Clackmannanshire

The Stone of Mannan

Clackmannanshire takes its name from the original county town of Clackmannan, which is named after a stone anciently associated with the pre-Christian deity Manau or Mannan.[1][2] The stone now rests on a larger stone beside the surviving tower of Clackmannan Tolbooth and the Mercat Cross at the top of Main street, Clackmannan.[3]

Clackmannanshire became known for the weaving mills powered by the Hillfoots burns. Other industries included brewing, glass manufacture, mining and ship building. Now capitalising on its central position and transport links, Clackmannanshire attracts service industries and tourism.

The motto of Clackmannanshire is "Look Aboot Ye" (Circumspice in Latin). In 2007 a re-branding exercise led to the area adopting the slogan "More Than You Imagine".[4]

Administrative history

Clackmannanshire's origins as a shire (the area controlled by a sheriff) are unclear; it had certainly become a shire by 1305, with some suggestion that it may have already existed in the early 1200s.[5]

Clackmannan, the historic county town. The tower is the surviving part of the tolbooth.

The county town was originally Clackmannan, where a tolbooth was built in 1592 to serve as the sheriff court for the county. Commissioners of Supply were established in 1667 to act as the main administrative body for the shire. In 1822 the sheriff court and meeting place of the commissioners was moved from Clackmannan to Alloa, which had grown to become the more significant town.[6] County Buildings was built in 1865 at the corner of Mar Street and Drysdale Street in Alloa to serve as the courthouse and meeting place for the commissioners.[7][8]

County Buildings, Mar Street, Alloa

Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). Clackmannanshire County Council held its first meeting on 22 May 1890 at the County Buildings in Alloa, which would serve as the county council's headquarters until its abolition in 1975.[9]

The 1889 act also led to a review of boundaries, with several exclaves being transferred to a county they actually bordered, and parishes which straddled more than one county being adjusted such that each parish was entirely in a single county. These changes saw Clackmannanshire cede Cambuskenneth to Stirlingshire, whilst it gained Alva from Stirlingshire and parts of Alloa parish which had been in Perthshire.[10]

Clackmannanshire County Council was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Clackmannanshire became part of the Central region and a Clackmannan district was created covering the pre-1975 county plus the parish of Muckhart, which had been in Perthshire prior to 1975.[11]

Further local government reforms in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 saw the regions and districts created in 1975 abolished and replaced with council areas providing all local government services. Clackmannan district became one of the new council areas, taking on the functions of the abolished Central Regional Council.[12] The 1994 act originally named the new council area "Clackmannan", but the shadow authority elected in 1995 requested a change of name to "Clackmannanshire", which was agreed by the government before the new council area came into force on 1 April 1996.[13]

Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system, introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Election results since 1995 have been as follows:[15]

Wards

Since 2007, the council area has been divided into five multi-member wards:

Ward number	Location	Ward name	Settlements	Seats	Population (2019)
1		Clackmannanshire West	Menstrie, Glenochil, Tullibody, Cambus	4	12,606[30]
2		Clackmannanshire North	Alva, Tillicoultry, Coalsnaughton	4	10,731[31]
3		Clackmannanshire Central	Sauchie, Fishcross, Alloa[lower-alpha 1]	3	7,936[32]
4		Clackmannanshire South	Alloa[lower-alpha 2]	4	11,618[33]
5		Clackmannanshire East	Clackmannan, Dollar, Muckhart, Kennet, Forestmill, Solsgirth, Alloa[lower-alpha 3]	3	8,649[34]
Total				18	51,540

1. Clackmannanshire Central covers north-eastern parts of Alloa (Branshill, Fairfield, Hallpark, Whins, Woodlea).
2. Clackmannanshire South covers most of Alloa other than north-eastern parts and the modern Alloa Park development in the south-east.
3. Clackmannanshire East covers the Alloa Park development since 2017 – the addition of which was the only boundary change in a 2017 national review.

The council area is divided into nine community council areas, eight of which have community councils as at 2023, being those marked with an asterisk below.[35]

Clackmannanshire's coat of arms is blazoned:

Or, a saltire gules; upon a chief vert, between two gauntlets proper, a pale argent charged with a pallet sable.

The red saltire on gold is taken from the arms of the Clan Bruce. According to legend, Robert Bruce mislaid his gauntlets while visiting the county, and upon asking where he could find them was told to "look aboot ye" (hence the motto). The green chief represents the county's agriculture, while the black and white pale is taken from the arms of the Clan Erskine whose chief the Earl of Mar lives at Alloa Tower. Sir Thomas Bruce 1st Baron of Clackmannan was a member of the House of Bruce and received lands in Clackmannan from his cousin Robert II.

