River in central Scotland
The
Carron
(
Gaelic
:
Carrann
) is a river in central
Scotland
, rising in the
Campsie Fells
[1]
and flowing along Strathcarron into the
Firth of Forth
. It has given its name to several locations in
Stirlingshire
, as well as a type of
cannon
, a line of
bathtubs
, two
warships
, and an island in the
Southern Hemisphere
.
Course
[
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]
The river rises in the Campsie Fells before flowing into the Carron Reservoir and along Strathcarron.
It passes by
Denny
, then between
Larbert
[2]
and
Falkirk
, then past
Carron village
. Just as the
M9 motorway
crosses the river, the
Forth and Clyde canal
joins the river. It then flows into the Forth near
Grangemouth
.
[1]
[3]
The tributary water sources are: Carron Reservoir, Avon Burn, Earl’s Burn, Auchenbowie Burn, Loch Coulter Reservoir, Bonny Water, Glencryan Burn,
Red Burn
,
Union Canal
and the
Forth and Clyde Canal
.
[4]
Carron Bridge
[
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]
The Carron Bridge crosses the Carron at the eastern extremity of Strathcarron Forest. It was built in 1695 to replace a
ford
that had existed for many hundreds of years as part of an old
drove road
from
Kilsyth
to
Stirling
. This bridge, with its two
span
stone
arches
, looks larger than it needs to be because the river was much larger before Carron Dam was built to create a reservoir in the 1930s.
Historical references
[
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]
The river is thought by some to be the "Itys" described by
Ptolemy
in
Geographia
, his extensive 2nd century compilation of
geographical
knowledge.
[5]
Nennius
, the
Welsh
historian of the 9th century, believed the name of the Carron was derived from
Carausius
, the 3rd century
Roman
commander who declared himself emperor of
Britannia
and northern
Gaul
.
[6]
The name may in fact come from the
British
caer avon
, meaning "river of the forts", alluding to the Roman fortifications built on its banks as a barrier between their territory and that of the
Picts
.
[6]
According to the
Ossian
poems of
James Macpherson
, the name is Gaelic in origin and means "winding river".
In the 17th century, William Nimmo described the river and region as follows:
The Carron, famed in ancient Celtic song, and of importance in modern trade and manufactures, issues from the Campsie hills near the middle of the isthmus between the firths of Clyde and Forth. Both the source and the place where it discharges itself into the sea, are within the shire of Stirling, which it divides into about two equal parts. The whole length of its course, from west to east, is some 14 miles [23 kilometres], the first half of which is spent among bleak hills and rocks, but, when it has reached the low grounds, its banks are fertile and wooded, and, as it advances, the neighbouring
soil
increases in richness and value. ..The stream is small comparatively, yet there is no river in Scotland whose surroundings have been the scene of so many memorable events.
...A short distance from its source, the river enters the Carron Bog. This vast
plain
and
meadow
... [is] Considerably elevated above the
ocean
, it occupies part of the table-land between the eastern and western coasts. It has, probably, been a
lake
at no very distant period, and gradually filled by the hill
brooks
washing down
debris
. Part, indeed, is a
swamp
scarcely passable at any time, but nearly inundated by every heavy rain.
...in the division called
Temple Denny
, the Carron, having worn a hollow channel in the rock, forms a beautiful cascade, by pouring its contracted stream over a
precipice
above 20 feet [6 metres] in height. ...When the river is in flood, and a triumphant torrent sweeps down the glen, this cascade is unsurpassed among Scottish
streams
for the grandeur of its storm of spray. ..Over the serpentine road down-hill to Denny the spirit of beauty everywhere prevails. The intervening district, indeed, is famous for its pastoral undulations; and from almost every breezy brae-top a charming view is got of the wooded banks of the river ? foliage which, even in the present green-tide, displays all the variety of autumnal richness.
[6]
The river is also referred to in the Scots song "Lads o' the Fair":
For ye can see them a', the lads o' the fair
Lads frae the Forth an' the Carron Water
Workin' lads an' lads wi' gear
Lads that'll sell ye the provost's dochter
Sogers back frae the German Wars
Peddlers up frae the Border
[7]
Strathcarron
[
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]
Strathcarron Loch / Carron Valley Reservoir
[
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]
The 1,000-acre (400-hectare) Strathcarron Reservoir, completed in 1939, is stocked with brown trout by the Carron Valley Fishery.
