New Sauchie, usually now referred to locally just as Sauchie, is a large village to the north of Alloa, Clackmannanshire. Sauchie can be translated as 'the place or field of the willows'.
Old Sauchie
The land originally belonged to Clan Campbell. In 1321 Robert the Bruce granted the lands of Sauchie to Henry de Annand, former Sheriff of Clackmannan. A tower was built in 1335, and the present Old Sauchie Tower is on the same site, at (what is now called) Old Sauchie, northwest of Fishcoss. The current tower was built before 1431 when Mary de Annand, the co-heiress to the estate, married Sir James Schaw of Greenock. The tower is all that remains of the village which developed within its protective radius.
Sauchie
In the early 18th century, the Schaw family moved from the tower into a large modern house nearby. Eventually Sauchie moved southeast to be located at what would become known as Fishcross, for a while just a small collection of buildings located east of the Sauchie railway station, and the Schaw family built Schawpark House, to the Southeast of Fishcross.
From 1856 Map of this part of Clackmannanshire, showing the three Sauchies - copyright www.visionofbritian.org.uk
The Auchinbaird Windmill stands on a ridge overlooking Sauchie shown above (now part of Fishcross) and New Sauchie and dates from the late 17th or early 18th century. It was a grain mill and later converted to a dovecote and has been preserved as a landscape feature and tourist attraction.
Auchinbaird Windmill - March 2022
New Sauchie
Holton Square was a small mining village to the north of Alloa which housed miners attending the local workings. this was located roughly to the east of the current Sauchie Hall, where the main street now lies, the neighbouring street to the hall is called Holton Crescent. New Sauchie grew from Holton, built in 1710 to house the Earl of Mar's colliers at the Holton mine, and Newtonshaw, originally built to house the servants of the Schaw family. As the two villages of Newtonschaw and Holton grew, they merged into one, the area becoming known as New Sauchie. Little is now left of the old villages. The main street through Sauchie having been completely re-developed in the 1960's.
Schawpark Golf Course on the northern edge of Sauchie, lies on the site of the former Schaw family estate. New Sauchie has expanded in all directions since then, now connected to Alloa at Hallpark / Whins Road and Parkhead Road, and has a retail street (main street, A908) and some business premises. There are parks and primary schools, and of course to the east, Gartmorn Dam, a country park and nature reserve, also once Alloa's water supply.
In 2016, Sauchie had a population of 6310, making it one of the larger villages in Clackmannanshire.