Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, the smallest county of Scotland, extending 10 miles N. and S. between the main body of Perthshire and the river Forth, and 11 miles E. and W. between the counties of Stirling and Fife; area, 30,477 acres; population 25,680, or 539 persons to each square mile. The surface rises from the Forth by an easy ascent, broken by gentle undulations and by the valley of the river Devon, to the Ochil Hills, which extend along the N. border. These hills afford excellent pasturage; the low grounds are well cultivated. Coal is raised in the Devon valley; the towns of Alloa and Tillicoultry have woollen manufacture. The county comprises 4 parishes and parts of 2 other parishes.
– John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887)
Alloa Tower
Alloa Park
Alloa FK10 1PP
01259 211701
www.nts.org.uk/Property/3
Ancestral home of the Earls of Mar, Alloa Tower is one of Scotland’s largest surviving medieval tower houses with an important collection of portraits, silver and furniture; temporary exhibitions from family’s private collections. Features of the tower, where Queen Mary once stayed, include a magnificent medieval oak beamed roof, dungeon and 11 ft thick walls, and stunning views from the tower’s roof walk – the walkway goes all the way around the top of the tower.
Castle Campbell & Garden – Historic Scotland
Castle Campbell and Garden
Dollar Glen FK14 7PP
01259 742408
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/places
Formerly known as the ‘Castle of Gloom’, this castle is beautifully sited. The oldest part is a well-preserved 15th-century tower around which other buildings were constructed, including an unusual loggia.
Clackmannanshire Archives
Information Librarian & Archivist, Library Services, Alloa Library, 26/28 Drysdale Street
Alloa FK10 1JL
01259 453600
www.clacksweb.org.uk/culture/archives/
Clackmannanshire Archives contains historical records relevant to the county, many of which were previously held in the Central Region Archives Department at Stirling.
Clackmannanshire Museum & Heritage Service
29 Primrose Street
Alloa FK10 1JJ
01259 216913
www.clacksweb.org.uk/culture/museumheritage
The Museum and Heritage Service can help you find out more about Clackmannanshire. The county, with its dramatic landscape of flat carseland on the north bank of the River Forth and dominant Ochil Hills, has a rich cultural history. There is archaeological evidence for prehistoric settlement, as well as some later occupation during the first millennium AD. Four impressive tower houses have survived at Alloa, Clackmannan, Castle Campbell in Dollar and Sauchie and, with Menstrie Castle, represent just a few of the great houses which once existed in the county. The Museum and Heritage Service has a fascinating collection of material, ranging from prehistoric items to industrial and social history objects, as well as an art collection.
Dollar Museum
Castle Campbell Hall, High Street
Dollar FK14 7AY
0159 742 895
home.btconnect.com/dollarmuseum
Dollar Museum is an independent local museum dedicated to the history and heritage of the village of Dollar, in the county of Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Set up in 1988, it occupies two floors of an early 19th century woollen mill (now called the castle Campbell Hall), and has a wide-ranging collection illustrating all aspects of the history of Dollar.
Menstrie Castle
Castle Street
Menstrie FK11 7AY
0844 493 2130
www.nts.org.uk/Property/Menstrie-Castle
Menstrie Castle is a three-storey castellated house that was home to a branch of the Clan MacAlister and was the birthplace of Sir William Alexander, later 1st Earl of Stirling. The property is over 400 years old. Fell into steady decline from the middle of the 18th century. Museum dedicated to an exhibition about Nova Scotia and the Baronets of Nova Scotia.