Abbotshall Parish Church

Abbotshall Parish church is in my home town of Kirkcaldy in Scotland and contains some graves of my distant family. Around the middle of the seventeenth century it was decided that a new church was needed to ease the pressure on the Old Kirk in Kirkcaldy, and thus the parish of Abbotshall was created. The land was on the Abbotshall Estate which was owned at the time by Sir Andrew Ramsay, and became a Burgh of Barony. The first church is said to have been built in 1679, although there is a reused date stone from 1674 on the present church. There is no record of the appearance of the church before it was rebuilt in 1788, and the rebuild is the church which stands today. In 1876 the parish was absorbed into the Burgh of Kirkcaldy. There is a graveyard containing some good examples of historic gravestones and a mort house.

St. Brycedale Church, Kirkcaldy

Today's church is close to home .... in fact it was my home! This is St. Brycedale Church in Kirkcaldy, Scotland as viewed from the cemetery of the Old Kirk which is situated just over the road. The church is now called St. Bryce Kirk when the two churches joined together in November, 2000. 

The Old Kirk is the oldest church in Kirkcaldy and is the Category B listed  parish church, on Kirk Wynd. The earliest mention of the Old Kirk is the record of its consecration in 1244 to St Brisse and St Patrick by David de Bernham, Bishop of St Andrews. The building's deterioration in the late eighteenth century resulted in major renovations in 1807. Only the square western tower, which dates from around 1500, was retained. In 2011 the Old Kirk was purchased by the Old Kirk Trust using a £75,000 loan from businessman John Sim, son of the late Reverend John Sim, minister of the church from 1960 to 1987. 

The story of St. Brycedale Church begins in 1843 when the Disruption of the Church of Scotland took place. In conflict with the idea of patronage, where the landowner / local gentry choses the minister, large numbers of clergy and laity left the national church. The result in Kirkcaldy was the establishing of a Free Church in Tolbooth Street.

When the premises became too small for the energetic and expanding congregation it was decided to build a new Church. The site at the top of Kirk Wynd - "in open parkland on the outskirts of the town" - was donated by Provost Don Swan in 1876 and the new church was designed to seat 1150 people. Also included in the plans were a vestry, a ladies' room, a young men's hall to hold 150 and a Sunday School room to hold 300. The spire was to be 200 feet high. And the cost? An estimated £11,500.

The architecture was Gothic of the 13th century, the structure being built of Fordell stone with the inside walls of the Tower being built of a hard stone from Gallatown Quarry. In March 1881 the church was officially opened.

Since 1881 there have been only eight Ministers serving in St. Brycedale. The development of the "new" St Brycedale Church was the brainchild of the present Minister, the Rev. J. Kenneth Froude, centring on the recognition that the building was extravagantly large for the needs of the relatively small gathered downtown congregation who used it only once a week for just over an hour.

The old church has been divided in two, horizontally at the level of the gallery, creating a two-storey structure. The upper part is now the Sanctuary, still a very large church as can be seen in the inside view of the building. The lower part, at ground level, consists of two large and several smaller rooms, an open reception area and a coffee bar. These new facilities allow more flexible use of the premises. The Church Centre which is open all day, every day, for people of all ages - from toddlers to senior citizens - is used by many organisations and charities and the general public.

Anstruther

Anstruther is a small fishing village on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, very close to my home town. The meaning of the name Anstruther in gaelic is "small stream" and the small stream called the Dreel Burn in the foreground is more than likely the small stream in question.

It was originally a fishing village, and is home to the Scottish Fisheries Museum, but its main industry is now tourism, although other small scale manufacturing and service industries continue. Pleasure craft now moor in the harbour, and there is a golf course. Anstruther Pleasure Cruises operate sightseeing/wildlife cruises from the harbour to the Isle of May on board the 'May Princess' from April till October, the Isle of May is considered the UK's No.1 Puffin location, there is also an abundance of other interesting wildlife and seal colonies on the Island. The Waid Academy, the local state comprehensive school, is often a focus of the community and through its secondary role as a community centre offers a wide range of activities & sports, and hosts entertainment for young and old. Sports Hall, Gym, Swimming pool etc. are also situated here and open to public use.

It has a double award-winning fish and chip shop, Anstruther Fish Bar, which won Fish and Chip shop of the year in 2001-2002 and was awarded the same prize once again, by Sea Fish Organisation, in 2009, as well as other fine fish and non-fish takeaways, and relaxed and formal dining restaurants. There is also the other famous Wee Chippy restaurant which has been voted the best place in the world for fish and chips.

