Clackmannanshire

Clackmannanshire
Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn

Coat of arms
Logo
Coordinates: 56°10′N 3°45′W / 56.167°N 3.750°W / 56.167; -3.750Coordinates: 56°10′N 3°45′W / 56.167°N 3.750°W / 56.167; -3.750
Admin HQ Alloa (current)
Clackmannan (historic)
Government
 • Body Clackmannanshire Council
 • Control SNP minority (council NOC)
 • MPs
 • MSPs
Area
 • Total 61 sq mi (159 km2)
Area rank Ranked 30th
Population (2010 est.)
 • Total 51,000
 • Rank Ranked 29th
 • Density 830/sq mi (319/km2)
ONS code 00QF
ISO 3166 code GB-CLK
Website http://www.clacks.gov.uk/

Clackmannanshire (/klækˈmænənˌʃɪər/ or /-ʃər/  listen ) is a historic county and council area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife and Perth & Kinross.

The name is derived from three languages the first Scottish Gaelic: Chlach meaning "Stone", Mannan is a derivative of the Brythonic name of the Iron Age tribe the Manaw, who inhabited the area, and the English word shire. As Britain's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed "The Wee County". When written, Clackmannanshire is commonly abbreviated to Clacks.

History

Clackmannan, the old county town, is named after the ancient stone associated with the pre-Christian deity Manau or Mannan.[1] The stone now rests on a larger stone beside the Tollbooth and Mercat Cross at the top of Main street, Clackmannan.[2]

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.

Administrative history

The County of Clackmannan is one of Scotland's 33 historic local government counties, bordering on Perthshire, Kinross-shire, Stirlingshire and Fife. The county town was originally Clackmannan, but by 1822 neighbouring Alloa had outgrown Clackmannan and replaced it as the county town. Some rationalisation of the county boundaries was undertaken in 1889-1890, and in 1971 the Muckhart and Glendevon areas, formerly in Perthshire, were transferred to Clackmannanshire.

In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the 33 historic counties lost their administrative status, and a new hierarchy of regions and districts was created. Clackmannanshire became part of the Central Region, under the name Clackmannan District, together with Stirling District and Falkirk District.

The historic name was restored in 1996, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994. The area was to have the name "Clackmannan", but following strong local pressure this was changed to "Clackmannanshire" by the council using its own powers.

Clackmannanshire today

In terms of population, Clackmannanshire is the smallest council area in mainland Scotland, with a population of 48,630 (in 2005), around half of whom live in the main town and administrative centre, Alloa.

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".[3]

In the 18 September 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum, Clackmannanshire reported a turnout of 88.6%. It became the first area to announce its result with 16,350 people (46.20%) voting in favour of independence and 19,036 (53.80%) voting against.[4]

Council political composition

Party Councillors
Scottish National Party 8
Labour 8
Conservative 1
Independent 1

Geography

The Ochil Hills lie in the northern part of the area. 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.

Coat of arms

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.

Economy

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.

Transport

Alloa railway station reopened in May 2008. 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, with the first fully functioning passenger service commencing in the new summer timetable on 19 May 2008.[5][6] The service provides an hourly connection between Alloa, Stirling and Glasgow Queen Street.

Towns and villages

Places of interest

References

  1. ↑ "File:Clackmannan sign about stone, cross and tollbooth.jpg - Wikimedia Commons". Commons.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  2. ↑ "Image of the Stone of Mannan". Commons.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  3. ↑ "Logo and Visual Identity Survey" (PDF). Clackmannanshire Council.
  4. ↑ "First Blood To No As Opening Count Declared". Sky News. 19 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "Railway information | Clackmannanshire Council". Clacksweb.org.uk. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  6. ↑ "Stirling Alloa Kincardine Railway celebrates first anniversary". ClacksWeb. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
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