Alva, Alvath, Alveth
Alva is a parish in Stirlingshire. It is bounded on the north by Perthshire, and on all other sides by Clackmannanshire. (1867: The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland, by John Marius Wilson)
Alva, Burnside, Keverkae, Menstrie, Shevelhaugh
The parish of Alva formed a detached part of the county of Stirling. The parish was transferred to the county of Clackmannan. See affected properties and landholders. (1892: Boundary of counties and parishes in Scotland as settled by the Boundary Commissioners under the Local Government Act, 1889, by Hay Shennan)
PRE-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
POST-REFORMATION GOVERNANCE:
The church of Alva was dedicated to St Serf. It belonged to the Abbey of Cambuskenneth. From 1581 to 1632 the parish of Tillicoultry was united to Alva.
Includes ministers, licentiates, assistants, readers, and clerks.
(1928: Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ, by Hew Scott, D. D.)
Parish registers turned over to the Registrar-General, as a result of the Registration of Births, Deaths, and Marriages (Scotland) Act of 1854. The letters B. D. and M. indicate Births (or Baptisms), Deaths (or Burials), and Marriages (or Proclamations of Banns) respectively. Numbers indicate separate volumes or books. Note: These records are by no means complete or without damage; consult the Detailed List of the Old Parochial Registers of Scotland (1872) to learn more about the condition of the records.
| OPR and RD Numbers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Range | Name | Number | Type |
| 1655-1854 | Alva | 470 | OPR |
| 1855-1892 | Alva | 470 | RD |
| 1893-1969 | Alva | 465b | RD |
| 1970-1971 | Alloa | 465 | RD |
| 1972-1998 | Alloa | 460 | RD |
| 2009 | Clackmannanshire, Alva | 460 | RD |
| 2026 | Clackmannanshire Council; Alva Community Council | ||
(2009: Parishes and Registration Districts of Scotland - Old and New, National Records of Scotland)
Local community councils (2026) are provided as a potential source of additional information for settlements within the original boundaries of the parish. (Source)
Statistics from informal and official censuses
Anderson, Cairns, Dawson, Hunter, Morrison, Paterson, Rennie, Thomson, Wilson, Young
Note: Names appearing in research materials, other than censuses. Simple names (First name, surname only) have been omitted unless they appear associated with large properties. All women's names, and men's names with occupations, military ranks, or peerage titles are included.
By the Reverend Mr John Duncan.
"The number of inhabitants in this parish, from a late accurate survey, is found to be 612. Of these there are 165 from 10 years of age and under. The numbers of this parish have not increased in any considerable degree since the year 1760, as appears from lists regularly made up every four or five years from that period."
(This section contains excerpts, at times restructured or paraphrased, from an article appearing in Statistical Account of Scotland, Sir John Sinclair, 1791-1799)
Primary Sources:
Statistical Account of Scotland (1791-1799), Volume 18, p. 125
New Statistical Account of Scotland (1834-1845), Volume 8, Section II, p. 175
See Parish Page Sources for all source information and links.
