Alva (
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...
: ''Ailbheach'', meaning rocky) is a small town in
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...
, set in the
Central Lowlands
The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and ...
of
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. It is one of a number of towns situated immediately to the south of the
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills (; ) is a range of hills in Scotland north of the River Forth, Forth valley bordered by the cities of Stirling, Perth, Scotland, Perth and the towns of Alloa, Kinross, and Auchterarder . The only major roads crossing the hil ...
, collectively referred to as the ''
Hillfoots Villages'' or simply ''The Hillfoots''. It is located between
Tillicoultry
Tillicoultry ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Tulach Cultraidh, perhaps from older Gaelic ''Tullich-cul-tir'', or "the mount/hill at the back of the country") is a town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Tillicoultry is usually referred to as Tilly by the loc ...
and
Menstrie. Alva had a resident population of 5,181 at the
2001 census but this has since been revised to 4,600 in 2016. It boasts many features such as a park with an event hall and a newly opened outdoor gym, and is the home of
Alva Academy.
Etymology
The name of this place, the orthography of which has successively passed through the different forms of Alueth, and Alvath or Alveth to that of Alva, is of Gaelic origin, and is supposed to be derived from the term ''Ailbheach'', signifying "rocky."
History

The old town centred on Alva House, a tower house dating from 1542 and enlarged and remodelled in 1636 by Sir Charles Erskine. It remained in the Erskine family until sometime after 1802 when it passed to the mill owner James Johnstone. House was requisitioned by the government during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and was used for target practice by local artillery battalions.
During the Industrial Revolution, Alva developed as a
textile manufacturing
Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...
centre; the woollen mills, originally water-powered, provided employment for locals and migrants to the area. The former Mill Trail Centre is next to the Cochrane Park, housed in the old Glentana Mill built in 1887. It housed permanent exhibitions about the history of the old woollen industry and the experiences of the many people employed in the industry. The Dalmore Works was built in 1874 for Wilson Brothers, who produced textile products including tweed, woollen novelty fabrics and mohair and woollen rugs. The works were operated by Wilsons until 1964, when the failure of Wilson Bros (Alva) Ltd, set up jointly with McBean and Bishop Ltd, caused the firm to lose the works.
Alva was historically in an
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of
Stirlingshire
Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties.
It borders Perthshir ...
, but it was transferred to
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...
in 1891.
Geography

Alva lies right at the foot of the
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills (; ) is a range of hills in Scotland north of the River Forth, Forth valley bordered by the cities of Stirling, Perth, Scotland, Perth and the towns of Alloa, Kinross, and Auchterarder . The only major roads crossing the hil ...
. The
Ochil Fault
The Ochil Fault is the geological feature which defines the southern edge of the Ochil Hills escarpment in Scotland.
North of the fault, Devonian lava flows and pyroclastic deposits slope gently down, thinning towards the north. These are in p ...
, movement of which gave rise to the steep southern scarp of the Ochil Hills, coincides approximately with the old road along the base of the hills. The rock beneath the carse in this area is of
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...
age. The main hill dominating the town is Tory, with Craigleith adjacent to the west.
The town is situated on slightly higher ground than the surrounding
carse, being on two overlapping
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...
s, made up of material deposited by the Carnaughton Glen and Alva Glen burns. The spectacular
Alva Glen cuts into the Ochils immediately north of the town. Alva Burn flows from the glen, through Alva, and into the
River Devon.
To the east of Alva Glen, and parallel to it, is the
Silver Glen, where silver was mined at one time. A more recent attempt about 1 km to the south of Alva, the Glenochil Colliery, was not a success, and the site is now the site of
HM Prison Glenochil.
Facilities
Alva has many shops, three Christian places of worship: a small but growing Baptist fellowship, a well established Church of Scotland and St. John Vianney's Roman Catholic Church; a few pubs, a small library and a medical practice. There are two large parks - Johnstone Park and Cochrane Park, which contains the local hall (Cochrane Hall). Every second Saturday in July, Johnstone Park is host to the Alva Games, the last remaining Highland Games show in Clackmannanshire. The McArthur Braes, at the foot of Alva Glen, was once a formal park that has fallen into neglect; it is now being regenerated.

The town has both a primary school and a secondary school.
Alva Academy takes pupils from several primary schools in the Hillfoots area. The school was relocated on a new campus early in 2009. The new Alva Academy has been built at the end of Greenhead, a street on the south-east side of the town.
Transport
Alva is on the main A91
Stirling
Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
to
St Andrews
St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
road. Bus services run to Stirling and to
Alloa
Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; , possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where some say it ceases to ...
(via
Tillicoultry
Tillicoultry ( ; Scottish Gaelic: Tulach Cultraidh, perhaps from older Gaelic ''Tullich-cul-tir'', or "the mount/hill at the back of the country") is a town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Tillicoultry is usually referred to as Tilly by the loc ...
), and (less frequently) to St Andrews.
There was once a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
that served the town from 1863 to 1954.
Recreation
In 1856, a gathering was organised in a park for gymnastics that evolved into an annual Alva Games.
Between 1937 and 1954, Alva Glen was famed for its annual Illuminations, which drew visitors from across Scotland. In 2004 the Illuminations were revived.
Economy and industry
Harviestoun Brewery
Harviestoun is a
small
Small means of insignificant size
Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to three geometrical measures: length, area, or ...
Scottish
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
founded in 1983 by Ken Brooker in a 200-year-old stone barn on a farm on the
Harviestoun estate near
Dollar
Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...
. It moved in 2004 to Alva Industrial Estate in Alva, before being bought by
Caledonian Brewery
Caledonian Brewery was a Scottish brewery founded in 1869 in the Shandon, Edinburgh, Shandon area of Edinburgh, Scotland.
History Early years
When it was founded in 1869, the brewery was named the Lorimer and Clark Caledonian Brewery, after it ...
in 2006. It became independent again in 2008 – when Caledonian was bought by
Scottish & Newcastle
Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold.
The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...
, Sandy Orr & Donald MacDonald saw Harviestoun as a valuable asset and decided to purchase the brewery and run it independently.
Harviestoun Brewery produces a variety of beers in keg, cask, bottle and can. The most notable brews include
Schiehallion
Schiehallion (; , ) is a prominent cone-shaped mountain in the Breadalbane, Scotland, Breadalbane region of the Scottish Highlands, in the county of Perthshire. It rises to and is classed as a Munro. Schiehallion has a rich flora, interesting ...
Craft Lager, Bitter & Twisted Golden Ale, Old Engine Oil Black Ale, Ola Dubh Whisky
Barrel Aged Ale.
[
]
Architecture
The most prominent building in Alva is Strude Mill, a former woollen mill that has been restored and converted to flats. It stands above the town at the base of the hills, and is clearly visible from some distance away.
Notable residents
*
John Eadie (1810–1876) Moderator of the General Assembly for the
United Presbyterian Church of Scotland
The United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the U ...
1857/8
*
Robert Erskine (physician) (1677–1718) physician to Tsar Peter the Great, head and reformer of the Russian medical service, founder of botanic gardens in Moscow and St Petersburg
References
External links
Alva Glen Heritage TrustAlva Primary SchoolAlva AcademyClacksNet - Clackmannanshire's Community NetworkLook Aboot Ye - Clackmannanshire Community News, Information and Forums
{{authority control
Towns in Clackmannanshire
Hillfoots Villages
Parishes in Clackmannanshire