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Slamannan () is a village in the south of the
Falkirk council area Falkirk ( ; ; ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central r ...
in Central
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 south-west of
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
, east of
Cumbernauld Cumbernauld (; ) is a large town in the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Dunbartonshire and council area of North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is the tenth List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, most-populous locality in Scotl ...
and north-east of Airdrie. Slamannan is located at the cross of the B803 and B8022 roads, near the banks of the River Avon, close to the border between
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
and
North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...
councils. Slamannan had a population of around 1,360 residents. In 1755 the population was recorded as 1209. Fifty years later the population was around the 1000 in the Parish of Slamanan (although elsewhere in the same volume the usual spelling is used). The 19th-century parish church can accommodate upwards of 700 people.


History and toponymy

The name relates to the
Manaw Gododdin Manaw Gododdin was the narrow coastal region on the south side of the Firth of Forth, part of the Brythonic-speaking Kingdom of Gododdin in the post-Roman Era. It is notable as the homeland of Cunedda prior to his conquest of North Wales, and ...
tribe about whom little is known. The name possibly means hill-face of Manan. The church at Slamannan used to be named after St Laurence. There is also a well which bears his name. It is recorded that in 1470 James II gave a charter to Lord Livingstone for the lands of Slamannan.
James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...
paid a guide sixpence to help him cross the moor of Slamannan in August 1491 during an excursion in the
Bathgate Bathgate ( or , ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Linlithgow, Livingston, and West Calder. A number of villages fall under ...
area from
Linlithgow Palace The ruins of Linlithgow Palace are located in the town of Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland, west of Edinburgh. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland in the 15th and 16th ce ...
. The area was once well known for steam coal which was worked at
Longriggend Longriggend is a village in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, with a population of approximately 200. Geography It is situated on moorland 8 km north-east of Airdrie, in the parish of New Monkland. It is roughly halfway between Upperto ...
. Farming was also practiced on about 40 farms in the parish. Several other old maps show Slamannan with various spellings including maps by John Grassom,
John Ainslie A plaque in Castlegate in Jedburgh John Ainslie (22 April 1745 – 29 February 1828) was a Scottish surveyor and cartographer. Life Ainslie was born in Jedburgh, the youngest son of John Ainslie, a druggist, Writer to the Signet and burgess of t ...
and John Thomson. Only the Ordnance Survey Map shows the Culloch Burn. Gas lighting was set up in 1855. By 1882 the population had grown to 1644 with over 200 people in school. Newspaper articles mentioning Slamannan are available from the 18th century.


Notable residents

Former Cabinet Minister Viscount Horne was born in Slamannan in 1871, the son of the village's
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
minister. After study at the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
, he became a successful QC and was elected to represent
Glasgow Hillhead Glasgow Hillhead was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system. Boundar ...
in Parliament, and served as
Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
,
President of the Board of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...
and
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...
under
Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. A Liberal Party (United Kingdom), Liberal Party politician from Wales, he was known for leadi ...
after the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He was ennobled in 1937 as Viscount Horne of Slamannan. Other distinguished sons of Slamannan manse include John Cameron and his brothers Hugh, Sandy and Kenneth, all of whom won national titles in athletics in the 1960s and 70s (John and Kenneth as runners, and Hugh and Sandy in the heavy field events). All of them later went on to become doctors. Their father, Alexander Cameron was an interesting man in his own right, having been a miner who went up to Glasgow University from the West Central coalfields in the depths of the Depression to study divinity. After serving as an army padre throughout the War, he went back to the coalfields in 1946 as a Church of Scotland minister. He was also the village's Labour county councillor and convener of Stirlingshire Education Committee for twenty years until his death from black lung in 1968. Early twentieth-century Everton
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
er, Alex "Sandy" Young was born in Slamannan, and spent his youth years playing for Slamannan Juniors. He remains the all-time fourth-highest scorer for Everton, and scored the only goal at the 1906 FA Cup Final. Another footballer, Andrew Smith, also hailed from the village. He played for numerous clubs in Scotland and England including
East Stirlingshire East Stirlingshire Football Club is a Scotland, Scottish association football club based in the town of Falkirk. The club was founded in 1881 and competes in the , the fifth tier of the Scottish football league system. The club's origins can b ...
,
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...
, Newton Heath (later renamed
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
) and
Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...
. Lance Corporal Samuel Frickleton, was born in Slamannan, in 1891, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Frickleton. The family emigrated to New Zealand to take advantage of the plentiful jobs on offer in the coal mining industry, and the following year saw the outbreak of the First World War. Corporal Frickleton was awarded the military's highest honour for his actions in the Battle of Messines. His bravery was so outstanding that his commanding officer claimed he could have won the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
"twice over". Another notable military man from the village who was highly decorated was Sgt Observer James Bryce, who was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional val ...
for his exploits in the RAF in WW2.


See also

*
List of places in Falkirk council area :See the list of places in Scotland for places in other counties. The article is a list of links for any town, village and hamlet in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. A * Abbotshaugh Community Woodland *Airth, Airth Castle * All ...
* Slamannan F.C. * Slamannan Rovers F.C. *
Slamannan Railway The Slamannan Railway was an early mineral railway between the north-eastern margin of Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie and Causewayend on the Union Canal (Scotland), Union Canal, near Linlithgow, Scotland. The Slamannan Railway was built to ...
* Abronhill * Slamannan Plateau


References


External links


Gazetteer for Scotland page on history of Slamannan
{{Authority control Villages in Falkirk (council area) Parishes in Stirlingshire