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52-418: Limekilns has a medieval past as a fishing village, dating back to the 14th century. The town gets its name from its 18th century limestone industry, with lime kilns still found at the near contingent town of Charlestown . Today, the town is popular with tourists and is home to 40 listed buildings by Historic Scotland . The population is 1,450 (2020) Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown , Limekilns

104-823: A volcanic plug in the east. At 522 metres (1,713 ft), the West Lomond is the highest point in Fife. The coast has fine but small harbours, from the industrial docks in Burntisland and Rosyth to the fishing villages of the East Neuk such as Anstruther and Pittenweem . The large area of flat land to the north of the Lomond Hills, through which the River Eden flows, is known as the Howe of Fife . North of

156-691: A 1st XI and a 2nd XI that play in the Scottish East League run by the East of Scotland Cricket Association and have junior, midweek and Sunday teams as well. They play at The Cairns, Charlestown. The Scottish Lime Centre Trust (SLCT) was established in 1994 by a pioneer in the re-introduction of lime in building repairs in Scotland, Pat Gibbons (Mrs Patricia). She was the founder and first Director, an architect with many years experience of building conservation in Scotland. Previously she had been

208-716: A Senior Architect with Historic Scotland. The Director since 2005 is Roz Artis. Housed in an historic Charlestown building, the former Estate workshop, the Centre enjoys an international reputation for its work in promoting and training in the use of lime in building. The aims and objectives of the Trust are to: 56°2′12″N 3°30′0″W  /  56.03667°N 3.50000°W  / 56.03667; -3.50000 Fife Fife ( / f aɪ f / FYFE , Scottish English : [fɐi̯f] ; Scottish Gaelic : Fìobha [ˈfiːvə] ; Scots : Fife )

260-563: A group of 11 men from Fife, who became known as the Fife adventurers , to colonise the Isle of Lewis in an attempt to begin the "civilisation" and de-gaelicisation of the region. This endeavour lasted until 1609 when the colonists, having been opposed by the native population, were bought out by Kenneth Mackenzie , the clan chief of the Mackenzies . Fife became a centre of heavy industry in

312-430: A kingdom may derive from a misinterpretation of an extract from Wyntoun . The name is recorded as Fib in A.D. 1150 and Fif in 1165. It was often associated with Fothriff . The hill-fort of Clatchard Craig , near Newburgh , was occupied as an important Pictish stronghold between the sixth and eighth centuries AD. Fife was an important royal and political centre from the reign of King Malcolm III onwards, as

364-478: A railway link to Dunfermline. Around the lime kilns there were many ancillary buildings, these have almost entirely gone. The operation ran down from the 1930s and finally closed in 1956. The site is owned by the Broomhall Estate. Another distinctive feature of Charlestown is the early planned village, established again by Charles Bruce, the 5th Earl in 1756. It is however quite an unusual "plan", as

416-476: A remarkable feature of Charlestown. They are regarded as one of the most important Industrial Revolution remains in Scotland and indeed the United Kingdom, being Scottish Category A Listed buildings. Built into the hillside below the village, they form a stone facade 110 metres long by 10 metres high. They are in a generally stable state of preservation with many features relating to the operation of

468-660: A second floor. As well, various other buildings were erected by the Earl, for example Easter Cottage built 1760, a school in 1768 and the Sutlery, being a stable and granary, in 1770. The houses are all Scottish B Grade Listed Buildings (excepting nos 36,37 and 52 to 55) within the Charlestown Conservation Area. While all were originally "estate" cottages belonging to the Broomhall Estate, after

520-496: A store house, school , library and chapel . It is currently employed as a Freemasons Lodge and is generally not open to the public. The village has a range of amenities including a primary school, doctor's surgery, shops and a Sea Scout Group as well as a Guide unit. The Ship Inn is said to be the 'watering hole' featured in Robert Louis Stevenson 's novel Kidnapped . The Earls of Elgin owned land in

572-456: Is a council area , historic county , registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland . It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth , with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i.e., the historic counties of Perthshire and Kinross-shire ) and Clackmannanshire . By custom it is widely held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms , known as Fib , and

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624-570: Is an old settlement dating back to the 14th century. In its early days Limekilns was mainly a fishing village, with the large natural harbour , sheltered by the rocky ridge known as The Ghauts, providing docking facilities for small to medium transport and cargo ships. From here ships traded with the ports in the Baltic Sea and France until the seventeenth century when the Union of the Crowns saw

676-696: Is held by the Scottish Liberal Democrats : North East Fife . Fife Council 's administrative headquarters and Police Scotland 's P Division (formerly Fife Constabulary ) are based in Glenrothes . The Council meetings take place in Fife House in the town centre. The west wing of the building was built by the Glenrothes Development Corporation (GDC) as their offices in 1969, which was later used as

728-406: Is known for its historic 18th century lime kilns and its Georgian planned housing. Charlestown was established in 1756 by Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin . The planned village is laid out in the shape of a letters C and E, for Charles Elgin. It was established as a harbour town for the shipment of coal mined on Lord Elgin's Fife estates, and for the production of lime. The harbour's outer basin

