Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
'The Banks of Allan Water' is a traditional British ballad written by the author and playwright Matthew Gregory Lewis (commonly known as "Monk" Lewis). The melody is said to be an old Scottish air. It tells the tragic story of a miller's daughter who is wooed and subsequently abandoned by a soldier. The song's setting draws its name from the Allan Water, a real river in central Scotland that rises in the Ochil Hills and flows through Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. The song gained widespread popularity in the 19th century and is famously referenced in Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel Far From the Madding Crowd.
Performed by Sally Dexter, Ian Giles and the Mellstock Band.
The painting is 'The Banks o' Allan Water' by David Farquharson (1839–1907).
'The Banks of Allan Water' is a traditional British ballad written by the author and playwright Matthew Gregory Lewis (commonly known as "Monk" Lewis). The melody is said to be an old Scottish air. It tells the tragic story of a miller's daughter who is wooed and subsequently abandoned by a soldier. The song's setting draws its name from the Allan Water, a real river in central Scotland that rises in the Ochil Hills and flows through Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. The song gained widespread popularity in the 19th century and is famously referenced in Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel Far From the Madding Crowd.
Performed by Sally Dexter, Ian Giles and the Mellstock Band.
The painting is 'The Banks o' Allan Water' by David Farquharson (1839–1907).
