or 'kee-o-me'?" (Enquiry reveals that such ploys are not altogether obsolete.) The second world war checked some traditional games by toy shortages. Among juveniles football claims its votaries. Yet the old games linger, though less highly organised according to the seasons. The Scouts and Guides have separate halls and have long flourished. The Boys’ Brigade and Life Boys were established about 1940. Alva Youth Club came into being after the second world war. Merely recreational in origin, it attracted about 250 adolescents from Alva and neighbouring towns. A more constructive phase has accompanied the shrinkage in numbers. There are gymnastic and dramatic sections, and in 1951 the Youth Choir was invited to sing in Denmark.
Before 1914 life was definitely harder. The hours of work were 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shops were open till 7.30 p.m. or later. Apart from the weekly half-day and New Year's Day, the only holiday within the reach of everyone was the long weekend in August following the Games Day (always a Thursday). Monotony and lack of outlet inevitably produced drunkenness through-out the year, with a busy Saturday night for the police. The increased cost of liquor and better facilities for recreation have combined to make Alva a sober community served by six licensed premises. Till about fifty years ago, 'treacle peerie,' made with treacle and yeast served as an innocuous local beverage. There are a few local ‘drouths’ but intemperance is largely limited to bus loads of trippers.
Up to about 1870 'Hansel Monday' was given over to cock-fights. Alva men would tramp over the hills to Blackford to collect their ‘Warriors.’ Indeed, throughout the winter there was a constant going and coming of weavers from the Hillfoots to Perthshire. In summer one laddie would ask another 'Whaur gaun?' - reply, 'Up i' hull!'. No longer do many young folk roam the hills for pleasure, and most of the ramblers one meets are strangers. A favourite jaunt used to be to walk to Alloa, sail to Granton by steamer, proceed to Edinburgh on foot, and return home by midnight. Till 1914 Stirling could also be reached by leisurely steam-launch. All this is history. Most Alvonians now prefer Blackpool, and a local travel agency organises Continental trips. Two world wars and 'holidays with pay' have made it possible.
After the second world war many young people returned with odd 'layers' of accent, picked up in various parts of England and elsewhere, superimposed on the original Alva speech; such excrescences gradually disappeared in the case of those who settled down at home. More lasting is the corruption of the distinctive Alva accent by the continuous infiltration of 'Glesca,' 'Scottish Midlands' illiteracy, e.g., the use of 'Youse' for the plural of 'you', Hollywood American, and B.B.C. English (when 'party manners' seem requisite).
Life has expanded but is more superficial. Unquestionably its physical basis is sounder than in former years. Health is maintained by three doctors (with assistants), two nurses and two dentists (town and school) an ambulance service, and accident and fever hospitals in Alloa. Alvonians often attain longevity, though the climate is nowadays scarcely 'mild but variable' as stated in the New Statistical Account. The town is too low lying, subject to bitter blasts in winter, and heavy close weather in summer. Had Alva been built on a ridge, like Coalsnaughton or Tullibody (across the valley), perhaps the temperament of the community might have been less lethargic and more enterprising. In spite of good educational facilities there is little interest in knowledge unless it leads to a better job.
Few read anything but the 'tabloid press.' The local weekly, The Alloa Circular and Hillfoots Record - the latter paper was published in Alva from 1901 to 1937 when it was merged in the former and published in Alloa - maintains a sound standard of journalism. Older folks have their book-case of standard literature; the younger generation is satisfied with borrowing fiction from the County Library.
Like other communities Alva suffers from a surfeit of whist, dancing, football coupons, wireless an television. Fifty years ago annual kinderspiels were popular and a minstrel troupe flourished.
The advent of the cinema killed 'home-made entertainment' in Alva and elsewhere; the present cinema was opened (with 'religious exercises') in 1921 and the 'talkies' arrived in 1931, but television at home has now adversely affected the number of cinema patrons.
The Church.
The church-going habit has given place to the picture-going habit. Nominal church membership has not decreased in the last 30 years, but real interest as reflected in attendances and financial support has sagged since 1914. Mr. Charles Arkieson, registrar and elder in St. Serf's, (The Rev. J. W. Simpson) States: - 'Out of 1,172 members, only about 300 support the "Weekly Freewill Offering" envelope scheme, cash in the collections being negligible. In Eadie Church (the Rev. Dr. A. L. Drummond) 150 members out of 308 accept the Freewill offering. About 60 regular worshippers put their collection in the plate in the traditional way. St. Serf’s endowment from tiends amounts to about £298; Eadie Church's Cochrane Bequest (£10,000) produces £250 per annum.
Despite these useful endowments, both congregations pay a comparatively small stipend.’
