River Carron (Forth)
Encyclopedia
The River Carron is a river in central Scotland
. This river has given its name to towns in Falkirk
, a variety of regional features, a type of cannon
, a line of bathtub
s, two warship
s and an island in the Southern Hemisphere
.
before flowing into Strathcarron Reservoir.
It passes by Denny
, then between Larbert
and Falkirk
past the village of Carron
before flowing into the Firth of Forth
near Grangemouth
.
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
arch
es, 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.
in Geographia
, his extensive 2nd century compilation of geographical
knowledge.
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
.
According to the Ossian
poems of James Macpherson
, the waterway's name is Scots Gaelic in origin and means "winding river". Another etymology which is just as plausible is that the river's original name was is derived from the Brythonic word "Caeravon" meaning "river of the caer
s" alluding to the Roman fortifications built on its banks as a barrier between their territory and that of the Pict
s.
In the 17th century, William Nimmo described the river and region as follows:
The river is also referred to in the Scots language
song "Lads O' the Fair":
in and around Strathcarron is rough and scenic. Munro
s and Corbetts jut skyward from the landscape
. As such, the region attracts birdwatchers
, angler
s, geocachers
and orienteering
enthusiasts, hikers
, hill and mountain climbers, hunters
mountain bike
rs, photographers and sight-seers.
fisheries
in central Scotland. Situated high in the Campsie Fells
yet only twenty minutes from Stirling and half an hour from Glasgow
, the loch
offers scenic vistas and fly fishing
for a combination of wild trout and trout stocked by Carron Valley Fishery.
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 stream
s, the "wild brownies" of Strathcarron Reservoir are numerous.
(also known as the Carron Works) was an ironworks
established in 1759 on the north bank of the River Carron two miles north of Falkirk. This company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution
in the United Kingdom
.
The company's local coal mining operations were known as the Carron Collieries. The villages of Carronhall and Carronshore
contained dwellings for miner
s and factory
workers. This area was serviced by the Carron Branch Railway.
Through the factory's products, the river's name passed to the naval cannon
called the carronade
. These big guns were used during in Napoleonic Wars
in melees such as the Battle of Trafalgar
as well as various naval battles during the American Civil War
.
Carron Company was broken up in 1982 and various parts of the company closed down, Carron Bathrooms Ltd http://www.carronbathrooms.com who manufacture Acrylic Baths and shower trays, and Carron Phoenix http://www.carron.com who manufacture kitchen sinks, are still in existence.
was planned as a Loch class frigate
but the design was changed and she was renamed "HMS Gerrans Bay" in mid-construction. Completed in 1944, she served in World War II
and eventually ended up as HMS Surprise
, a Bay class frigate
.
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.
. The crew discovered two bronze
cannons standing six feet apart and pointing into the air.
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.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. This river has given its name to towns in Falkirk
Falkirk (council area)
Falkirk is one of the 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland. It borders onto North Lanarkshire to the south west, Stirling to the north west, West Lothian to the south east and, across the Firth of Forth to the north east, Fife and Clackmannanshire...
, a variety of regional features, a type of cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, a line of bathtub
Bathtub
A bath , bathtub , or tub is a large container for holding water in which a person may bathe . Most modern bathtubs are made of acrylic or fiberglass, but alternatives are available in enamel over steel or cast iron, and occasionally waterproof finished wood...
s, two warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s and an island in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
.
River Carron
The river rises in the Campsie FellsCampsie Fells
The Campsie Fells are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west, from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne, in Stirlingshire. . The highest point in the range is Earl's Seat which is 578 m high...
before flowing into Strathcarron Reservoir.
It passes by Denny
Denny, Falkirk
Denny is a town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland, formerly in the county of Stirlingshire. It is situated west of Falkirk, and north-east of Cumbernauld, adjacent to both the M80 and M876 motorways...
, then between Larbert
Larbert
Larbert is a small town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley above the River Carron which flows from the west. Larbert is 3 miles from the shoreline of the Firth of Forth and 2.5 miles northwest of Falkirk, the main town in the area...
and Falkirk
Falkirk
Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
past the village of Carron
Carron, Falkirk
Carron is a small village within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village is situated in the Forth Valley, north of Falkirk, north-west of Grangemouth and south-east of Stenhousemuir. Carron directly adjoins the neighbouring village of Carronshore to the east.The village sits north of...
before flowing into the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
near Grangemouth
Grangemouth
Grangemouth is a town and former burgh in the council area of Falkirk, Scotland. The town lies in the Forth Valley, on the banks of the Firth of Forth, east of Falkirk, west of Bo'ness and south-east of Stirling. Grangemouth had a resident population of 17,906 according to the 2001...
.
