Denovan Road, near Denovan Cottage

Image: © Lairich Rig Taken: 1 Mar 2010

Denovan Cottage is the building that is visible on the left-hand (southern) side of the road in this view. At that point, the distance between the road and the River Carron is less than 100 metres. The road was already present in the nineteenth century; the proximity of the road for transportation, and the presence of the river as a source of water will have been important considerations in the choice of this area for an industrial site: the 1:10560 OS map from 1865 shows Denovan Print Works occupying the area where the cottage is located, and extending to the west for a distance of about 200 metres. The complex of buildings included a bleach works located at the riverside. Adjoining the print works on the western side was a gas works. The book "Lands and Lairds of Larbert and Dunipace Parishes" (John C. Gibson, 1908; pub. Hugh Hopkins, Glasgow) mentions that "in 1830 Mr James Graham Adam adapted works at Denovan to calico printing under the name of the Denovan Print Works, and in 1845 acquired a small portion of the estate with a bleachfield and the old mansion house of Denovan, which was probably built in the eighteenth century. ... James Graham Adam was the eldest son of Francis Adam, merchant in Glasgow, and was born in 1800". By the time of the equivalent 1899 OS map, both the print works and the gas works had disappeared, but a dwelling called Denovan Cottage is shown standing on the site of the present-day building of that name.

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