KIRKCALDY (surveyed in 1855)
Kirkcaldy is a sea
port in Fife on the east coast of Scotland, to the north of the Firth of Forth
and about ten miles due north of Edinburgh. The name Kirkcaldy means ‘Fort on
the hard hill, and is derived from the Brythonic words caer meaning ‘fort’, caled meaning
‘hard’ and din meaning ‘hill’. Brythonic was the language of the
Britons who inhabited British kingdoms such as Gododdin in the Lothian area in
the sixth century AD. The fort may have been on the site of Ravenscraig Castle.
The name occurs as ‘Kircalathin’ in 1150. The town was first established as a
burgh of barony in 1334, under the control of the monastery of Dunfermline. In
1450, the monastery relinquished its interest and it became a royal burgh soon
after. In the 1851 census, the population of the royal burgh was 5,093, but the
population of the parliamentary burgh, which included the suburbs, was 10,475.
Town Planning
Kirkcaldy is also
known as ‘the lang toun’ because it is a long, narrow settlement with a main
road extending parallel with the coastline. In the main part of the town there
is a grid pattern of streets between this main road and the coast (sheet 4). By
the mid-nineteenth century, Kirkcaldy had merged with the suburbs or former
villages of Pathhead and Sinclairtown to the north and Linktown and Bridgetown
to the south.
The harbour lay to the
north end of the main part of the town (sheet 3). The railway, which ran along
the inland side of the town, had a branch line down to the harbour. There were
stations at Kirkcaldy itself and at Sinclairtown.
Ravenscraig Castle, at
the north end of the town, on the coast by Pathhead, was a courtyard castle
originally built in the fifteenth century; it had been inhabited until around
1650. Kirkcaldy Parish Church was founded in the thirteenth century, but had
been largely rebuilt in 1808, although the tower is original. It is now barely
more than a ruin.
Trade
The harbour at
Kirkcaldy, in common with many of the east coast ports, was probably used for
trade both across the North Sea and south along the coast to England in the
medieval period. By the mid-seventeenth century, there appear to have been
around one hundred boats sailing out of Kirkcaldy, both fishing boats and those
exporting salt fish, salt and coal. The Civil War of the later seventeenth
century, the restrictions placed on Scottish trade after the Act of Union with
England in 1707, and the half century of unrest during the Jacobite revolts,
all caused a severe decline in trade from Kirkcaldy, but in the late eighteenth
century prosperity returned to the port. As a result, the harbour was improved
and extended between 1836 and 1850. In 1855 there were ninety-six sailing
vessels and one steamer registered at Kirkcaldy, with Norwegian, Danish, German
and Prussian ships also using the harbour. Flax and timber were the main
imports. The main exports were coal from the hinterland and linen yarn spun
from the flax.
Industry
A number of flax mills
can be seen on the survey, particularly on the south side of the town, at
Linktown, Newtown and Bridgetown (sheets 6 and 7). In the mid-nineteenth
century, there were thirteen flax spinning mills, as well as bleachfields, and
machine weaving. Other industries during this period were either connected to
the needs of the port, such as the rope works, ship building and two iron
works, or they supplied the needs of the surrounding area, for example the
brick works and pottery (sheet 6), and the breweries, distillery and flour
mills. There was also a whale oil factory at the north end of the town (sheet
3). Grain and cattle markets were held regularly in the town.
Hinterland
Coal and iron ore were
exploited in the area to the west of the town, the main colliery being at
Dunnikier.
Religious Life
The parliamentary
burgh of Kirkcaldy included the parish of Kirkcaldy as well as parts of
Abbotshall and Kinghorn. The parish church of Kirkcaldy, which is situated in
the middle of the town, was built in 1807 (sheet 4). Within the parliamentary
burgh, there were also two other Church of Scotland churches, four Free
churches, three United Presbyterian churches, one Independent chapel, two
Baptist chapels, one Episcopalian chapel, a Roman Catholic chapel and two
chapels of minor sects.
Education
The main school in the
burgh was the burgh school, but there were charity schools in Kirkcaldy,
Pathhead, Linktown and Kinghorn. There were also six private schools and eight
schools for girls, divided by Wilson (1857) into three for ‘young ladies’ and
five ‘ for girls in the ordinary departments of education’. There was a public
reading room, a subscription library and a mechanics library in the town at
this period.
Culture and Society
The town had both
agricultural and horticultural societies, as well as a scientific association.
There was also a curling club. Adam Smith (1723-90), professor of moral
philosophy in Glasgow and then Edinburgh, was born in the town. He is best
remembered for his book Inquiry into the
Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) in which he argued that
free trade and individual enterprise were important for a successful economy.
Another well-known person born in the town was the architect Robert Adam
(1728-92).
Groome, Francis H. (ed.), 1894-5. The Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland; a survey of Scottish topography, statistical, biographical, and historical, 2nd ed., (London: William Mackenzie)
Mackay, George, 2000. Scottish Place Names (New Lanark: Lomond)
Smith, Robert, 2001. The Making of Scotland: a comprehensive guide to the growth of its cities, towns and villages (Edinburgh: Canongate)
Wilson, Rev. John Marius (ed.), 1857. The Imperial Gazetteer of Scotland or Dictionary of Scottish Topography (Edinburgh: A. Fullarton & Co.)
Edina Website – Online Statistical Accounts of Scotland - http://edina.ac.uk/statacc/