Editing Alloa (section)

==Industries==
===Wool===

Wool was also locally plentiful and in the early part of the 19th century, John Paton set up a small yarn-spinning business in the town, later establishing Kilncraigs Mill. Much of the Kilncraigs complex has been demolished but a four-storey Edwardian Baroque block of 1903–1904 survives, with an extension of 1936.  The buildings were converted to Council offices by LDN architects in 2003/2004.  Patons merged with J. & J. Baldwin of Halifax in 1924 to become Paton & Baldwins Ltd.

[[File:Alloa Glass works.jpg|thumb|left|240px|alt=A glassworks building with large towers on the banks of an area of water|[[Owens-Illinois]] glassworks in Alloa]]

===Weaving and glass making===

The town itself continued to be known for its [[weaving]] and [[glass]]making industries well into the 19th and early 20th centuries.

===Brewing===

Alloa was long associated with the [[brewing]] industry, with at least nine major breweries producing [[ale]]s at its height. However [[deindustrialization|industrial decline]] during the mid to late 20th century has led to the economy relying more on retail and leisure.  The first brewing firms in the town were Younger in 1762 and Meiklejohn in 1784.<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Archibald |first=Jannette| title =The Origins of Brewing in Alloa|journal =Nae Sma' Beer (Exhibition Catalogue)|year = 2003}}</ref>
Alloa ale was sent to London and George Younger had an extensive export trade to the [[West Indies]], [[Egypt]] and the [[Far East]]. Alloa was also home to Alloa Brewery Co, developing Graham's Golden Lager in 1927 which was renamed [[Skol]] in the 1950s.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hornsey|first=Ian|title=A history of beer and brewing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QqnvNsgas20C&q=Skol%20Graham's&pg=PA615|year=2003|publisher=Royal Society of Chemistry|isbn=0-85404-630-5|page=615}}</ref> Closures and mergers during the mid-20th century reduced the number of breweries to two and by 1999 after the closure of MacLay's Thistle Brewery, only one remained, the Forth Brewery<ref>{{cite web|access-date=17 May 2008|publisher=[[University of Glasgow]]|title=Scottish Brewing Archives: FAQ Alloa Breweries|url=http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/alloa.html|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061014211947/http://www.archives.gla.ac.uk/sba/alloa.html|archive-date=14 October 2006}}</ref> which became Williams Bros. in 2003.<ref>{{cite web| publisher=Directory of UK Real Ales|title=Forth Brewery Company|url = http://www.quaffale.org.uk/php/brewery/278}}</ref>

===Malt distilling===

In addition to the brewing of beer, Alloa is the site of the former Carsebridge Distillery. According to [[Alfred Barnard]], the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] historian of British distilling and brewing, the distillery was founded as a [[malt]] distillery by John Bald in 1799. In the 1840s it was converted into a grain distillery and by the time of Barnard's visit in the mid 1880s the distillery covered 10 acres, employed 150 people, and had an annual output of 1.4 to 1.7 million gallons of pure grain whisky.<ref>Bernard, Alfred (1887) [http://www.scotsites.co.uk/ebooks/whiskydistilleries109.htm ''Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom'' – Carsebridge] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623021102/http://www.scotsites.co.uk/ebooks/whiskydistilleries109.htm |date=23 June 2012 }}</ref> The distillery's owner John Bald and Co was one of five companies that combined to form the [[Distillers Company Limited]] in 1877. In 1902, a fire devastated the distillery, after World War I it was refitted and started producing yeast. This yeast production lasted until 1938. In 1956 the distillery was modernised, it expanded in 1966 and in the 1970s a new still house, cooperage and animal feedstuffs plant added. By 1980 the Carsebridge Distillery was the largest grain distillery in Scotland, however it closed in 1983 and was demolished in 1992.<ref>The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, [http://www.smws.co.uk/our-unique-whisky/distillery-profile/Rest_of_the_World/Carsebridge_Grain_Distillery.html Carsebridge Grain Distillery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826031445/http://www.smws.co.uk/our-unique-whisky/distillery-profile/Rest_of_the_World/Carsebridge_Grain_Distillery.html |date=26 August 2009 }} smws.co.uk/</ref> One of the distillery's [[Column still|Coffey stills]] is now in use at the [[Cameronbridge]] distillery.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20130408092443/http://www.maltmadness.com/whisky/grain-whiskey.html ''Active Grain Whisky Distilleries – Cameronbridge'']}} maltmadness.com</ref>

===Barrel cooperage===

After whisky ceased to be produced at Carsebridge, the cooperage remained as one of two owned by [[Diageo]] in Scotland. In 2008, 30 people worked there assembling or repairing up to 400 bourbon casks, imported from the US, each day.<ref>Wood, Zoe (30 March 2008) [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2008/mar/30/fooddrinks ''Scotland rolls out the barrels again''], The Guardian</ref> However, in 2009 the company announced that it intended to close the Carsebridge Cooperage and move the work to nearby [[Cambus, Clackmannanshire|Cambus]].<ref>(18 September 2009) [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/8262454.stm ''Diageo cooperage plan on track''], news.bbc.co.uk</ref> The new Cambus cooperage was opened in December 2011 by the [[Earl of Wessex]].<ref>Menzies, Johnathon (2 December 2011)  [http://www.stirlingobserver.co.uk/stirling-news/local-news-stirling/news-stirling/2011/12/02/earl-of-wessex-opens-new-cambus-cooperage-51226-29879562 ''Earl of Wessex opens new Cambus cooperage''] stirlingobserver.co.uk</ref>

===Military history===

Alloa is linked to the historic Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders housed at [[Stirling Castle]]. Many of the soldiers in the [[Second World War]] fought under Montgomery at the [[Second Battle of El Alamein|Battle of El Alamein]] and Wadi Akrit where their commanding officer Lorne Campbell won a V.C. They were part of the 7th Argylls under the [[51st Highland Division]].

===Police===

As of 2014, the temporary national headquarters of [[Police Scotland]] is located in Alloa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotland.police.uk/contact-us/|title=How Can I – Police Scotland|first=Scottish Police Services|last=Authority}}</ref>