Laid out below is an extract from the Third Statistical Account of Scotland. This excerpt, written in 1950 and revised in 1961, was published in 1966 for volume 18 of the accounts, this volume entitled "County of Stirling and County of Clackmannan". Clackmannan, 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 17
PARISH OF CLACKMANNAN
(County of Clackmannan.)
by the REV. DR. CROUTHER GORDON.
Physical Features.
The parish of Clackmannan lies south of the great geological fault, which runs along the Hillfoots of the Ochils, and consequently is composed of undulating ground admirably adapted for agricultural purposes. A ridge, running from Coalsnaughton to Dollarbeg, bounds it on the north, and the river Forth on the south, while the valley of the Black or Little Devon and the ridge on which Clackmannan itself stands, occupy the area between these two limits.
The ancient burgh of Clackmannan clusters on the eastern slope of the King's Seat Hill, much as old Edinburgh clusters under the Castle Hill, and both are crowned by a royal tower. The Tower also divides the land into two types. On the south stretches the Carse of Clackmannan, a stretch of a thousand acres, which until 1776* was more or less subject to the ebb and flow of the river Forth, but which is now rich though heavy soil, suitable for turnips and beans. To the north of the Tower ridge lies rich alluvial soil that amply repays the toil of the farmers in potatoes, wheat, corn, oats and barley. To the east of the Tower ridge stretched the ancient and royal Forest of Clackmannan mentioned as early as 1305 A.D. by Edward I, of which only a vestige now remains. The north-west corner of the parish runs up to the edge of Gartmorn Dam, "a small beautiful lake," which has been adapted to supply Alloa with water. The Tower Hill dominates the surrounding countryside, being itself surrounded from early times by four strongholds, namely, Tulliallan Castle on the east, Airth Tower on the south, Alloa Tower on the west and Devon Tower on the north. The panoramic view of hills and valleys, rivers and woodlands as seen from the parapet of Clackmannan Tower is unsurpassed in the county.
* John Francis Erskine of Mar banked the river and retrieved much land for agriculture in 1776. See first Statistical Account.
Historical Background.
The history begins with “Clack Mannan“ or "The Stone of Mannan," which to the present day surmounts the Plinth at the Town Cross, one of the very few sacred stones with the name of the deity associated still preserved in Scotland. Mannan was the name of a Celtic sea-god,** still preserved in “Dalmeny.”
** W.J. Watson - Celtic place names of Scotland. G.A. Knight - Archaeological Light on Early Christianising of Scotland, Vol. 1
“Slamannan” and the “Isle of Man.” Local legend says that the stone originally lay at the foot of the ridge, on the edge of what was an inland lake, called on the latest Ordnance Map “Lookaboutye.” In the time of Bruce this stone was moved to the vicinity of the cross, perhaps to deflate the superstitious interest. Oral tradition states that Bruce went out with Douglas to hunt wild boar, and leaving his glove in the cleft of the stone he sent back Douglas to retrieve it, saying, "Lookaboutye at the clack for my mannan."
This does not explain why the name of the town arose, for the name can be traced back to the time of David I, but it does indicate that the Tower was a royal residence. William the Lion lay seriously ill in the mote-and-bailey Tower in 1195, when he called his "magnates" to Clackmannan in order to swear fealty to his daughter Margaret, in the event of his death. He issued several charters from Clackmannan between 1165 and 1199. Alexander II paid a visit in 1226 and also in 1231. In 1249, on 24 August, the celebrated ecclesiastic David de Bernham, the Bishop of St. Andrews, came to re-dedicate the church, which up to that date had been a culdee shrine, consecrated to the memory of St. Serf who had originally founded the church. It is stated that Edward I visited Clackmannan on 12th June 1303, and it is certain that he was in Perth on 11th June. Bruce issued charters from the Tower on 26 February 1317/18, and on 22 July 1327. David II lived there in February 1331, and possibly Edward III in 1333. It passed from royal possession on 9 December 1359, when David II consigned it to his "consangineo" Robert Bruce, in which collateral line it remained until the death of Mrs. Henry Bruce in November 1791. David probably sold it to realise money for his ransom to the king of England. On 2nd May 1389 Thomas Bruce got from his father the lands of Wester Kennet, and so launched the Kennet branch, which to-day is represented by Lord Balfour of Burleigh. Sir David Bruce, who got a charter from James IV on September 1497, had a second son Edward (1505-65) from whom the present Lord Elgin is descended. When Mrs. Henry Bruce died in 1791 she bequeathed the sword of The Bruce and the Bruce Family Tree to the Broomhall branch, Where it is still preserved. In October 1787 Robert Burns, accompanied by Dr. James Adair, visited Mrs. Bruce at the Tower and was knighted with the Bruce Sword. After her death the Tower and mansion, which had become the property of the Dundases of Kerse through marriage, were occupied only by a caretaker. The mansion became a quarry for local builders, and has now disappeared; the Tower stood well until January 1948, when part of the eastern wall collapsed through reprehensible undermining. The Ministry of Works is now faced with a difficult task in trying to save this valuable medieval structure.
