The Free Church in Slamannan was created in 1843 immediately following the Disruption and shortly thereafter a school was established. It probably met in the church until sufficient funds could be gathered to erect a schoolroom. In 1849 Robert Mason was appointed as the teacher. That year the Parochial Board had considered acquiring a site for a school adjacent to the post office from Mr Rankin of Castlehill. For convenience it chose a site next to its existing school instead and shortly afterwards the Free Church obtained the abandoned site. By 1852 the sum of £154 had been subscribed and it only took another £80 in addition to a government grant to erect the school building. The school opened in 1854 with a primary school, a teacher’s house, and, unusually, an Industrial school. Miss Boyd was appointed as head of the industrial school which taught sewing, needlework, cookery and the like. Within a year 44 girls attended that side of the school and this rose to 70 in 1870.
The school was described by the Ordnance Surveys in 1860 as:
“A commodious building consisting of schoolroom and teacher’s residence erected in 1853. It is one storey, slated, and has a good garden attached. The salary is, or rather the government allowance to the school is £30, of which the teacher receives £21, the remainder is given to pupil teachers, in addition to which the teacher receives the school fees, with the privilege of a free house and garden. Average attendance 130, three fifths of which are males. Education elementary. The school is the proprietor and under the control of the Free Church of Scotland.”
The school soon became known as Rosemount School. The reason for the name is not apparent but it may have been the old name for the end of Castlehill – “ross” being a promontory. In November 1893 the school property was transferred to the Slamannan School Board. Rosemount Public School, as it now was, was more central to the village than the Slamannan Public School and found favour with the population there. By 1894 it was overcrowded and Alexander Mitchell, architect, was asked to prepare plans for large additions and alterations. After several delays the extension was finally opened in September 1897 at a cost of £252. £300 was borrowed from the Scottish Education Department on the security of the rates and had to be repaid within six years.
In 1910 it was decided to make Rosemount a supplementary school only, considerably reducing the numbers attending. Then, in 1924, it was turned into an advanced division of the primary school – essentially uniting it with the Slamannan Public School. The County Architect was asked to prepare plans to extend Slamannan Public school in 1927 with the intention of having all of the pupils on one site and the following year it was announced that Rosemount would close as soon as that work had been completed. That occurred at the end of 1932 and the Rosemount premises were put up for sale:
“The COUNTY COUNCIL of the COUNTY OF STIRLING are prepared to receive OFFERS for the purchase of the ROSEMOUNT SCHOOL and SCHOOLHOUSE, SLAMANNAN. The House consists of Parlour, 3 Bedrooms, Kitchen and Scullery, and the School of 3 Classrooms, Scullery and Offices. The Ground extends to 1 Rood 28 Poles, or thereby. The Annual Assessed rent of the School is £10, and of the House £16. Feu-Duty, £2 2s 2d. Immediate Possession can be obtained.” (Falkirk Herald 14 April 1934, 2).
No buyer was found. The Slamannan Boys’ Club was set up in 1936 and that year it was granted the use of Rosemount School by the Education Committee on a five years’ lease. Money from the Scottish Association of Boys’ Clubs allowed the premises to be modernised.
The Second World War saw Rosemount used for the distribution of gas masks and as a wardens’ post. The dire need to increase the firefighting capacity of the area saw the decision in 1940 to convert the building into a fire station at an estimated cost of £640. In was May 1942 before the conversion work began. It served as a fire station until 1961 when it was replaced by a new building in New Street. Shortly thereafter the old building was demolished and the site is now occupied by a grassed public-open space.
| YEAR ARRIVED | HEADTEACHER | YEAR LEFT | No. PUPILS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1849 | Robert Mason | 130 | |
| 1860s | Mr Ross | 160 | |
| c1870 | William Mann | 1874 | |
| 1883 | William Thomson | 1901 | 131 |
| 1901 | Donald R Leslie | 1924 | 120-21 |
| 1934 |
Sites and Monuments Record
| Rosemount School, High Street, Slamannan | SMR 2278 | NS 8563 7315 |
Falkirk Local History Society 