Join us on an epic virtual tour of the Clackmannanshire Tower Trail! This is the first of five in this series as we take you along to five historic homes in Clackmannanshire. We will start with Clackmannan Tower because it best allows us to give a proper introduction to Clackmannanshire as a whole. Afterall, Clackmannan is the former county seat and from what its name is derived.
So, let’s get ready to visit the smallest county in Scotland! It’s also known as ‘The Wee County’– so who better to guide you around Clackmannanshire than Wee Walking Tours?😉 Now, it might be a small county, but trust me when we echo one of its slogans- Clackmannanshire offers “More Than You Imagine”! If you’re ready – then ‘Look Aboot Ye’!
We have brought you around with us to Clackmannanshire once before, with our post on the Andy Scott sculptures. In case you missed it, be sure to check it out later. However, for now, it’s time to learn about some of the fascinating people from Clackmannanshire’s history by visiting these historic homes.
Before we make our way to the top of the hill called ‘King’s Seat Hill’, the site of the Clackmannan Tower, we need to make a quick stop in the lovely and peaceful small town of Clackmannan.
As mentioned above, Clackmannan is the former county seat that lends its name to the county. However, there have been many theories and legends about the origins of the name, Clackmannan. These theories and legends include the lost gloves of King Robert the Bruce, early Irish monks, a mythological Celtic sea-god, and an early pagan place of rituals of Manaw tribe. While we may never know the exact origins, or at least agree on any one specific theory, we do know that all these theories have one thing in common- the stone.
The word clack derives from the Scottish Gaelic word clach, which translates to stone. But it’s the ‘mannan’ word that causes most of the debate and mystery. Does it refer to gloves that King Robert the Bruce had lost and had then sent Sir James Douglas and others to “look aboot” for in the brae beneath King’s Seat Hill (the brae still known to this day as the Lookabootye Brae)?
It’s a lovely legend, and King Robert the Bruce did live in Clackmannan Castle (the site of the tower is believed to have had a castle as early as the 11th or the 12th century, whereas the tower house that remains to this day is believed to have been built around 1360) for a period. However, the references to Clackmannan predate him by centuries, so as fun it would be, I don’t think that we can credit Robert the Bruce for the name of Clackmannan. Yet, like most legends, there still might be a kernel of truth. Or in this case, a bit more than a kernel- a stone of truth.
Here is the “Clackmannan”, or “the Stone of Mannan”:
The stone stands along the Main Street in Clackmannan right next to the 16th century Clackmannan Tolbooth and the old Mercat Cross (dating to sometime in the 17th century). So, the connection between Robert the Bruce and the stone is that it is very likely that he had the stone removed from further down the brae to its present location, so that it could be more prominently displayed by the Mercat Cross in the town centre. It’s believed that the stone was originally located along the river Devon where it runs into the Firth of Forth.
In any case, it’s this stone of Mannan that links together all the theories and myths as many other stone formations and/or circles have been important places for people to gather and also worship. Although very little is known about the Pictish peoples and other prehistoric tribes, it’s believed that the areas around Clackmannan were once inhabited by a tribe called Manaw. Therefore, it’s not too much of a stretch to see that their name could be the origin for Mannan.
Then again, the word Mannan, is also very close to the Irish word of manac in Irish, or manach in Scots Gaelic, both of which mean monk. So, it could feasibly even be a ‘Stone of Monks’; albeit there are no old places of worship in the near vicinity of the brae or records of one. That, however, doesn’t exclude that theory either, because it would have been very likely that the early Irish monks who made their way here into Scotland would have used already existing places of worship, in effort to make conversion of the pagans into Christianity a bit easier.
Anyhow, you might know that I love Scottish history, but this is not the time and place to write a comprehensive history of the ‘Clacks’, because that’s not what you’re here for. You are here to get a virtual tour of the Clackmannan Tower. So, let’s head up the hill to King’s Seat Hill!
