|
 Dunblane
lies on the hills above the Forth valley and Stirling on the the southern
edge of Perthshire. The Allan Water flows through the town.
The town is named after St Blane who
is said to have established a Culdee church here around 600.
In 1140 a new church was founded by
David I. In 1233 the Bishopric moved from Muthill to Dunblane and the Cathedral
which stands in the centre of the town was begun. By the late 13thC this
was a small cathedral city and dates as a burgh of barony from this period.
However, nearby Stirling overshadowed and development was always
limited.
After post-Reformation decay and neglect
of nearly 300 years Dunblane Cathedral was restored in part at the end of
the 19thC by Sir Roland Anderson.
Allan Water is spanned by a 16thC single
arch bridge as it flows through the town.
Bonnie Prince Charlie held a ball at
Dunblane on the way south with his ill-fated Jacobite army in 1745.
In Victorian times Dunblane became
a popular Spa town like others in Perthshire - places away from the 19thC
industrial cities to where those who were better off could escape via the
new railways which arrived here in 1848.
During the 19thC there was a thriving
textile industry locally with woollen and silk dyeing mills.
With the local government reorganisation
of Scotland in 1975 the town did not remain with the majority of Perthshire,
which was henceforth administered as Perth & Kinross, but was transfered
to Stirling District. |