The church almost from the beginning of the Roman Catholic influence yielded tribute to Cambuskenneth Abbey. David I gave the church, its chapels and forty acres of land to the Abbey, all of which were confirmed by subsequent monarchs. In 1350 the fruits, rents etc. of the vicarage were secured to Adam the Abbot. But in 1420 the people of the parish drew up a petition, asking for a priest of their very own to live in the town, and this was Presented to Pope Martin V at Florence on 19 June, and was granted. At the Reformation the link with Rome was easily snapped and indeed James Dalmahoy, who had been a canon at Cambuskenneth, became for a time minister of the parish.
On 12 February 1551/2 a charter was issued over the name of the little Mary Queen of Scots erecting Clackmannan into a burgh of barony. The market days were fixed for St. Bartholomew's Day and the day of St. Simon and St. Jude.
Antiquities.
The existing structures of historical interest give the upper part of the town an old-world appearance. These are described and illustrated in the Report on the Counties of Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan of the Royal Commission on Ancient Monuments of Scotland (1933) pp. 316-21. Unique is the “Stone of Mannan” sacred to the spirit of the local deity, situated at the Market place and erected in 1833 on a thick plinth of whinstone to be safe from the hands of curio-hunters. Local sentiment is still strong regarding the Stone. Some yards to the east of the Stone stands the Mercat Cross, the main shaft of which dates from well before 1551. The surmounting trefoil with the Bruce arms appears to date from the charter of 1551. The ball finial, taken from the gateway of the Tower in 1897, marks the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. The original ball had been removed as being a danger to the public, and is now preserved at the Manse. The steps were completely renewed in the summer of 1949.
The Tolbooth was erected in 1592 and cost £284. It held the sheriff court, the gaol, the jougs etc. Oral tradition says that natives hesitated at first to witness behind closed doors, for before 1592 the court was held on the steps of the Cross. Only the west gable and bell-tower survive, the ogival spire of which gives a characteristic touch to the scene. The last court to be held in the disintegrating Tolbooth was on 21 January 1822. The last proclamation to be affixed to the cross was at the coronation of Edward VII. Law-breakers were chained to the shaft of the cross, hence the worn appearance of its lowest section.
The Tower is fully described in the Report, which expands the work of McGibbon and Ross, and distinguishes the lower half of the northern tower as belonging to the earliest period. The late fourteenth century has been suggested as the date of this oldest portion, but this dating requires to be revised in the light of documentary evidence. It is more likely to be the late thirteenth century.
The upper half of the northern tower would then be placed in the late fourteenth century, the southern tower in the early sixteenth century, and the baronial mansion sketched by Farrington in 1788, and now quite vanished, would be dated in the early seventeenth century. Damage to the foundations of the tower has caused the entire structure to tilt over at an angle towards the south to the extent of some two feet. Not until the area permanently settles could the experts tackle the formidable task of saving the Tower. The history of the Tower is fully dealt with elsewhere.
The oldest house in the town was at the corner of the North Vennel, lately a cobbler's workshop, with the date 1630 on it and the initials T.H. and KP. It has been demolished and replaced by a new structure but the marriage lintel has been incorporated in the wall.
