Harviestoun
Encyclopedia
Tillicoultry
Tillicoultry...
parish, Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
. It lies at the base of the Ochil Hills
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90...
, East-North-East
Cardinal Points
Cardinal Points is a student newspaper published in Plattsburgh, New York which serves the SUNY Plattsburgh community. The newspaper publishes 3,000 copies every Friday morning throughout the semester, from February until May 12...
of the town. Harviestoun Castle, was built in 1804 by Craufurd Tait (1765-1832) after inheriting the estate from his father John Tait in 1800. He also constructed a new home farm, coach house and walled garden and moved the main road to Dollar
Dollar, Clackmannanshire
Dollar is a small town in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. It is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated between the Ochil Hills range to the north and the River Devon to the south. Dollar is on the A91 road, which runs from Stirling to St. Andrews. The town is around 3 miles east of Tillicoultry...
half a mile to the south. Craufurd Tait died in 1832 and was buried in the private family graveyard, now known as Tait's Tomb. The main road takes a wide sweep to its north as a linear route would have obliterated the tomb, which lies midway between Dollar and Tillicoultry.
Craufurd's youngest son, Archibald Tait (1811-82), Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, spent much of his boyhood there.
Sir Andrew Orr (1802-74) bought the estate in 1859, added a new tower and porch in pink sandstone, and formed two approaches, one leading from Tillicoultry, the other from the East Lodge, situated about one mile West of Dollar
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including Australia, Belize, Canada, Ecuador, El Salvador, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United States.-Etymology:...
on the A91. After fire destroyed much of the Playfair building at nearby Dollar Academy in 1961, Harviestoun Castle acted briefly as a satellite for Prep (Primary) School classes, as secondary school pupils occupied the Preparatory School building. Much of the castle was 'out of bounds' due to structural problems (possibly dry rot), but was a popular home for pupils of that era, according to accounts in school magazines. The grounds featured extensive gardens framed by two giant sequoia trees on the South lawn, and extensive plantings of rhododendron and bamboo. The castle was demolished in 1970.
It was during a visit to Harviestoun in the summer of 1787, that Robert Burns
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
met Charlotte Hamilton, the 'Fairest Maid on Devon Banks'. A commemorative cairn
Cairn
Cairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
, on the main road near the east lodge, marks his visit.
For a period in the 1970s a small private coal mine operated on the estate.
The Harviestoun Brewery was founded on the estate in 1985 before moving to Alva in 2004.
An iron sword of Roman origin was discovered near Harviestoun Castle at the end of the eighteenth century.