Bridge of Allan (Scots: Brig Allan,[2][3]Scottish Gaelic: Drochaid Ailein), also known colloquially as Bofa, is a town in the Stirlingcouncil area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, 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 electrified Edinburgh to Dunblane Line and is accessible by train from Stirling in under 5 minutes as well as London in under six hours.
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.
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. One of the old toll posts is still on display on a path leading up from Henderson Street.
In the early 19th century the town was little developed and typified by small, straw-roofed cottages.[4]
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.[5][6] Among the visitors was Robert Louis Stevenson[7] who visited annually during his youth.
In 1870, Bridge of Allan became an independent Police Burgh with its own Provost.[8] In the same year Laurence and Edmund Pullar moved to Bridge of Allan to open the huge Keirfield Works on the south-west of the town. This huge factory served as a major satellite for his father, John Pullar's firm of J. Pullar & Son later known as "Pullars of Perth". The Bridge of Allan plant serviced all of central and southern Scotland, whilst Perth served the north. The Pullars also built extensive housing schemes from the 1880s onwards to house the growing workforce. The Pullars also bought Westerton House from Major Henderson to use as their home.
The Museum Hall was built by the trustees of John Macfarlane of Coneyhill in 1887, originally as the Macfarlane Museum and Art Gallery.[9] In its use as a concert venue it once played host to the Beatles in 1963[10] but was subsequently allowed to fall into disuse and considerable disrepair.[11] It has now been redeveloped for residential use.
By 1900, the town had four churches: the parish church still linked to the Church of Scotland; two United Free Churches, Chalmers Church and Trinity Church; and St Saviour's, Scottish Episcopal Church. The town is currently served by Bridge of Allan Parish Church, Church of Scotland, and St Saviour's.[8]
Pullar Memorial Park was created in 1923 to house the Bridge of Allan War Memorial to those lost in the First World War. It was erected by the industrialist Edmund Pullar son of John Pullar, creators of Pullars of Perth.[12]
Alan Rankine (1958-2023), musician and record producer, best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates, was born in Bridge of Allan[15]
Finn Russell (born 1992) - Scotland Rugby and British & Irish Lions international fly-half
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'sEpiscopal church built in 1857,[16] 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.[17] Until 2004, there was another Church of Scotland congregation; Chalmers Church on Henderson Street, which has since been turned into flats.
Outside Bridge of Allan, on the A9 road to Dunblane, is Lecropt Kirk (also Church of Scotland).[18] Historically, this church served the entirely rural parish of Lecropt, west of Bridge of Allan.
Dunblane is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.
The Stirling council area is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 93,470. It was created in 1975 as a lower-tier district within the Central region. The district covered parts of the historic counties of Stirlingshire and Perthshire, which were abolished for local government purposes. In 1996 the Central region was abolished and Stirling Council took over all local government functions within the area.
Alexander Hume was a Scottish poet who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in the early 17th century.
General Sir James Edward Alexander was a Scottish traveller, author and soldier in the British Army.
Wallace High School is a non-denominational state secondary school in Causewayhead, Stirling. The school was founded in 1971 to serve Bridge of Allan, Castleview, Cornton, Fallin, Raploch and Riverside areas of north-eastern Stirling.
Bridge of Allan railway station is a railway station located in the town of Bridge of Allan, north of Stirling, Scotland. It lies between Stirling and Dunblane on the Highland Main Line, Glasgow to Aberdeen Line and Edinburgh to Dunblane Line.
The Diocese of Dunkeld was one of the 13 historical dioceses of Scotland preceding the abolition of Episcopacy in 1689.
Lecropt is a rural parish lying to the west of Bridge of Allan, Scotland.
Airthrey Castle is a historic building and estate which now forms part of the buildings and grounds of the University of Stirling in central Scotland. The 18th-century building with 19th-century additions occupies a beautiful setting in landscaped grounds in the southern edge of the Ochil Hills, above the Forth valley. It is located close to Bridge of Allan, two miles from the historic city of Stirling.
Ashfield is a small village in the Registration county of Perth and the local government district of Stirling, Scotland. It lies between the Allan Water and the Stirling-Perth Railway line. It is two miles north of Dunblane, and was designated a conservation village in 1976. It was originally built to house workers at a nearby silk-dyeing mill. Prior to this, a mill, Millash or Mill of Ash, existed, as did an extensive house or farm. Ashfield has four residential streets, a residential block and also a square, named after the former prime minister William Gladstone, called Gladstone Square.
Robert Haldane FRSE was a British mathematician and minister of the Church of Scotland.
Frederick Pattison Pullar FRSE FRGS FRSGS was a 19th century Scottish meteorologist who served as Sir John Murray's right-hand for his short career. He is often referred to simply as Fred Pullar.
Laurence Pullar FRSE FRGS FRSGS LLD (1838–1926) was a 19th-century Scottish businessman, geographer and philanthropist. A close friend of Sir John Murray he appears to have done much to fund and/or underwrite the cost of the Challenger Expedition.
Edmund Pullar DL JP was a 19th-century Scottish businessman and philanthropist. He ran the Bridge of Allan branch of the family firm of J & J Pullar Ltd later known as Pullars of Perth.
Logie Kirk, considered something of a ‘hidden gem, is nestled in a tranquil spot beneath Dumyat at the Western side of the Ochil Hills, east of Stirling in central Scotland. It serves Church of Scotland pastoral duties in the areas of Cambuskenneth, Bridge of Allan, Causewayhead, and formerly the estate of Airthrey Castle.
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