The northern gable of the Royal Oak Hotel, dating back to the late seventeenth century, is a fine example of Scots baronial architecture. At the back of the hotel, on the crow-step of the southern gable of an old house, a sundial has been fixed, the rusty arm of which still survives. It is mentioned by McGibbon & Ross, as unique.
Kennet House was built by Mr. Bruce to the design of Mr. Harrison of Lancaster in 1795. It was sold with the estate by the present Lord Balfour of Burleigh in October 1946 to the Alloa Co-operative Society, and has been re-sold, after a family ownership dating from 1363. This solid and dignified structure is now divided into flats for several families.
The Garlet House a modest mansion of two stories and a garret, built about half a mile east of Kennet House, was occupied first by Alexander Bruce whose charter is dated 11 June 1668. The Garlet Bruces moved to the Barbadoes and from there to the United States. The house, now quite empty of tenants, still has the pine panelling on its walls, though hidden under paper and paint. The stone panel, removed from its position above the main door, is now preserved at Hartshaw, and and shows clearly the coat of arms.
Brucefield House, a late seventeenth century structure some two miles east of Clackmannan and originally the property of the Bruces, was acquired in the eighteenth century by the Abercrombys of Tullibody. In the nineteenth century it was allowed to fall into ruin, but the present Lord and Lady Balfour of Burleigh have restored this typically Scots mansion with great patience and discrimination.
The tower at Hartshaw has now completely disappeared.
Local Records.
Local records include the kirk session minutes, which date from 1673. In 1795 Dr. Moodie stated that these dated from 1593, but in the intervening years some must have been lost. Those remaining are safely deposited in a bank strong-room. Records are preserved in the Bruce Charter Chest, and these are sifted by W. Downing Bruce, who published valuable extracts in his Materials for a History of Clackmannanshire, privately printed and now very scarce. The History of Clackmannan, 1936, by the present writer is based on these and other documents.
Michael Bruce (1746-67) taught in the school at Forestmill village during the last winter of his life.
Changes in the last hundred years.
In the last hundred years the parish has altered considerably. The Sauchie, or north-west, corner had been disjoined in 1845 to constitute a new parish, which is now numerically greater than the rest of Clackmannan. Whereas the three main landowners were Lord Zetland, Mar & Kellie and Balfour of Burleigh (Mr. A.H. Bruce of Kennet), the first has now much less property, the second still holds the carse farms, but the third has disposed of most of his possessions, except Brucefield estate. The disappearance of distilleries from Kilbagie and Kennetpans, and the development of paper-making at Kilbagie and of textiles at Clackmannan mill, has changed the type of worker, who is now very class-conscious, and very industrious. The National Coal Board is opening up the Clackmannan and West-Fife coal-field, and more miners will be required to work this. The influx of emergency labour during the 1926 Strike altered the fine, older type of local miner, although many still survive, with their high ideals and spotlessly clean homes. The erection of baths at the pit-heads means cleaner homes and less toil for the housewife. There are many fewer miners than mill-workers in the town, and these are loyal, hard-working men, who pride themselves on never having struck work. The policy of the new house-building and allocation has resulted in a happy mixture of workers of all types, an advance on the old days when miners were segregated from the rest of the community*.
* In such "rows" as at Speedwell, Ferryton etc., now gone.
The building by the county council of eighteen new houses for farm workers means that they too are merged into the common life of the community and not isolated away from the town.
The ploughman can now change his farm without having to change his home.
The local authority is now the county council, which meets in Alloa, to which the parish sends two representatives, one from the town and one from the landward area. Two representatives are also elected to the so-called district council, which has little authority except over the letting of the local town hall, and is otherwise a useless body. The enthusiastic but narrow parochialism of the past century is rapidly passing away and its place is being taken by a much looser attitude to the domestic and local loyalties. First, the arrival of the railway and then, still more, the development of motor Omnibus services have afforded cheap, easy and rapid communication, while two world wars have given the young men and women a broad experience of other lands. Although there is no cinema in the town; the large Centre of Alloa, less than two miles away, provides through its two picture houses a wide variety of cinema programmes, and a large proportion of young and old attend these more than once a week. Some go every night. Wireless and television programmes, likewise, blare in many homes, jazz band music being the favourite, but so unconscious are the inmates of the noise that they forget to switch off when a visitor calls. All these factors, quite unknown a hundred years ago, are producing a much shallower and less thoughtful type of character than before, and with few of the deep, moral convictions of the older men and women. But there is more colour and variety in life now, and people are gayer and happier. The change in religion is marked by the social quality of church membership, and now that the three strands of religious life are united in one church and congregation,* the same influence touches nearly every member of the community. The old divisions are being forgotten and the parish is one.
