Carron is most famous for the Carron Iron Works, first established as Roebucks, Garbett and Cadells in 1760. Initially the company cast anything it could in iron - including some parts for James Watt's steam engine - but the aim seems to have been to get into the lucrative business of making cannon.

Early attempts at this were poor and the company lost an important armed forces contract, but after incorporation as the Carron Company in 1773, and under the guidance of James Gascoigne, quality was hugely improved. The Carronade - a famous short-range naval cannon used for devastating broadsides - may have been a deciding factor in Nelson's naval success, and the Duke of Wellington is at one time said to have insisted that the British army use only Carron-made cannon.

By 1814 Carron Company was the largest iron works in Europe, and through the next century and a half would be responsible for the engine of the Charlotte Dundas, pillar boxes, the Carron bath tub, red telephone boxes, the iron rings in the Clyde and Tyne tunnels, and innumerable iron products used around the world.

Despite diversification into plastics and stainless steel, the Carron Company went into receivership in 1982. The name lives on in former subsidiaries such as Carron Phoenix and Carron Bathrooms.

Carronshore developed as Quarroleshore, a port on the River Carron before the building of the Union Canal, with coal being shipped from here to Holland as early as the mid 17th Century. The name was changed when the Carron Company developed, and Carronshore developed into a major river port, with stone-built wharf with cranes and products including rope and tobacco, as well as coal and iron, passing through.

The village declined after the Carron company shifted its business to Grangemouth to take advantage of the Forth and Clyde Canal.

Well, that's the basics - now it's your turn.

That's the briefest of brief summaries and it's full of gaps. But this is where you come in. There's lots of interest in local history and lots of local knowledge out there - so why not share it here?

Perhaps you'd like to start a timeline of key dates or your own article about your favourite aspect of Carron and Carronshore history? There must also be a wealth of wonderful photographs of the area in years gone by - maybe even some video of more recent events - and those are more than welcome here. Remember, history doesn't need to be in black and white! It's good to bring back memories of just a few years ago, too.

Post it all here, and let's see if we can really chronicle the history of Carron in a way we can all share!