As we go through the gates on the top of the hill- a quick reminder if you travel with dogs- be sure to have them on the lead so that they won’t disturb the local livestock grazing around the tower.
Another handy tip for you all, before we really get into our first tour of the Clackmannanshire Tower Trail, is – be sure to check out Clackmannanshire Council’s webpages for their major tourist attractions. You should also download or print out their handy booklet about the Tower Trail which can be found at this link.
In fact, their webpages and the booklet provide a great summary of the history of all the sites that we’ll be visiting. So rather than me rambling and reciting all the same history, we’ll focus more on the photos of the places while still highlighting some of the fascinating stories attached to each tower or castle.
Nevertheless, just look at these magnificent views from King’s Seat Hill! No wonder why ancient monarchs and other nobility settled here.
Before we head in, lets walk around the grounds a bit because there’s a wealth of information that can be learned and studied from all the rocks still attached to the tower and others scattered around the grounds.
Make sure to check out the new installation that provides some fascinating geological history for the surrounding area and the valley below and along the river Forth estuary. Once upon time, all those fertile farming lands and the pockets of villages along the Forth, used to form the seabed. The geological history also explains why the county seat, as well as the overall political impetus of the county, has moved from Clackmannan towards Alloa- now the biggest town in Clackmannanshire.
Centuries ago, Clackmannan was strategically located at the junction of the rivers Devon and Forth. This made it an important harbour town, practically in the heart of Scotland. However, as the waters receded and the silt accumulated, Clackmannan lost its harbour. Slowly its population and political importance all moved up the stream of the Forth to Alloa. But we’ll get to talking more about Alloa in the next article in this series when we visit Alloa Tower.
Aside from the new geological history installation, we can spot remnants of other stone works in the vicinity of the tower. That’s because there used to be an addition to the tower- a 16th century mansion house. Unfortunately, that was torn down in the early 19th century. The stones from the mansion house were used in building the new parish church in 1815 and perhaps some of the other houses around the town. Beyond the vanished mansion house, there are markings in the stones that prove the existence of other buildings as well, buildings like the staples, etc.
However, some of the newest stones added to the façade of the tower tell a horrifying story of how this historic tower was almost lost for good in 1948. To understand what I mean, you need to know that the tower house is actually two joining towers attached to each other. The original tower house is believed to have been a more modest three-story home dating to about 1360. It was then first expanded upwards with additional floors, and then a whole second tower was added to the south of the original, giving the tower house its “L” shape. These additions date to sometime in the 15th century.
The 1948 incident was caused by the subsiding of the ground beneath. King Seat Hill and the surrounding area were mined for coal in previous centuries which led to the subsidence beneath the tower. The result was that the two conjoined towers ripped apart, leaving a massive crack between the two. Thankfully, Historic Environment Scotland then took control of the tower in the 1950’s, and they carried out restoration projects to preserve the tower, and patch the crack. Their valuable preservation efforts are still ongoing – not only trying to prevent further damage and subsidence, but there are also plans to increase public access to the tower. This would be great, since, currently, access is limited to one day of the year – during the Open Doors days in September.
That is why our tour is quite exclusive and rare, so we hope that you will enjoy this wee glimpse of the interior. Let’s head in!
We first make our way into the lower-level vaulted cellars. In fact, the two lowest levels of the towers have vaulted stone ceilings, which are quite an impressive engineering marvel, since those s=ceiling must bear the entirety of the weight of the floors above. Keep in mind these oldest sections are nearly seven hundred years old. However, today, these cellars are not filled with wine or with any other rations. Rather, they now house some broken and fallen-off stones from the tower and some of its previous supplemental buildings.
Next, we make our way up to the Great Hall. This is where the lairds and the ladies of the house would have entertained their guests. So, lets meet some of the people of the Clackmannan Tower.