* On 27 July 1932 the three congregations, free, United Presbyterian and Parish, were united after a separation of 144 years.
Population.
The figures for the last two hundred years are interesting :-
1,913 (1755); 2,528 (1791); 2,961 (1801); 4,266 (1831); 5,159 (1841); 5,802 (1851);
5,072 (1891); 2,501 (1901); 2,203 (1911); 2,373 (1921); 2,585 (1931); 3,022 (1951).
The eighteenth century figures reflect the steady advance of the Industrial Revolution.
A Newcomen engine, for instance, was used in 1764 in Sauchie for coal production, and a steady trade developed with the Low Countries through Alloa Harbour. This trend was further augmented by the erection of textile mills in the same area, which, together with the great wool mills of Alloa, brought many new workers and their families into the parish. The sharp drop between 1891 and 1901 is accounted for by the severance of the detached Sauchie section of the parish.
The decrease of some 300 between 1901 and 1911 reflects the wave of economic depression that swept across the whole country, when strikes and lock-outs were the rule, and many of the more energetic emigrated to Canada and Australia. After 1919 there was a steady rise again to a new record of 3,022 in 1951, and there is every indication at present that the mining population will go much higher. The 1961 Census records that the population of Clackmannan number 3,030. The working-out of many local pits in Lanarkshire and the existence of largely untapped lower seams in the Clackmannan Coalfield have compelled the National Coal Board to plan on a large scale the exploitation of these rich resources.
The composition of the population is interesting. There remains the core of loyal, local natives, some still serving the pits but many moving out into paper-mills, wool-mills, engineering works, breweries and distilleries. In 1945 a scheme of twelve miners' houses was built, into which families came from Prestonpans almost in a body, and this is wholly good. But the vast majority of the population are born and bred in the parish and die there. Family names, such as Forsyth, Ferguson, Fyfe, Hunter and Snaddon still add up to a good proportion of the inhabitants. Very few of the rising generation aim at a University education, and only one of those that have done so is at present serving in this community.
The phenomenal scarcity of labour at present is inducing large numbers of married women to return to the mills, or to work as daily helps. The, domestic servant, as such has disappeared, since mill work offers less toil, more money and ampler leisure time. The owners of the wool-mill arrange or a service of buses to convey the workers from as far as High Valleyfield, some ten miles away, so that distance offers no obstacle to economic opportunity.
Public Services.
Great advances must be registered in the public and social services since the second or New Statistical Account in 1841. A few wells then supplied indifferent and unfiltered water. The glebe well was in medieval times a holy well of “Our Lady.” Street wells, fitted up at the edge of the pavement, have been in use until recently. In fact, however, water has been supplied to the town for the last fifty years from the Ochil Hills, and has been raised, first by gravity and latterly by booster, to a tank on the Tower Hill, whence it is led into every home. There is a supply of 120,000 gallons daily, but the system is unable to cope with the rapidly increasing demands of the population, and a vast scheme is now being prepared to bring the waters from Glen Turret, some fifty miles away, behind Crieff in Perthshire, a project costing millions of pounds which has taken five years to carry through. A new housing scheme on the Tower Brae could not be continued until a better water system was installed.
Lighting.
In 1933 electricity was brought into the town from the Falkirk Power Station by overhead cable, and has been introduced into the pits and all the newer houses, although some of the older houses still retain the use of gas. Gas was supplied to the town from the Alloa Gas works in 1876. Most housewives use gas for cooking, and electricity for light. Some, but not many, have and electric immerser in their hot water tanks. Both gas and electricity were used for street lighting, but gas is now completely out of use for this even in Kennet village - a great improvement.
Sewage.