Kinghorn in the Kingdom of Fife

A view of Kinghorn on the Firth of Forth taken from the Fife Coastal Path with rain falling in the distance over Edinburgh. Kinghorn  is a town in Fife, Scotland. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth opposite Edinburgh. According to the 2008 population estimate, the town has a population of 2,930.
Known as the place where King Alexander III of Scotland died, it lies on the A921 road and the Fife Coastal Path. Kinghorn railway station is on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen and Fife Circle railway lines. Kinghorn only has a primary school so high school pupils must travel by bus to Balwearie High School in Kirkcaldy.

The town's lifeboat station is one of Scotland's busiest - regularly getting called out to all sorts of emergencies in the Firth. The meaning of the name Kinghorn derives from the Gaelic ceann gronn, 'head of the bog'. 
The historic Royal Burgh of Kinghorn lies on the golden coastline of the Kingdom of Fife. The former castle in Kinghorn was frequently visited by the Scottish Court in the period of the House of Dunkeld. The King's castle, controlling the sea way, stood on the headland above Pettycur. A later structure, Glamis Tower, stood just behind the High Street. Both buildings have totally disappeared and the sites built over in modern times. It was because of King Alexander III wanting to return to Kinghorn to see his new wife that he fell on the horseride from Burntisland and was found dead on the beach of Pettycur bay.
The castle remained an important possession of the Scottish crown, and this was recognised by the creation of the Earldom of Kinghorne in 1606. A burn fed from the freshwater Kinghorn Loch above the town once provided the town with its water and subsequently provided the source of power to drive the machinery of flax mills. 
The old town was dramatically transformed in 1846 by the construction of the railway viaduct across the valley of the burn and the opening of Kinghorn Station by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway which had its terminus at Burntisland for ferries across the Forth to Granton. Much of the former horse ferry traffic from Pettycur bay was lost to Burntisland. 
Following the opening of the Forth Railway Bridge in 1890,the North British Railway started to promote Kinghorn's picturesque sheltered bay and beach as a resort which led to considerable development of the town.

The Old Kirk Graveyard

The oldest church in Kirkcaldy, Scotland is the Old Parish Church (otherwise known as the Old Kirk) on Kirk Wynd. The earliest record of the Old Kirk was the consecration in 1244 to St Brisse and St Patrick by Bishop de Bernham of St Andrews. The present Old Kirk was re-built between 1807 and 1808 in a Georgian style, when the former church fell into disrepair. Only the square western tower of the former church was retained. This medieval tower, which dates from around 1500, has played both religious and defensive roles in its history.
The building in the background is the Allen Lithographic printing company

Kinghorn in the Kingdom of Fife

Kinghorn (Gaelic: Ceann Gronna) is a town in Fife, Scotland. The meaning of the name Kinghorn, or Kin-gorn, derives from the Gaelic, 'head of the muddy ground' or the more romantic 'blue headland'. A seaside resort with two beaches, Kinghorn Beach and Pettycur Bay, plus a fishing port, it stands on the north shore of the Firth of Forth opposite Edinburgh. According to the 2006 population estimate, the town has a population of 2,986.
It is known as the place where King Alexander III of Scotland died, it lies on the A921 road and the Fife Coastal Path.

The historic Royal Burgh of Kinghorn lies on the golden coastline of the Kingdom of Fife. The former castle in Kinghorn was frequently visited by the Scottish Court in the period of the House of Dunkeld. The King's castle, controlling the sea way, stood on the headland above Pettycur. A later structure, Glamis Tower, stood just behind the High Street. Both buildings have totally disappeared and the sites built over in modern times. It was because of King Alexander III wanting to return to Kinghorn to see his new wife that he fell on the horseride from Burntisland and was found dead on the beach of Pettycur bay.

The castle remained an important possession of the Scottish crown, and this was recognised by the creation of the Earldom of Kinghorne in 1606. A burn fed from the freshwater Kinghorn Loch above the town once provided the town with its water and subsequently provided the source of power to drive the machinery of flax mills. The old town was dramatically transformed in 1846 by the construction of the railway viaduct across the valley of the burn and the opening of Kinghorn Station by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway which had its terminus at Burntisland for ferries across the Forth to Granton. Much of the former horse ferry traffic from Pettycur bay was lost to Burntisland.

Following the opening of the Forth Railway Bridge in 1890,the North British Railway started to promote Kinghorn's picturesque sheltered bay and beach as a resort which led to considerable development of the town.