Many parishioners fail to realise that to be a communicant member involves more than putting in an appearance at the Sacrament; the very word means a 'sharer.' The 'Welfare State' mentality tempts the average person to regard the Church as little more than a ‘utility’ for weddings, christenings and funerals. Weddings in church are now more common, but the motive is often social display rather than real love of the sanctuary. A number of people become church members merely to claim baptism for their children and other privileges. The old custom of a 'coffining service' is gradually dying out; people realise that a service in the home and at the grave are sufficient.
After the reunion of the Church of Scotland in 1929 the parish was delimited, the east area being allocated to the auld kirk (which resumed its ancient dedication to St. Serf), while the west area was assigned to the Eadie kirk. The two congregations tend to go their own ways and are blind to the advantages of pulling together. The Eadie manse is a convenient residence overlooking the Cochrane Park (cost, £700 in 1873). The former West manse has been converted into Burgh Chambers; the adjacent West Church, since the dissolution of the congregation in 1931, has served as a commodious hall for St. Serf's. The former St. Serf's manse, next to the old church up the brae, was one of the oldest houses in Alva; its nucleus was a single-storey building of 1762; repeated enlargements made it inconvenient, and dry rot set in - truly a 'sermon in stones,' but it has been demolished and a modern and very convenient manse now replaces it at a cost of £7,000.
Our church architecture ranks low even for a Scottish burgh of 3,957 (1961) souls. St. Serf's Church stands sentinel overlooking the town. It was altered in 1877 by the addition of two stunted towers, the removal of the laird's loft and the enlargement of the three galleries; a pleasant T-shaped country kirk was thus transformed into a Victorian 'auditorium.' Eadie Church, on the main street, is a smaller building (also Victorianised) with one big gallery, and modern halls adjoining. Both kirks have undergone little change within living memory except by the addition of huge pipe-organs and of communion tables, and by the re-arrangement of the choir (who no longer face the worshippers in their 'box,' as if performers). Alva used to be a church-going community before 1914. Moreover there were undenominational agencies to convert the churchless. In 1880 the Young Men's Evangelical Association built 'the Christian Institute' (sold to the British Legion in 1943); here children's services were held on Sunday morning and a 'P.S.A.' (Pleasant Sunday Afternoon) in the afternoon. At present, the three Protestant ministers hold a church service at Alva Academy each term.
There are the usual Sunday Schools and Bible Classes, but week-day activities receive small support unless they are merely recreational; choir practices which were once attended with enthusiasm and under able leadership (especially in the Eadie Church) now make little appeal to young people. The Baptist Church maintains a Boy's Brigade and is the only congregation with a well attended evening service; their theology is conservative and their methods are revivalist. The Roman Catholic chapel (1921) is full, but it is a small edifice and many of the worshippers are conveyed by special bus from the neighbouring villages. It should be added that, despite apathy and isolationism, every church in Alva can count on a sound nucleus of earnest and loyal Christian workers. Much is due to the Women's Guilds in particular.
Alva To-day.
Philanthropy has 'put Alva on the map' and it has attained fame as a beauty spot. A large number of people retire to Alva, but it is questionable whether this will continue unless the amenities of the burgh are preserved from the continuous abuse of day-trippers from spring till Autumn. These include an undesirable element that is noisy, selfish, often intemperate and without any respect for the peace of the Lord's Day. Some of these unwelcome visitors have 'discovered Alva' through the autumn illuminations, now discontinued, which collected vast crowds in recent years; but whether Alva Glen is really 'improved' by coloured lights, fancy and fairy, is doubtful.
Residents welcome visitors during the Glasgow Fair and at other times, but local accommodation is not adequate for the town's development as a holiday resort. It would seem that we must be content with the dubious glory of becoming ‘a tripper’s Mecca.’ Since motoring became popular, a large number of people pass through the town every summer. Alva is well supplied with small popular restaurants. There are two comfortable hotels on the main street, both old-established hostelries - the Johnstone Arms, an old coaching inn, and the Alva Glen Hotel (Blue Bell Tavern, 1807).
Alva has good recreational assets for a small industrial town. Local journalism is apparently responsible for hailing Alva as 'the Model Burgh,' to vie with 'the Fountain Burgh' (Tillicoultry) and 'the Classic Burgh' (Dollar). A popular tradition attributes the name 'the Model Burgh' to a period several generations ago: Alva, as the only town in the Hillfoots possessing a 'model lodging-house,' became known to vagrants as 'the Model Burgh;' but honesty compelsthe admission that Alva has some way to go before earning the title, for her neighbours have forged ahead in both industry and amenity.
Written, May, 1952.
Revised, May, 1961.