The fields to the south and west of Denny Parish Church were part of the minister’s glebe and with his permission were used on occasions for ploughing competitions and fairs. In the 1930s the glebe was acquired by Denny Town Council and a housing scheme was constructed, starting with Glebe Street. The low-lying field to the south of the church was turned into a public park with a path from Glebe Street to the Glasgow Road. Along the south end of the park was a stream known as the Sclanders Burn after St Alexander, and a well with his name was located towards the east end of that. However, by the 1930s the stream was heavily polluted and the council had it placed in a culvert and the ground level raised.
Further improvements were delayed by the Second World War, after which seats were installed. A square paddling pool was constructed just to the south of the path that crossed the park and was opened on a hot June day in 1950, immediately becoming very popular. The park does not seem to have been officially named and many papers of the time simply refer to it as “the Glasgow Road playing field.” Some locals refer to it as Macara’s Park after Alexander Macara who was the minister from 1904 to 1944. However, Glebe Park is the most commonly used.
In the late 1950s a public toilet was built in the hollow at the south-east corner of the park, close to the site of St Alexander’s Well. In the 1970s large flower beds were placed on the south-facing slope. The flower beds and toilets have since disappeared.
National Grid Record
NS 811 827
Falkirk Local History Society 