Carron Bridge
The Carron Bridge (also called Carronbridge as evidenced by the name of the local Carronbridge Hotel) crosses the Carron at the eastern extremity of Strathcarron Forest. It was built in 1695 to replace a fordFord (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
that had existed for many hundreds of years as part of an old drove road from Kilsyth
Kilsyth
Kilsyth is a town of 10,100 roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in North Lanarkshire, Scotland.-Location:...
to Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
. This bridge, with its two span
Span (architecture)
Span is the distance between two intermediate supports for a structure, e.g. a beam or a bridge.A span can be closed by a solid beam or of a rope...
stone
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es, 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
The river is thought by some to be the "Itys" described by PtolemyPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
in Geographia
Geographia (Ptolemy)
The Geography is Ptolemy's main work besides the Almagest...
, his extensive 2nd century compilation of geographical
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
knowledge.
Nennius
Nennius
Nennius was a Welsh monk of the 9th century.He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the Historia Brittonum, based on the prologue affixed to that work, This attribution is widely considered a secondary tradition....
, the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
historian of the 9th century, believed the name of the Carron was derived from Carausius
Carausius
Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. He did this only 13 years after the Gallic Empire of the Batavian...
, the 3rd century Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
commander who declared himself emperor of Britannia
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
and northern Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
.
According to the Ossian
Ossian
Ossian is the narrator and supposed author of a cycle of poems which the Scottish poet James Macpherson claimed to have translated from ancient sources in the Scots Gaelic. He is based on Oisín, son of Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill, anglicised to Finn McCool, a character from Irish mythology...
poems of James Macpherson
James Macpherson
James Macpherson was a Scottish writer, poet, literary collector and politician, known as the "translator" of the Ossian cycle of poems.-Early life:...
, the waterway's name is Scots Gaelic in origin and means "winding river". Another etymology which is just as plausible is that the river's original name was is derived from the Brythonic word "Caeravon" meaning "river of the caer
Caer
In the Welsh language, caer means "fortress", "fort" or "citadel"/"castle".Caer is the Welsh name for the city of Chester, situated in northwest England. It also forms, as a prefix, the Welsh equivalent of -caster, -cester and -chester in place names...
s" alluding to the Roman fortifications built on its banks as a barrier between their territory and that of the Pict
PICT
PICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw.The original version, PICT 1, was...
s.
In the 17th century, William Nimmo described the river and region as follows:
The whole length of its course, from west to east, is some 14 miles, 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 soilSoilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
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 plainPlainIn geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
and meadowMeadowA meadow is a field vegetated primarily by grass and other non-woody plants . The term is from Old English mædwe. In agriculture a meadow is grassland which is not grazed by domestic livestock but rather allowed to grow unchecked in order to make hay...
... [is] Considerably elevated above the oceanOceanAn ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
, it occupies part of the table-land between the eastern and western coasts. It has, probably, been a lakeLakeA lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
at no very distant period, and gradually filled by the hill brookStreamA stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s washing down debrisDebrisDebris is rubble, wreckage, ruins, litter and discarded garbage/refuse/trash, scattered remains of something destroyed, or, in geology, large rock fragments left by a melting glacier etc. The singular form of debris is debris...
. Part, indeed, is a swampSwampA swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
scarcely passable at any time, but nearly inundated by every heavy rain.
...in the division called Temple DennyDenny, FalkirkDenny is a town in the Falkirk council area of Scotland, formerly in the county of Stirlingshire. It is situated west of Falkirk, and north-east of Cumbernauld, adjacent to both the M80 and M876 motorways...
, 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 in height. ..When the river is in flood, and a triumphant torrent sweeps down the glen, this cascade is unsurpassed among Scottish streamStreamA stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s 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.
The river is also referred to in the Scots language
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
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
Strathcarron area
As mentioned above, the terrainTerrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
in and around Strathcarron is rough and scenic. Munro
Munro
A Munro is a mountain in Scotland with a height over . They are named after Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet , who produced the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables, in 1891. A Munro top is a summit over 3,000 ft which is not regarded as a separate mountain...
s and Corbetts jut skyward from the landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
. As such, the region attracts birdwatchers
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
, angler
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
s, geocachers
Geocaching
Geocaching is an outdoor sporting activity in which the participants use a Global Positioning System receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", anywhere in the world....
and orienteering
Orienteering
Orienteering is a family of sports that requires navigational skills using a map and compass to navigate from point to point in diverse and usually unfamiliar terrain, and normally moving at speed. Participants are given a topographical map, usually a specially prepared orienteering map, which they...
enthusiasts, hikers
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, hill and mountain climbers, hunters
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
mountain bike
Mountain bike
A mountain bike or mountain bicycle is a bicycle created for off-road cycling. This activity includes traversing of rocks and washouts, and steep declines,...
rs, photographers and sight-seers.
Strathcarron Loch / Carron Valley Reservoir
The 1000 acres (4 km²) Strathcarron Reservoir, completed in 1939 is one of the most scenic troutTrout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
fisheries
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
in central Scotland. Situated high in the Campsie Fells
Campsie Fells
The Campsie Fells are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west, from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne, in Stirlingshire. . The highest point in the range is Earl's Seat which is 578 m high...
yet only twenty minutes from Stirling and half an hour from Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, the loch
Loch
Loch is the Irish and Scottish Gaelic word for a lake or a sea inlet. It has been anglicised as lough, although this is pronounced the same way as loch. Some lochs could also be called a firth, fjord, estuary, strait or bay...
offers scenic vistas and fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
for a combination of wild trout and trout stocked by Carron Valley Fishery.
