Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn
|Admin HQ||Alloa (current)
|• Body||Clackmannanshire Council|
|• Control||TBA (council NOC)|
|• Total||61 sq mi (159 km2)|
|Area rank||Ranked 30th|
|Population (2010 est.)|
|• Rank||Ranked 29th|
|• Density||830/sq mi (319/km2)|
|ISO 3166 code||GB-CLK|
Clackmannanshire ( listen (help·info)) is a local government council area in Scotland, bordering Fife, Perth and Kinross and Stirling. It is also historical county, as well as a lieutenancy area and a registration county.
The name is derived from the Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn meaning "Stone of Manau". As Britain's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed "The Wee County". When written, Clackmannanshire is commonly abbreviated to Clacks.
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.
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.
Council political composition
|Scottish National Party||8|
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.
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.
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. Passenger services only operate towards Stirling, the line to Kincardine is normally used by freight trains only. 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. The service provides an hourly connection between Alloa, Stirling and Glasgow Queen Street.
|County (until circa 1890)|
|• Total||123 km2 (47 sq mi)|
Clackmannan, the old county town, is named after the ancient stone associated with the pre-Christian deity Manau or Mannan. The stone now rests on a larger stone beside the Tollbooth and Mercat Cross at the top of Main street, Clackmannan.
Legend has it that Robert the Bruce mislaid his glove while in the area and, on asking where it was, was told "Look aboot ye". The county's coat of arms shows a pair of gloves. 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.
Towns and villages
- Alloa - administrative centre
Places of interest
- Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. http://www.ros.gov.uk/public/publications/leaflets.html
- "Logo and Visual Identity Survey". Clackmannanshire Council.
- "Railway information | Clackmannanshire Council". Clacksweb.org.uk. 2008-05-19. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- "Stirling Alloa Kincardine Railway celebrates first anniversary". ClacksWeb. 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- "File:Clackmannan sign about stone, cross and tollbooth.jpg - Wikimedia Commons". Commons.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
- "Image of the Stone of Mannan". Commons.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clackmannanshire.|
- Clacksweb - Clackmannanshire Council Online
- Clackmannanshire at DMOZ
- 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.