Bridge of Allan

Bridge of Allan

Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan in 2004
Bridge of Allan
Bridge of Allan shown within the Stirling council area
Population 6,762 (UK census 2011)
OS grid reference NS794974
Civil parish
  • Logie
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town STIRLING
Postcode district FK9
Dialling code 01786
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
A map of Bridge of Allan from 1945

Bridge of Allan (Scots: Brig Allan,[1][2] Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Alain) is a town in the Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. It lies on the Allan Water, a northern tributary of the River Forth, built largely on the well-wooded slopes of the Westerton and Airthrey estates, sheltered by the Ochil Hills from the north and east winds. Most of the town is to the east of the river; the bridge is part of the A9, Scotland's longest road, while the railway line and the M9 pass to the west of the river. Bridge of Allan railway station is on the Edinburgh to Dunblane Line.

History

During the Iron Age, the local people of the area were known as the Maeatae and it was they who constructed a powerful hillfort nearby. The early village consisted of seven small clachans: Bridge End, Kierfield, Old Lecropt, Pathfoot, Logie, Corntown and the Milne of Airthrey. The villages were very separate and the villagers lived in the small world of their own communities.

The site occupied by modern Bridge of Allan stretches from the clachan of Logie across the Allan Water to the University of Stirling. It was first mentioned in a charter granted by King David I. The charter was written in connection with a dispute between the nuns of North Berwick and the monks at Dunfermline Abbey over the tithes of Airthrey and Corntown. It is un-dated, but had been granted by 1146.

A hog's back, narrow, stone bridge was built to replace the old ford across the River Allan in 1520. It rose sharply from the riverbank and dipped steeply at the other side. Soon after a few cottages began to appear around the ends of the bridge and an embryonic Bridge of Allan slowly formed. In the woods above the bridge, a mine opened. This was worked from around 1550, and quantities of copper, silver and gold were extracted.

By the middle of the seventeenth century, the Airthrey Estate had passed to relatives of the Marquess of Montrose, the Grahams. James Graham rose for the king during the English civil war, and in 1645 as the army of the Duke of Argyll passed through the Airthrey estate on its way to the battle of Kilsyth they burned down the manor house.

The Jacobites were in Bridge of Allan in 1745, where three hundred highlanders set up a roadblock on the bridge and charged a toll for its passage.

Major Alexander Henderson, the Laird of Westerton, drew up plans of how he wanted the village to be laid out in 1850, envisaging spacious streets with pleasure grounds in the woods. He also erected a fountain in Market Street. It was at this time that many handsome stone villas were built on wide thoroughfares, with practically every second house becoming a lodging house as Bridge of Allan became a renowned spa town, especially during the boom years of hydropathic establishments.[3][4] Among the visitors was Robert Louis Stevenson[5] who visited annually during his youth.

The Museum Hall was built by the trustees of John Macfarlane in 1887, originally as the Macfarlane Museum and Art Gallery.[6] In its use as a concert venue it once played host to the Beatles but was subsequently allowed to fall into disuse and considerable disrepair.[7] It has now been redeveloped for residential use.

Bridge of Allan was formerly administered by firstly Stirlingshire County Council and then Central Regional Council.

Bridge of Allan, ca. 1890 - 1900.

Strathallan Games

Pipe band practicing at the Strathallan Games in 2004.

The Sunday following the first Saturday in August is usually the date for the Strathallan Games. Founded in 1852 by Major Henderson, the games attract hundreds of athletes, pipe bands and highland dancers.

Notable residents

Facilities

Churches

There are two churches in the village, built opposite each other at the junction of Keir Street and Fountain Road. These are St Saviour's Episcopal church built in 1857,[9] and the Church of Scotland's Bridge of Allan Parish Church, notable for some of its internal fittings being designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904.[10] Until 2004, there was another Church of Scotland congregation; Chalmers Church on Henderson Street.

Outside Bridge of Allan, on the A9 road to Dunblane, is Lecropt Kirk (also Church of Scotland).[11] Historically, this church served the entirely rural parish of Lecropt, west of Bridge of Allan.

References

  1. ↑ The Online Scots Dictionary
  2. ↑ Scots Language Centre: Scottish Place Names in Scots
  3. ↑ Bradley, James; Dupree, Mageurite; Durie, Alastair (1997). "Taking the Water Cure: The Hydropathic Movement in Scotland, 1840-1940" (PDF). Business and Economic History. 26 (2): 429. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  4. ↑ Shifrin, Malcolm (3 October 2008). "Victorian Turkish Baths Directory". Victorian Turkish Baths: Their origin, development, and gradual decline. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  5. ↑ https://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/bridge-of-allan-p235601
  6. ↑ "DSA Building/Design Report: Macfarlane Museum and Art Gallery". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  7. ↑ McDougall, Liam (2003-03-30). "Beatles' disaster zone up for sale". Sunday Herald. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
  8. ↑ Stewart, Iain. "Grave Location for Holders of the Victoria Cross in the County of Surrey". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03.
  9. ↑ "DSA Building/Design Report: St Saviour's Episcopal Church and Rectory". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  10. ↑ "DSA Building/Design Report: Bridge of Allan Chapel of Ease". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  11. ↑ "DSA Building/Design Report: Lecropt Parish Church". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. 2006. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
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