The reservoir has proved to be an ideal habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
for the Carron's indigenous
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
population. Thriving on the rich feeding of the newly flooded strath and with easy access to its many excellent spawning
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
and nursery stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s, the "wild brownies" of Strathcarron Reservoir are numerous.
The Carron Works
The Carron CompanyCarron Company
The Carron Company was an ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. The company prospered through its development and...
(also known as the Carron Works) was an ironworks
Ironworks
An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and/or steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e...
established in 1759 on the north bank of the River Carron two miles north of Falkirk. This company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
The company's local coal mining operations were known as the Carron Collieries. The villages of Carronhall and Carronshore
Carronshore
Carronshore is a small village in the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The village lies in the Forth Valley, north of the town of Falkirk and directly to the east of neighbouring village Carron.The village sits north of the River Carron....
contained dwellings for miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
s and factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
workers. This area was serviced by the Carron Branch Railway.
Through the factory's products, the river's name passed to the naval cannon
Naval warfare
Naval warfare is combat in and on seas, oceans, or any other major bodies of water such as large lakes and wide rivers.-History:Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Land warfare would seem, initially, to be irrelevant and entirely removed from warfare on the open ocean,...
called the carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
. These big guns were used during in Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
in melees such as the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
as well as various naval battles during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Carron Company was broken up in 1982 and various parts of the company closed down, Carron Bathrooms Ltd http://www.carronbathrooms.com who manufacture Acrylic Baths and shower trays, and Carron Phoenix http://www.carron.com who manufacture kitchen sinks, are still in existence.
Warships
HMS CarronHMS Surprise (K346)
HMS Surprise was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy. In commission from 1946 to 1965, she served in the Mediterranean Fleet as a Despatch Vessel for the Commander-in-Chief. Although principally employed for the use as a yacht by the CinC, Surprise was also deployed in its...
was planned as a Loch class frigate
Loch class frigate
The Loch class was a class of anti-submarine frigate built for the Royal Navy and her allies during World War II. They were an innovative design based on the experience of 3 years of fighting in the Battle of the Atlantic and attendant technological advances.-Design:The Lochs were based upon the...
but the design was changed and she was renamed "HMS Gerrans Bay" in mid-construction. Completed in 1944, she served in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and eventually ended up as HMS Surprise
HMS Surprise (K346)
HMS Surprise was a Bay-class anti-aircraft frigate of the British Royal Navy. In commission from 1946 to 1965, she served in the Mediterranean Fleet as a Despatch Vessel for the Commander-in-Chief. Although principally employed for the use as a yacht by the CinC, Surprise was also deployed in its...
, a Bay class frigate
Bay class frigate
The Bay class was a class of 26 anti-aircraft frigates built for the Royal Navy under the 1943 War Emergency Programme during World War II...
.
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
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, she was taken out of service but re-commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
for the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. She was decommissioned again in 1969.
Carronade Island
In July 1916, was on wartime patrol and came to a small island on the northern coast of Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The crew discovered two bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
cannons standing six feet apart and pointing into the air.
Since at the time these guns were erroneously thought to be carronades, the island on which they had been found was named Carronade Island
Carronade Island
Carronade Island lies off the northern coast of Western Australia .-References:* Green, Jeremy N. The Carronade Island guns and Australia's early visitors. Great circle, Vol.4, no.1 , p.73-83....
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
Theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia
Although most historians hold that the European discovery of Australia began in 1606 with the voyage of the Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon on board the Duyfken, a theory exists that a Portuguese expedition arrived in Australia between 1521 and 1524...
. However, scientists at the Western Australian Museum
Western Australian Museum
The Western Australian Museum is the state museum for Western Australia.The Western Australian Museum has seven main sites: two in Perth within the Perth Cultural Centre, two in Fremantle , and one each in Albany, Geraldton, and Kalgoorlie-Boulder...
in Fremantle
Fremantle, Western Australia
Fremantle is a city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle was the first area settled by the Swan River colonists in 1829...
have recently made a detailed analysis and have determined that these weapons are almost certainly of Makassan
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
, rather than European, origin.
See also
- Carron CompanyCarron CompanyThe Carron Company was an ironworks established in 1759 on the banks of the River Carron near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, Scotland. After initial problems, the company was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. The company prospered through its development and...
- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Falkirk and Clackmannan
- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Nithsdale
- StenhousemuirStenhousemuirStenhousemuir is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley within the Falkirk council area of Scotland. The town is north-northwest of Falkirk and directly adjoins to Larbert in the west. The villages of Carron and Carronshore adjoin Stenhousemuir to the east but...
- Abbotshaugh Community WoodlandAbbotshaugh Community WoodlandAbbotshaugh Community Woodland is situated north of Falkirk. The first community planting was the result of an advert in the local newspaper.The area planted in March 1996 was the site of Dalderse Mill Farm which was the last working farm in the Dawson ward of Falkirk. The second area planted in...