The Tillicoultry Lower Kirkyard, which is part of the Historic Kirkyards Trail, is situated to the east of the Parish Church on the Dollar Road.

The previous parish church at the site had been built in 1773 to replace the old kirk at Kirk Hill, but the graveyard had already been established before this time.

This 18th century church was described as ‘a small, neat building, well lighted but not commodiously seated,’ for the expanding population of the town.

The Parish Church we see today was constructed between 1827 and 1829 to the west of the 1773 church.

Among the headstones of note in the small graveyard is one dating from 1731 which depicts the items required by possibly a baker.

It is similar to one found in the Upper Kirkyard in the town.

There are several headstones that reflect the woollen industry and its importance in the area. They include those for wool agents, woollen mill manufacturers and wool spinners.

The most notable of these is a double headstone that belongs to the Paton family. James and David Paton were the sons of Alloa wool spinning manufacturer John Paton, who had established his mill in Alloa in 1814.

His sons established their own spinning and weaving mill in Tillicoultry in 1824, creating J & D Paton Limited.

The two brothers went on to marry two sisters, with James marrying Margaret Archibald and David marrying Agnes.

Their family was also involved in the local woollen industry. James died aged 85 in 1882, while David died in 1890 aged 90.

Rev Henry Anderson is also buried in this graveyard. He was the minister of the Parish Church, having been ordained as minister in 1808 until the Disruption of 1843 when he joined the Free Church of Scotland.

His headstone is said to have been placed near the site of the pulpit of the 18th century kirk from where he preached before his departure.

The Rev David Smith succeeded him at the established church, while Rev David Black took over at the Free Church.

One grave that is intriguing is that of Hiram Gilam. In the old parish burial records, it states that he was buried on August 20, 1804.

He was described as ‘an English man from Sauchy’.

The grave immediately next to him is thought to belong to Thomas Longridge so it is possible Gilam was Longridge’s man servant, or certainly someone of note within his household