Alloa

Alloa, a seaport town in Clackmannanshire, on the left bank of the tidal Forth, 6½ miles E. of Stirling, and 35 WNW. of Edinburgh. Among its buildings are the county court-house (1865), the handsome new town-hall (1888), the corn exchange (1862), and the parish church (1819); and its special feature is the Lime-tree Walk (1714), leading up from the harbour. It is an active centre of trade and manufactures, the latter including whisky, ale, woolen yarn, glass, iron; there is some shipbuilding, and coal is exported from pits in the neighbourhood. The harbour is fair, having been greatly improved in 1863. The Forth is here crossed by a railway viaduct (1885), and there is regular steam-communication by the river with Edinburgh and Stirling. Close by is Alloa House (1838), the seat of the Earl of Mar and Kellie, with Alloa Tower, 89 feet high, and built about 1223. Here Queen Mary spent part of her childhood, as also did James VI. and Prince Henry. Pop. (1841) 5443; (1891) 12,643.