- Bridge of Allan
Bridge of Allan is a town in Stirling
council area inScotland , just north of the city ofStirling . It was formerly administered byStirlingshire and Central Regional Council.It lies on the
Allan Water , a left-hand tributary of theRiver Forth , built largely on the well-wooded slopes of Westerton and Airthrey Hill, sheltered by theOchil Hills from the north and east winds.Bridge of Allan railway station is on theEdinburgh to Dunblane Line .The local people of the area, during the
Iron Age , were known as theMaeatae and it was they who constructed a powerfulhillfort 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 theUniversity 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 ofNorth Berwick and the monks atDunfermline Abbey over the tithes of Airthrey and Corntown. It is undated, 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 theDuke of Argyll passed through the Airthrey estate on its way to thebattle 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. The plan envisaged 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 renownedspa town . Among the visitors wasRobert Louis Stevenson , 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. [cite web|publisher=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|title =DSA Building/Design Report: Macfarlane Museum and Art Gallery | url =http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=219914 | date = 2006| accessdate = 2008-09-23 ] 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 [cite web| last=McDougall|first=Liam| title =Beatles' disaster zone up for sale| publisher =
Sunday Herald |url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20030330/ai_n12581740 | accessdate = 2007-12-09 ] . It is currently being redeveloped for residential use.trathallan Games
The first Sunday 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.Churches
There are two churches in the village, which face one another at the junction of Keir Street and Fountain Road. The Scottish Episcopal congregation meet at [http://www.saint-saviour.org/ St Saviour's Church] , built in 1857. [cite web|publisher=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|title =DSA Building/Design Report: St Saviour's Episcopal Church and Rectory | url =http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=206166 | date = 2006| accessdate = 2008-09-23 ] Facing St Saviour's is Bridge of Allan Parish Church, the local Church of Scotland. This congregation was formed by the union of two Church of Scotland congregations in 2004, when Chalmers Church - located on the village's main street, Henderson Street - closed. Bridge of Allan Parish Church is notable for some its internal fittings, which were designed by
Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1904. [cite web|publisher=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|title =DSA Building/Design Report: Bridge of Allan Chapel of Ease | url =http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=100239 | date = 2006| accessdate = 2008-09-23 ]Also outside Bridge of Allan, on the
A9 road toDunblane , isLecropt Kirk (Church of Scotland ). [cite web|publisher=Dictionary of Scottish Architects|title =DSA Building/Design Report: Lecropt Parish Church | url =http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/building_full.php?id=232359 | date = 2006| accessdate = 2008-09-23 ] Historically this church served the entirely ruralparish of Lecropt, west of Bridge of Allan.Facilities in Bridge of Allan
*Fire station
*Bridge of Allan Primary School
*Bridge of Allan Sports Club
*Bridge of Allan Golf Club
*Airthrey Bowling CLub
*Bridge of Allan Bowling Club
*The Allan Centre, Sports Hall
*Bridge of Allan Library
*Police Station
*Fountain Park
*The Queen's Hotel
*The Allanwater Cafe
*The Memorial Park and Sports Ground
*MossgroveReferences
External links
* [http://www.bridgeofallan.org Official Bridge of Allan website]
* [http://www.bofagames.i12.com Bridge of Allan Highland Games]
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