There is a septic tank on the side of the Black Devon, close under the Mary Bridge, which has proved effective for its purpose, but it has now been completely overhauled and enlarged to meet the needs of the increasing population.
Streets.
The so-called Main Street does not now carry the main traffic, since the through thoroughfare is some hundreds of yards to the north of the old town. This means that the large and constant volume of traffic between Stirling and Dunfermline skirts Clackmannan proper. It also means that the streets in the higher part of the town are not kept in the same excellent condition of repair, the Surface is irregular and the sites of dismantled houses are ugly, but these have been steadily demolished and replaced by new houses. The view up High street, with the crow-stepped gables, is typically eighteenth century, but the whole effect would be immensely improved by the planting of a few well-chosen trees around the market-place to relieve the drab greyness of the stonework. Credit, however, is due to the county council for the lovely beds of flowers at the corners of the new housing schemes.
Health Services.
The change from 1841 is very marked in the sphere of health services, which are now very highly organised. Whereas formerly there was only the parish doctor, who trotted round the countryside in his gig, a fully integrated system now obtains, which not only looks after the patient from the first onset of sickness, but also anticipates the outbreak of disease. The parish doctor, together with two colleagues, who live in Kincardine-on-Forth, maintains his surgery twice daily and by means of his motor-car keeps in daily touch with his bed-fast cases. Emergency cases are rapidly taken to the County Accidents or Fever Hospitals in Alloa, where surgical operations of all kinds can be performed. The Medical Officer of Health and his staff carry out systematic vaccination against smallpox and immunisation against diphtheria, and hold fortnightly clinics in the Church Hall of Clackmannan to advise young mothers, weigh children and disseminate valuable information on health. Film shows are also given to stimulate interest in public and private hygiene.
Education.
Whereas in 1841 there were seven small day-schools in the parish, there is now, owing to rapid and easy transport facilities, only the large and imposing structure in the town, and the little two-roomed building at Forestmill, where Michael Bruce taught in 1766. At the latter there are 15 pupils, drawn chiefly from the surrounding farms, with a resident lady teacher.
At the former there are 340 pupils with 12 teachers. In 1841 the parish school was held in the building now known as the Drill Hall in North Street, while Misses Leask carried on a private infant school in what is now the Church Hall. The Free Church in 1845 planned a school, which was never built. At the end of the century a new parish school was erected by the School Board and on 13 September 1897 Mr. James Masterton moved his 37 pupils into the new building, where they were taught drill, sewing, science, Latin and French. In 1908 the senior pupils of Kennet School were transferred and in 1910 the Kennet School, which the late Lord Balfour of Burleigh and his father had done so much to build and endow, was finally closed down. Likewise the Garlet and the Westfield Schools had passed out of existence. This meant increased numbers, so new classrooms were built against the northern wall of the school in 1926, and these, including a modern science laboratory, were in use by August 1927. Central heating, a great desideratum, was installed in the same year. The roll rose steadily until in 1928 it reached the record figure of 419. It was decided in 1946 that the Advanced Division would be transferred to Alloa, and so no Secondary pupils are now taught in the school. This, with other causes accounts for the reduced numbers in the school to-day. The standard of teaching is excellent, but the home influence prevents many scholars passing up through the Academy in Alloa to the Universities. A new school, built according to modern standards, is being planned in the southern and safer part of the town.
Voluntary Organisations.
In addition to these statutory services of the county council, which are maintained partly by local rating and partly by grants from the Government, there are many social services carried on by voluntary workers. Local clubs include football, gymnastic, and badminton. Young people are catered for by the Boy Scouts, Cubs, Life Boys, Guides and Brownies Sunday schools, Bible Classes, Children's Choir etc. although many boys and girls are not associated with any organisation. The Town Hall, which was built in 1887, has a library and reading room, games room and billiard room, besides lesser rooms for meetings. Women's organisations include the Church Women's Guild, of about eighty members. Co-operative Women's Guild, Women's Rural Institute, the Social Club and the Order of the Eastern Star. Men's organisations include a Lodge of the Free-masons, started in 1923 and now housed in the old Mayfield or Free Church, a Bowling Club, which runs a Winter Club with a licence for the off-season, and a Darts Club, Which is run on the premises of three public houses. There are no literary, art or educational societies in the parish, but the Clackmannan Society founded in 1952 stimulates interest in historical and cultural matters and advances the welfare of the town. A dozen or so of the more intelligent are actively associated with county dramatic clubs and compete each year in the Festival of Drama. The Church Choir is large, enthusiastic and well-trained.
