Sauchie is a town in the Central Lowlands of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. It lies north of the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of ...

and south of the Ochil Hills, within the council area of

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the ...

. Sauchie has a population of around 6000 and is located northeast of Alloa and east-southeast of Tullibody.

History

The name means the place or field of the willows. The land originally belonged to Clan Campbell, being mentioned in connection with Cailean Mór and Gilleasbaig of Menstrie. In 1321

Robert the Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

granted the lands of Sauchie to

Henry de Annand Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portuga ...

, former

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

of Clackmannan. A tower was built in 1335, and the present

Sauchie Tower Sauchie Tower, also known as Devon Tower, is a 15th-century tower house in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. The tower is located by the village of Fishcross, north of Sauchie and north of Alloa, close to the River Devon. It is protected as a ...

is on the same site. The extant tower was built before 1431 when Mary de Annand, the co-heiress to the estate, married Sir James Schaw of Greenock. The tower is all that remains of the village which developed within its protective radius. In the early 18th century the Schaw family moved from the tower to the more comfortable Newtonschaw. The village developed a brick works by the River Devon which fell into disuse following the collapse of the local mining industry. Beechwood Park, Sauchie

The rare and typically Scottish New Sauchie or Auchinbaird Vaulted Tower Windmill stands on a ridge overlooking New Sauchie and dates from the late 17th or early 18th century. It was a grain mill and later converted to a dovecote and has been preserved as a landscape feature and tourist attraction.

Sport

The village has a strong footballing tradition and is home to the football club Sauchie, who compete in the East of Scotland League. The club was founded in 1960 and play their home games at Beechwood Park in Sauchie. The village is also home to several youth teams including Claremont Football Club.

New Sauchie

New Sauchie is a relatively modern settlement developed around the Holton Village area to house miners working in the Earl of Mar's colliery at the Holton mine, and Newtonschaw, a village housing servants of the Schaw family. It lies about south of the original village. Schawpark Golf Course lies on the site of the Schaw family estate which is no longer extant.

Notable people

Robert Carberry Robert Carberry (born 6 January 1931) was a Scottish footballer who played as a half-back in the Football League for Norwich City, Gillingham, and Port Vale between 1953 and 1958. Career Carberry played for Avondale, before joining Norwi ...

(born 1931), footballer * Grant Gilchrist (born 1990), Scotland and Edinburgh rugby player * Alan Hansen (born 1955), footballer * John Hansen (born 1950), footballer * Willie Morgan (born 1944), footballer * William Schaw (c. 1550–1602), mason and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

* Robert Shaw (died 1527),

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Mora ...

* John Stahl (1953–2022), actor * Prof. David Wilson (born 1957), criminologist

References

*''Sauchie and Alloa - A People's History'', John Adamson, 1988

External links