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 and North Lanarkshire councils. Slamannan had a population of around 1,360 residents.[2] In 1755 the population was recorded as 1209.[3] Fifty years later the population was around the 1000 in the Parish of Slamanan[4] (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
Blaeu's map from 1654[5] based on Pont's original c.1596[6] "The East Central Lowlands (Stirling, Falkirk & Kilsyth) - Pont 32" map depicting Slamannenn and Slea-manann Moore
The name relates to the Manaw Gododdin tribe about whom little is known.[7] The name possibly means hill-face of Manan.[8] The church at Slamannan used to be named after St Laurence.[9] There is also a well which bears his name.[10] It is recorded that in 1470 James II gave a charter to Lord Livingstone for the lands of Slamannan.[11]James IV paid a guide sixpence to help him cross the moor of Slamannan in August 1491 during an excursion in the Bathgate area from Linlithgow Palace.[12]
The area was once well known for steam coal which was worked at Longriggend.[13] Farming was also practiced on about 40 farms in the parish.[14] Several other old maps show Slamannan with various spellings including maps by John Grassom,[15]John Ainslie[16] and John Thomson.[17] Only the Ordnance Survey Map shows the Culloch Burn.[18] Gas lighting was set up in 1855.[19] By 1882 the population had grown to 1644 with over 200 people in school.[20] Newspaper articles mentioning Slamannan are available from the 18th century.[21]
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.
Lance Corporal Samuel Frickleton, was born in Slamannan, in 1891, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Frickleton.[24] 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 "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 for his exploits in the RAF in WW2.
^Rhys, John, Sir (1904). Celtic Britain (3rd ed.). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. p. 155. Retrieved 3 February 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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