The Shepherd's Society still functions, but the Westfield Brotherly Death Society is now defunct, its purpose being met in the new social benefits of the State. The Trade Union movement is strong, both in the pits and in the mills, but their meetings are not largely attended. An Allotments Association, which was started during the late war, increased garden produce in the emergency.
While the Labour Party, chiefly through trade unionism, holds together, there is no discernible organisation in the town to express either the Conservative or Liberal ideas.
The Churches.
In 1841 there were two churches, the Parish and the Relief. In 1843 the Free Church was launched at the Disruption under the patronage of Mrs. Bruce of Kennet. The Laird's coach every Sunday dropped Mrs. Bruce at the Free Kirk door’ and then continued to the gate of the Parish Kirk, where the Laird, an elder of the latter, alighted. This division in the Lairds house was indicative of that in the life of the town. Despite the enthusiasm, the existence of three causes played into the hands of recalcitrant members. The struggle of the two small congregations became increasingly severe, and the union of the three churches in 1932 was a wise step. The roll now stands at 1,069 with an annual income of some £2,000. In 1949 there were 31 baptisms and in 1960 there were 42. There are 23 elders and 10 managers. Besides the services in the church each Sunday, monthly services are conducted at Forestmill. The Sunday School has 20 teachers and 120 scholars. There are no other religious bodies of any kind in the town or parish. The few Roman Catholics, “Brethren,” etc., travel to Alloa by bus. Since 1932 the interior of the church has been embellished with rich oak panelling and coloured to the design of the late Sir D.Y. Cameron. Two exquisite stained-glass windows were designed by the late Professor Herbert Hendrie to commemorate the late Hon. Jean Bruce, Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Mary, and Dr. John Dunlop, and two others by Mr. Douglas Hamilton in memory of Henry Ferguson and William Donald. A fifth window, given by the Buick family, is being executed by Mr. Gordon Webster of Glasgow. A completely new roof and ceiling have just been installed at a cost of £4,450.
The War Memorial* for the 1914-18 war occupies a small piece of common ground, originally a public well, on the north-west Corner of the town, where the annual service is held in November.
* Designed by Sir Robert Lorimer at a cost of £900.
The Roll for the 1939-45 war is carved on an oak panel in the church, with 22 names. In addition, a beautiful and distinctive Memorial Panel was added in 1950 on the face of the back gallery.
Housing.
The need for more houses has been clamant, especially during the last five years. At present there are 823 houses in the whole parish, 230 of which have been built since 1945, with some 80 more in course of construction. Despite this advance, dozens of families are crying out for more accommodation. Many of the very old houses being vacated are marked by the authorities for demolition, as not being fit for human habitation. A large number of young couples, married just after the late war, are only now experiencing the joy of having a house of their own. The new houses have every convenience, including bathrooms, hot and cold water, stainless kitchen basins and electrical appliances of all kinds, not to mention modified forms of central heating. The rents average 30s. a week, which, in view of the great increase in wages, compares favourably with 1939 levels. The new houses vary in size from two-roomed to five-roomed, according to the nature of the family. A strict “Points” scheme has been drawn up by the county council, the aim being to segregate the sexes, allowing a room to each. The disappearance of the old "miners' rows" is a pleasing feature of the last two or three years. Most of the tenants take an interest in their gardens, and a few excel in colourful beds of flowers. Two or three dozen own their own little cottages, but no private building was allowed during the war. One building society built six bungalows before the late war.
The effect of the new housing has been a keener sense of well-being and happiness, The intense joy of couples, who at last come to inhabit a new home of their very own, after years of living with their “in-laws,” has to be seen to be believed. One incredible result is that large beds of flowers grow unmolested at the open corners of the town, revealing a sense of responsibility in young and old.
The wholesale mixing of all kinds of people in the new allocations is a healthy and happy influence.
Agriculture.
