Alloa – In the Olden Days

……
 In 1502, James IV commissioned a
ship to transport coal from Alloa to
Inchkeith near Edinburgh.
 In 1722-25, Daniel Defoe, the author
of Robinson Crusoe, visited Alloa
and described it as “pleasant, well-
built and full of trade”. He was
quoted to have said that “A merchant
of Alloa may trade to all parts of the
world.
 In 1750, The Glass Works was
opened by Lady Frances Erskine.
The Concrete cone present in the
Glass Works was nicknamed the
‘Northern Cone’ and there is only 4
of these in the world.
 In 1975, the ‘Cone’ was given the
status as ‘an ancient monument.
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 Early in the 18 Century, Scots
traders were gifted trading privileges
from the Dutch. This was known as
‘A Port Free of Charge’. This was
later adopted as the term ‘Scot Free’.
 In 1750, Alloa began exporting coal
and salt to Scandinavia, in return for
grain and sand for the Alloa Brewery
and the Alloa Glass Works.
 It was agreed that it was faster and
cheaper to transport goods on water
rather than by road.
 In 1766, the Earl of Mar created the
Alloa Wagonway to link the colliery
to the harbour.
 In 1815, Alloa became an
independent Port.
 In 1892, Trustees sold the harbour to
the North British Railway.
 In 1921, Samuel Allsop and Sons,
moved from Burton -upon – Trent to
develop Graham’s lager and this was
renamed ‘Skol’ in 1950 and later,
Castlemaine XXXX.
 In 1936, the Kincardine Bridge
opened and became popular due to
more people owning cars.
 In 1970, the Port was closed due to a

decline in trading overseas.