A history group plans to delve into the past and examine the rise and fall of some of the most powerful Wee County landowners in the 17th and 19th centuries.

The ‘Tale of Two Estates’ project, run by the FClackmannanshire ield Studies Society (CFSS), will focus on the former Alloa and Clackmannan estates.

The scheme aims is to help local people to reconnect and understand their cultural heritage and over the next four years the society hopes to recruit over 100 volunteers who will learn a range of historical research techniques.

Among those skills will be how to do field surveys, literature reviews, photography, oral history recording, and excavation, as well as how to be a local guide on the area’s not-so-well-known history.

Murray Dickie, CFSS project leader, said, “Clackmannanshire has a rich industrial heritage. From humble beginnings in the late 17th century there developed substantial mining and industrial enterprises and extensive coastal and foreign trade, peaking towards the close of the 19th century. There are extensive collections of easily accessible maps, plans, papers and published sources providing a wealth of detail about these developments. Many local people have personal and family memories and memorabilia associated with mining, industry and trade.” The project will launch tonight (20 August) at an open meeting held in Clackmannan Town Hall at 7pm.

It will begin in mid-August with a survey of the extensive web of colliery waggonways in Clackmannanshire, working with the Clackmannan Development Trust.

The work is one of 50 projects that make up the recently launched Inner Forth Landscape Initiative, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, which aims to reveal the hidden cultural, historical and natural wealth of the upper reaches of the Firth of Forth.

Murray added, “A significant amount of activity took place in areas which have not been further developed and traces can still be seen on the ground. Over the next four years of the project’s life, there will be a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities, offering something for everyone, young and old and fit or not so fit. No previous experience is required to volunteer, just enthusiasm and a desire to find out more about your local area.” For more information about the Tale of Two Estates project go online to www.innerforthlandscape.co.uk or to get involved email Murray on twoestates@btopenworld.com