The following statistics, as at June 1951, were supplied by the Department of Agriculture for Scotland:- tillage, 2,386 acres; rotation grass, 941; permanent grass, 2,209; rough grazings, 623.
There are 27 full-time farms and 7 part and spare-time, mainly cropping, with several dairy farms. While to the eye the farms and fields present the same appearance as they did in 1841, there has been a great change in the whole economy of agriculture in the past century. The drift from the country places to the city has left many derelict Cottages and crofts, and labour during the second world war and since has been very scarce. Fortunately, mechanical tractors have arrived to solve the problem. Each of the farms in the parish has either one or two of these tractors, and each tractor can plough as many as six acres in a day, whereas a horse can plough only one. The operator is protected from the weather by his cabin , where he can sit comfortably instead of plodding behind the plough. Nevertheless each farm retains a pair of horses to perform work that the tractor cannot do. The size of the average farm is about 200 acres. In the Carse the underworking of the coal is damaging and lowering some of the land. The rent is 30s. an acre and the yield generally as follows:-
Corn - 5-7 quarters
Beans - 1 ton
Turnips - 20 tons
Potatoes - 7-10 tons
In 1791 farm workers received £8 a year plus extras; in 1841 the wages rose to £12 12s.; to-day they receive £250 to £300, with greatly improved working conditions. Nevertheless, with State subsidies etc. the average farmer is reckoned to be prosperous.
Paper-making.
The industries of the parish have altered in the last century. There are no iron works and no distilleries. The Kennetpans premises, once a busy distillery, became a chemical factory in the middle of the nineteenth century, but is now a gaunt derelict. The Kilbagie Distillery became in 1875 a paper-making mill, the founder being James A. Weir. The initial output was 3,000 tons per annum. It became a limited liability company in 1896. To-day it produces each year over 20,000 tons of white and tinted writing and printing paper, which is exported to Europe, South Africa, Middle East, India and Pakistan, Singapore, Hong-Kong, Manila, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Canada, Portugal and Malta. It imports as raw materials esparto from North Africa and wood pulp from Scandinavia and other European countries. It employs 710 Workers, composed of 374 men, 159 women, 99 boys and 78 girls. The lowest wage is £5 1s. 11d. for a 44-hour week for young girls and £15 1s. 11d. is the highest wage for machinemen for 44 hours. The present capital of £220.000.
Mining.
Coal is the next highest employer of labour. Craigrie Pit, one mile south-west of the town, employs 137 workers and yields household and steam coal. Lord Eldin did a sketch of the site about 1770, and another print shows it working in 1835. The seams being worked are Mosie, Lower Five Feet, and Splint, the depth of the pit is 30 1/2 fathoms, and the output is 220 tons a day. These seams will be exhausted in two years’ time, the pit will be closed, and the lower seams will be operated from a new surface mine at Forthbank in Alloa. The Tulligarth Pit, after working the Nine Feet, McNeish, Cherry, Splint, Main and Mill Coal seams, for a number of years, closed down in 1944. The Washery there was being used for preparing coal from the opencast mines for the market. This opencast experiment was made possible by American machinery during the late war in order to increase production, when the deep-mined seams fell in output. It was a necessary but a very expensive experiment. The Brucefield Mine started in 1905, employed up to the present 210 workers and produced 300 tons a day. It is a surface mine, 450 yards long with a gradient of one in five. The seams at present are Coalsnaughton Main and Mill (Mid Cherry). There was a convenient canteen, and the baths were built at the pit-head. The very thin seams and exceptional roof conditions have prevented the full mechanization of this mine, which is now being closed down. In 1935 a new mine was started at Helensfield, called the Zetland Mine, which at present yields 180 tons a day from seams at a depth of 20 fathoms. There is no promise of a larger output, although an 1949 a submersible began draining water from the Jellyholm shaft of old workings and this would have allowed access to untapped seams of Coalsnaughton Main and Mill Coal. There were indications, also that this would be the best point at which to sink a pit to tap the vast resources in the Limestone Coal measures, which are laid down much deeper. Unfortunately, this mine also has had to be closed down for economical reasons. A miner at the coal face earns 76s. 2d. per shift, the underground transport worker 42s. 9d., the stone miner 82s. 9d., and the surface worker 38s 10d. With extra and bonus shifts the miner, therefore, can earn anything from £12 to £20 a week. In 1795 a collier with his wife and daughter working five days got 12s. a week*.