[8]
The reservoir has proved to be an ideal
habitat
for the Carron's
indigenous
brown trout
population. Thriving on the rich feeding of the newly flooded strath and with easy access to its many excellent
spawning
and nursery
streams
, the "wild brownies" of Strathcarron Reservoir are numerous.
[8]
The Carron Works
[
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]
The
Carron Company
was an
ironworks
established in 1759 on the north bank of the Carron two miles downstream of Falkirk. This company was at the forefront of the
Industrial Revolution
in Britain.
[9]
[10]
The company's local
coal mining
operations were known as the "Carron Collieries". The villages of Carronhall and
Carronshore
contained dwellings for
miners
and
factory
workers. This area was serviced by the Carron Branch Railway.
[9]
Through the factory's products, the river's name passed to the
naval cannon
called the
carronade
.
[11]
These big guns were used during the
Napoleonic Wars
in melees such as the
Battle of Trafalgar
as well as various naval battles during the
American Civil War
.
[12]
The Carron Company was broken up in 1982 and various parts of the company closed down, Carron Bathrooms Ltd who manufacture acrylic baths and shower trays, and Carron Phoenix, who manufacture kitchen sinks, are still in existence.
Warships
[
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]
The
USS
Carronade
(named after the cannon that was named after the river), was a ship of the
U.S. Navy
that was completed in 1955. Finished too late to serve in the
Korean War
, she was taken out of service but re-
commissioned
for the
Vietnam War
. She was decommissioned again in 1969.
[13]
Carronade Island
[
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]
In July 1916,
HMAS
Encounter
was on wartime patrol and came to a small island on the northern coast of
Western Australia
. The crew discovered two
bronze
cannons standing six feet apart and pointing into the air.
[14]
[15]
Since at the time these guns were erroneously thought to be carronades, the island on which they had been found was named
Carronade Island
after this discovery. Several 20th century observers
misconstrued
the origin of these guns and they were long thought to give weight to the
theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia
. However, scientists at the
Western Australian Museum
in
Fremantle
have recently made a detailed analysis and have determined that these weapons are almost certainly of
Makassan
, rather than European, origin.
[14]
[15]
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
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]
- ^
a
b
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"Stirlingshire"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 927.
- ^
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"Larbert"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 209.
- ^
56°01′16″N
3°42′40″W
/
56.021°N 3.711°W
/
56.021; -3.711
- ^
"River Carron catchment profile"
(PDF)
.
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
. Retrieved
13 August
2016
.
- ^
A historical perspective, drawn from the
Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical
edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.
- ^
a
b
c
William Nimmo’s
History of Stirlingshire
, "Chapter XXXII ? Rivers and Lochs"
originally published in 1777 and revised by R. Gillispie in 1880 edition.
- ^
"Lads O' the Fair" by Brian McNeill
Some recorded versions have slightly different words but all include the "Carron Water" reference.
- ^
a
b
Carron Valley Trout Fishing
- ^
a
b
Watters, Brian & Donald, John.
Where Iron Runs Like Water! A new history of Carron Iron Works 1759-1982
, 1998.
- ^
One might assume that
Verney-Carron
, France's number one manufacturer of hunting guns, acquired Carron Company's munitions interests. However, as explained in the
History of that company
, "(...) This event marked the beginning of the firm renamed Verney-Carron in 1830, after Claude Verney married Antoinette Carron, herself a daughter and grand-daughter of gunsmiths, (...) that it is simply the surname of this very old company's founders and owners and is unrelated to the company in Falkirk.
- ^
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911).
"Carronade"
.
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 410.
- ^
Cannons and Carronades
Archived
2007-05-28 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
USS Carronade - IFS 1
- ^
a
b
Maritime Archaeology Department of the Western Australian Maritime Museum
"An investigation of one of the two bronze guns from Carronade Island, Western Australia"
Archived
27 August 2006 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
a
b
Green, Jeremy N.
The Carronade Island guns and Australia's early visitors.
Great circle, Vol.4, no.1 (1982), p.73-83.
References
[
edit
]
- Lavery, Brian (1989).
Nelson's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organisation 1793-1815
. London: Conway Maritime Press.
ISBN
1-59114-611-9
.
External links
[
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]
56°01′34″N
3°43′00″W
/
56.0261°N 3.7166°W
/
56.0261; -3.7166