The village has long association with the
River Forth and it was on the banks of the river that a
royal dockyard was created. In September 1506
Andrew Aytoun was paid for "casting of the dock in the Poll of Erth" for the ship. The dock was used during the years 1507–1513 in the reign of
James IV to build ships of war at the pool of Airth. In 1511 and 1512 Robert Calendar made three docks, a stable for 50 horses, and a larger dock for the
Margaret. Calendar's men also worked on the
Lark and the
James. A form of dry dock may have been used. Strong timbers would be used to form the “stocks” for the vessel and a clay
dam would prevent the river from penetrating the working area. When the ship was ready, the dam would be breached, at high tide, to enable it to float out into the river. The shipping fleet was destroyed in 1745 by
Bonnie Prince Charlie when some ship to shore skirmishes took place by batteries set by
Jacobites to drive off the government ships. A number of smaller vessels from the village were burned by loyalist troops and that proved damaging to Airth's subsequent development as a port. However, as late as 1820
sloops built in the shipyards at Airth were among those recorded as operating in the middle of the Forth . Dunmore Park and the
Dunmore Pineapple is an historic estate in Airth, formerly the ancestral residence of the
Earl of Dunmore. The name Airth comes from the Gaelic term
Àird meaning a height or hill after the nearby Hill of Airth. == Notable residents ==