Day 6 - Alloa

 11 April 2023 – Alloa

Today Rog and I spent the day exploring the area where his Mason/Sinclair family came from. We started off in Tullibody where the Mason family lived in the 1700s. While the town looks nothing like it did then, we did manage to find the original parish church (now a ruin) and it’s accompanying parish cemetery. Most of the grave stones from the 1700s have just initials on them, so we didn’t stand a chance of finding any specific family ones, however it was very peaceful wandering around.

Roger’s 2^nd Gt Grandparents (Capt David Mason and Mary Ann Erskine Sinclair) lived at Forth Street, Alloa in the 1851 census, and there is a Forth Street found a bit out of Alloa so we took a drive to check it out. It didn’t seem right because it was so far out of Alloa and nowhere near the port where Capt Mason would have worked the ferries. We carried on into Alloa itself and set up camp in the archives office. Not only did we get a full day’s access to Scotland’s People records, we were also able to study old maps of the area and see reference documents that are not available online. Everyone in the office were very helpful and kept bringing out new items of interest to show us. It was fantastic to see a map from the 1800s showing that Forth St was in fact on the river bank, across from the wharf – makes much more sense for it to be here. Unfortunately, Forth Street no longer exists since there is now a large glass manufacturing factory where it originally ran. Luckily, the archives had a book of old Alloa photos, which included some photos of a very regal looking Forth Street. It was great to be able to see these photos. The archives also had a book that contained the writings from the 1850s of a man who grew up in Alloa and was telling his memories of the people in Alloa from the early 1800s. It was fantastic to see Roger’s 2^nd and 3^rd Gt Grandfathers mentioned by someone who knew them. This book was fascinating and the way it was written really let you peek inside the community 200 years ago.

Rog and I had a wander around Alloa, down to where Forth St was, visiting both the current parish church (now 200 years old) and the previous parish church (now a ruin but with a graveyard where Roger’s family were buried). Modern day Alloa was a vibrant community and everyone we came across were so lovely. A café was set up inside the parish church – run by a retired award-winning chef who was so happy to chat with us. The food was amazing and so cheap, plus it was special to be sitting in the back of the church where Roger’s family would have worshipped. Amazing!

 

Top left photo is of Tullybody parish church, top middle is Roger along the river at Alloa (approximately where the wharves would have been), map shows Forth St, and picture is how Forth St used to look.

The weather has started to turn this evening, and the locals are talking about some very bad weather heading our way. Perfect timing for our visit to Stirling Castle tomorrow!