* It should be noted that now (October 1963) no coal is being extracted from any pit or mine in the parish.
Wool.
A comparatively new industry was started in the parish when in 1875 Messrs. Patons of Alloa erected a mill on the banks of the Black or Little Devon. It was built on the pattern of the typical Lancashire mill, a square block of flats with no pretensions to architectural beauty. The site chosen was that of the old distillery of the town, and the wall of the previous building still stands. The mill was built by Messrs. Charles Buick & Sons, a local firm, and it is said that the cost was no more than £1,500, a figure that strikes us to-day as fantastically low. The machinery was installed and the mill was working by 1876, and so excellent was the workmanship and material that much of that machinery is working efficiently at the present day. Improvements, of course, are being constantly effected in the machinery from year to year. There has been a remarkable increase in output in recent times. Between the two wars the production was about 1,000,000 lb, of wool per annum, but since 1945 it has soared to 1,500,000 lb., so that with wool costing more than £1 per lb. the annual turnover in money must exceed £2 million. This has been effected through the adoption of new methods of production, new developments in machinery, but most of all through the introduction for male workers of night-shift work. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century girl "piecers" received a wage of 8d. to 10d. a day and men got no more than 3s. a day At present there are 120 workers, 55 men being on the night-shift, and 65 men and 55 women on day work. Girl piecers to-day earn at least £5 15s. a week and men from £13 16s. a week. The mill converts wool into yarn by means of teasing, carding and spinning, the finishing processes being done in the parent mill in Alloa.
Brick Works.
There are two brick works, One at Tulligarth and the other at Brucefield. These each have about 35 workers, with an average wage of some £7 and a daily output of about 22,000 bricks, which are in great demand for new housing schemes.
Shops.
By far the largest trading concern in the town is the Co-operative Society, with 40 employees and an annual turnover of £100,000. Its scope includes groceries, baking, meat, drapery, fruit and hairdressing. It numbers 900 purchasing members, who jealously guard their privileges and independence. Besides this there are only eight small shops in the town. Alloa is the main shopping centre especially for all larger purchases.
The way of Life.
While the community tends to be divided up according to trades and occupation, these are forgotten in groups such as the Bowling Club, the Co-operative Society or the Church. The leaders of each group do not however, see very far beyond to the improvement of the community as a whole. The church is the only enduring organism that incorporates all elements Without distinction within itself.
The best effort of the whole community in living memory was was the Great Historical Pageant of 1949, when 223 actors took part in five scenes from the authentic history of Clackmannan, dating back to St. Serf. The scenery, including a tower 50 feet high, was constructed by local carpenters and painters. The people of the town have a predominantly phlegmatic, conservative and hard-working character. In recent years there has been a noticeable tendency to earn more money, which is chiefly spent on furnishing their houses tastefully and enjoying outings by bus and train all over the country. Although there are four public houses in the town, it is very seldom that one sees a person under the influence of excessive drinking, though there is much hard drinking going on among a certain section of the men. While there is no public enthusiasm for religion, there is a solid, steady loyalty to the Church and its moral teaching, and a deep, almost superstitious value laid upon its Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Baptism. The better conditions of daily work, much higher wages and far greater leisure have all made the spirit of the people happier. Sunday has become the day pre-eminently for entertaining friends, and the excellent bus services widen the circle of visitors. There is, however much less serious attitude to work, to domestic responsibility and to religious and moral demands. Parents complain that they have no authority over their children, and perhaps the absence of the father on war service has accounted for this, but family life is very happy and contented and there are very few divorces. All marriages take place in the church, as well as all baptisms, and this is the accepted and right procedure. The health of the community is very good, the air fresh and the atmosphere free from pollution of any kind. The average person enjoys his home, his garden, an occasional day’s outing and his circle of friends. He spends Friday night on discussing his football pool coupon, and likes to be on good terms with the doctor and the minister.
Written, May 1950.
Revised, May, 1961.