As I mentioned early on in this post, it is believed that this site was home to a royal castle as early as in the 11th century, during the reign of King Malcolm IV. A few centuries later, King Robert the Bruce stayed here on King’s Seat Hill for some time. While the records are limited from their time, we do know a bit more from then on, because the lands were then granted by the son of Robert the Bruce - King David II- to his kinsman and cousin, Sir Robert Bruce, in 1359.
It was Sir Robert Bruce who then started the construction of the Clackmannan Tower in the following years, which, as I previously mentioned, continued to be expanded for centuries. During all this time, the tower belonged to the Bruces of Clackmannan. Unfortunately, their later ventures into the business of coal mining didn’t prove to be successful. I am not even talking about the problems of subsidence, but rather the family’s finances. The Bruces faced bankruptcy in the early 18th century, which forced them out of the mining business, as well as to sell most of their lands around Clackmannan. However, the tower continued to be inhabited by the Bruces, until the very last resident – Lady Catherine Bruce.
Lady Catherine Bruce was by all accounts a remarkable and charming lady, who continued to regale visitors in her home well into her nineties. Her husband had been Henry Bruce, a devout Jacobite who took part in the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, following Bonnie Prince Charlie into the battles. However, the rebellion had been crushed after the horrors of Culloden. While Bonnie Prince Charlie fled Scotland to live out his days in exile, Henry remained in Scotland. He spent time in hiding, and even attempted to flee to the Netherlands, but he was detained in Leith. After some time in custody, he was released, and he then returned to his beloved Clackmannan until his death in 1772.
Both Sir Henry and Lady Catherine could trace their family tree back to the great King Robert the Bruce, the hero of Bannockburn. Or, as Lady Catherine was known to quip: “I don’t come from the family line of the great Robert the Bruce…he comes from my family line!” But Lady Catherine didn’t only possess the bloodline of the great king, she also had his sword from the Battle of Bannockburn. She took great pride in her family legacy and possessions, and she was even known to use the sword of King Robert the Bruce to ‘knight’ worthy visitors.
Most notably, she knighted that national poet and bard of Scotland, Robert Burns, when he visited her at Clackmannan Tower in October 1787.After an evening of wining and dining, and sharing stories of Jacobites, the 91 year old Lady Catherine Bruce, the heir of Robert the Bruce, used the Bruce Sword to knight the kneeling bard – Sir Robert Burns! Now I think that is a story worthy of a movie!
Sadly, those glory days ended when, four years later, in 1791, Lady Catherine Bruce passed away. Afterwards, the tower and the adjoining mansion house became abandoned (with, as mentioned previously, the mansion being eventually dismantled in the following decades). Thankfully, most of the tower house has survived to this day. (A quick sidenote – The Bruce Sword has also survived, and it is in the collection of the Bruce family at Broomhall House, and the sword has been on public display occasionally since 2018).
Now that we have met some of the inhabitants of the tower, we should look at some more interior shots before we climb up all the way to the top of the parapet! Please scroll through the photos below.
Time for the grand finale – join us at the top of the tower!
We were so very fortunate that we were able to visit the Tower back in September of 2021. We sincerely hope that further restorations are carried out, and that the public access will be increased in the future, because the Clackmannan Tower is remarkable in its history and its importance to Scotland. It commands the King’s Seat Hill with its regality to this very day, boasting some of the most incredible views of Scotland’s central belt. Therefore, it deserves to be seen and appreciated by more people. Clackmannanshire as a whole deserves more attention because this wee county certainly offers “More Than You Imagine”!
Since we only took photos of the tower during our visit, I have included links to a couple of videos by Adrian Cox, an archeologist from Historical Environment Scotland, so that you can get another unique and rare look of the tower:
Finally, for my fellow history buffs, I want to include a couple of excellent sources in Clackmannan and Clackmannan Tower history both here and here.
As we leave you for now, with a few photos of our angels – Finn, Sawyer and Stirling – we kindly remind you to ‘Explore & Discover’! Stay tuned for the next part in our Clackmannanshire Tower Trail series – Alloa Tower.
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