In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Clackmannanshire was the first council area to declare its result. Though some predictions had seen the area as being favourable towards the "Yes" side, the "No" vote took 53.8% of the area's vote. This was seen as an early sign that Scotland would vote against independence.[36]

In the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Clackmannanshire voted by 58% to remain.[37]

The River Forth at Alloa showing Alloa Inch and Tullibody Inch (at right)

In terms of population, Clackmannanshire is the smallest council area in mainland Scotland. Its population was 51,540 (in 2021),[38] around half of whom live in the main town and administrative centre, Alloa.

Ben Cleuch in the Ochil Hills, the highest point of Clackmannanshire at 721 metres (2,365 ft)

The Ochil Hills dominate the northern third of the county, where Ben Cleuch, Clackmannanshire's highest point, can be found. The northernmost salient of the county lies along the Upper Glendevon Reservoir. Strathdevon is immediately to the south of the steep escarpment formed by the Ochil Fault, along which the Hillfoots Villages are located. Strathdevon mostly comprises a lowland plain a few hundred metres either side of the River Devon, which joins the Forth near Cambus. There is also the Black Devon river that flows past the town of Clackmannan to join the Forth near Alloa. This confluence once had a small pier, for portage to Dunmore pier on the south shore, and anchorage of smaller sailing ships, while others of greater tonnage could be accepted at Dunmore pier on the opposite banks of the Forth. Roughly in the centre of the county lies the Gartmorn Dam County Park, and there are small patches of forest in the south-east of the county. Two unnamed peninsulas are formed by meanders in the river Forth along Clackmannanshire's southern boundary; the easternmost of these has two small islands - Tullibody Inch and Alloa Inch - either side of it.

Owens-Illinois glassworks in Alloa

The main industries are agriculture, brewing, and formerly coal mining. In 2006, permission was given for a waterfront development of the Docks area of Alloa, which has been in decline since the 1960s. There is a large glass works at Alloa.[39]

Alloa railway station reopened in May 2008; prior to this the county had no active railway stations. A new railway line was completed which connected Kincardine and Stirling, and thus reconnecting Alloa to the national rail network for the first time since 1968, was opened to the public. Scheduled passenger services operate only between Alloa and Stirling and onwards to Glasgow and Edinburgh; the line to Kincardine is normally used by freight trains only but some special excursion trains are run by charter operators. An opening ceremony was held on Thursday 15 May 2008, with the first fully functioning passenger service commencing in the new summer timetable on 19 May 2008.[40][41] The service provides an hourly connection between Alloa, Stirling and Glasgow Queen Street.

Alloa railway station

The Clackmannanshire Bridge, a new road crossing of the Forth intended to ease congestion and pressure on the older Kincardine Bridge, opened in 2008 (technically the span of the new bridge is not within the county, instead falling just outside it and administratively divided between Falkirk and Fife).

Major roads in the area are the A91 between Bannockburn and St Andrews which is the main thoroughfare through the Hillfoots Villages, the A907 between Stirling and Dunfermline which passes through Alloa and Clackmannan, the A908 connecting Alloa and Tillicountry, and the A977 (fed by the A876) between Kincardine and Kinross which runs east of Clackmannan.

Alloa, current administrative centre and Clackmannanshire's largest town

Alloa

Tullibody

Sauchie

Alva

Tillicoultry

Clackmannan

Menstrie

Dollar

Coalsnaughton

Glenochil

Perth and Kinross

Fife

Falkirk

Stirling

The largest settlements in Clackmannanshire

Other settlements

• Cambus
• Devonside
• Fishcross
• Forestmill
• Inglewood
• Kennet
• Muckhart (historically in Perthshire)
• Solsgirth

Castle Campbell, a medieval castle situated above the town of Dollar

Tullibody Old Kirk, a ruined 12th-century church in Tullibody

• Alloa Tower
• Auchinbaird Windmill
• Ben Cleuch
• Broomhall Castle
• Brucefield House
• Castle Campbell
• Clackmannan House
• Harviestoun Brewery
• Gartmorn Dam
• Gean House
• Menstrie Castle
• Tullibody Old Kirk

• Clacksweb - Clackmannanshire Council Online
• Clackmannanshire at Curlie
• ClacksNet - Clackmannanshire's Community Network
• Census 2001 Information (PDF)
• National Library of Scotland - Clackmannanshire Map ca. 1681
• Look Aboot Ye - Clackmannanshire Community News, Information and Forums
• ASH Consulting Group 1998. Clackmannanshire landscape character assessment. Scottish Natural Heritage Review No 96.