Museum and Heritage Service
The Museum and Heritage Service is here to help you find out more about the story of 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 millenium AD. Four impressive tower houses (more per square mile than anywhere else in Scotland) have survived at Alloa, Clackmannan, Dollar and Sauchie and represent just a few of the great houses which once existed in the county.
They were built by the Bruces, Erskines, Argylls and Schaws, among the most distinguished families in medieval Scotland, who attended the Stewart kings at nearby Stirling.
In the last three centuries the county has seen the rise and decline of many industries, including coal and silver mining; ship building and the use of Alloa as a port; brewing; distilling; pottery-, brick- and tile-making; and especially the textile industry with its many wool-spinning and weaving mills in Alloa, Clackmannan and the Hillfoot villages.
In contrast, United Glass is the oldest glass works in Europe still working on its original site. The works was founded in the mid 18th century.
Many relics of the county's industrial heritage have been swept away without trace, but others have been conserved and restored. In Alloa the grand civic buildings and private houses built by the Paton family, whose knitting yarns were once famous worldwide, can still be seen and appreciated.
The Museum and Heritage Service has a wide-ranging collection gathered during the last forty years, as well as a growing art collection. Artefacts from Patons & Baldwins Kilncraigs Mill, founded in c1814, with its accompanying documentary archive, probably forms the most complete group of historical material from a wool-spinning mill to have been preserved in Britain.
Museum and Heritage Service and the community
We can help with enquiries and research into many aspects of the history of the county. We also give talks and lectures on a range of subjects which can be tailored to meet the needs of the group. We provide outreach to schools and other groups in the form of activity sessions and loans boxes.
If you would like to support the work of the service you might like to consider joining the Friends of the Museum and Heritage Service.
Where is the Museum and Heritage Service located?
The Museum and Heritage Service is located on the first floor of the Speirs Centre in Primrose Street, Alloa. The office hours are usually 9.30am to 6.00pm Monday - Friday for enquiries and appointments. Staff appointments elsewhere may mean that no one is present in the mornings, so it is always best to telephone before coming to the office.
Contact information
For further information about this page please contact:
Museum and Heritage Officer,
Speirs Centre, Primrose Street, Alloa, FK10 1JJ
Tel: 01259 216913 / 450000 Fax: 01259 721313
Email: museum@clacks.gov.uk
Or use the on-line contact form.
Updated: Jan 18 2008 16:58 | Top © Copyright 2000-2008 Clackmannanshire Council. All rights reserved.