780-486: Is still commonly known as the Kingdom of Fife within Scotland. A person from Fife is known as a Fifer . In older documents the county was very occasionally known by the anglicisation Fifeshire . Fife is Scotland's 3rd largest local authority area by population . It had a resident population of 371,340 in 2022, over a third of whom live in the three principal settlements, Dunfermline , Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes . On

832-752: The Crossford area in connection with the Elgin Colliery (at Parkneuk and Baldridge Burn, NW of Dunfermline) and the Elgin Railway that ran from the Colliery round Crossford and then down beside Waggon Road and on to Charlestown harbour. The route of the railway and the site of the Elgin Colliery are shown in a map in Chalmers' book, Historical and Statistical Account of Dunfermline. To the north, paths run via Pitliver to Crossford and through

884-794: The Forth Road Bridge (public transport and cyclists only) and Queensferry Crossing , west on the Kincardine Bridge or north-east via the Tay Road Bridge , the exception being traffic headed north on the M90 . Tolls were abolished on the Tay Road Bridge and Forth Road Bridge on 11 February 2008. There are extinct volcanic features, such as the Lomond Hills which rise above rolling farmland, and Largo Law ,

936-707: The House of Commons of the United Kingdom until 1885 and the Fife constituency in the Parliament of Scotland until the Acts of Union 1707 . Fife is represented by five constituency members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and four members of the United Kingdom parliament (MPs) who are sent to Holyrood and the British Parliament respectively. Following the 2015 general election , all four of

988-696: The National Trust for Scotland or Historic Scotland . They include Dunfermline Abbey (the last resting place of Scottish royalty), the palace in Culross, Ravenscraig Castle in Kirkcaldy, Dysart Harbour area, Balgonie Castle near Coaltown of Balgonie, Falkland Palace (hunting palace of the Scottish Kings), Kellie Castle near Pittenweem, Hill of Tarvit (a historical house), St. Andrews Castle, St. Andrews Cathedral and St. Rule's Tower . Fife

1040-510: The 19th century. Coal had been mined in the area since at least the 12th century, but the number of pits increased ten-fold as demand for coal grew in the Victorian period. Previously rural villages such as Cowdenbeath rapidly swelled into towns as thousands moved to Fife to find work in its mines. The opening of the Forth and Tay rail bridges linked Fife with Dundee and Edinburgh and allowed

1092-588: The Lomond Hills can be found villages and small towns in a primarily agricultural landscape. The areas in the south and west of Fife, including the towns of Dunfermline , Glenrothes , Kirkcaldy and the Levenmouth region are lightly industrial and more densely populated. The only areas which could claim to be heavily industrial are Rosyth , around the naval dockyard and perhaps the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids fractionation plant on

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1144-708: The MPs constituencies were held by the Scottish National Party . In the 2017 general election , Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath was regained by Labour . At the same election, the seat of North East Fife became the closest seat in the country with the SNP holding a majority of 2 over the Liberal Democrats . Three of the Scottish Parliament constituencies are held by the Scottish National Party : Cowdenbeath , Dunfermline and Mid Fife and Glenrothes . One

1196-441: The administrative area of the county council. The 1889 act also led to a review of boundaries, with several exclaves being transferred to a county they actually bordered, and parishes which straddled more than one county being adjusted such that each parish was entirely in a single county. These changes saw some adjustments to Fife's boundaries with Kinross-shire and Perthshire, with the most significant change being that Fife gained

1248-559: The ages. The Pictish king list and De Situ Albanie documents of the Poppleton manuscript mention the division of the Pictish realm or Albany into seven sub-kingdoms, one being Fife. The earliest known reference to the common epithet The Kingdom of Fife dates from only 1678, in a proposition that the term derives from the quasi-regal privileges of the Earl of Fife . The notion of

1300-465: The authority of the Sheriff of Fife . Over time, Scotland's shires became more significant than the old provinces, with more administrative functions being given to the sheriffs. The larger earldom of Fife, including Kinross and Clackmannan, was therefore gradually eclipsed in importance by the smaller shire of Fife. In 1667 Commissioners of Supply were established for each shire, which would serve as

1352-538: The coastal East Neuk settlements were built, has declined in recent years with the main fishing fleet now operating from Pittenweem and the harbour in Anstruther being used as a marina for pleasure craft. There are several islands located off the coast of Fife, such as the Isle of May , Inchkeith and Inchcolm . The former Preston Island south of Valleyfield is no longer an island following land reclamation work. Cupar took over as county town from Crail in

1404-399: The construction of stone buildings. Workings using kilns fuelled by charcoal and later coal to convert lime to quicklime grew up, the product being exported from the port along the east coast of Scotland. Today the only tangible legacy of this industry in village is the name Limekilns. In the 1750s the lime industry transferred a mile or so west along the coast to Charlestown, where the ruins of

1456-478: The county's sheriff court and meeting place for the commissioners of supply, replacing the town's medieval tolbooth which had performed the same functions. Fife County Council was abolished in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , which replaced Scotland's counties, burghs and landward districts with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts . Fife region

1508-480: The decline and closure of most of the works in 1935, many were sold to the tenants. The original unity and appearance of the terraces is now somewhat compromised by alterations to doors and windows, high privet hedges and by many rear extensions, as identified in the Conservation Plan. Some of the off-road paths in the village reflect aspects of the past; for example, "Shell Road" and "Lime Brae" indicate

1560-403: The distinction of perhaps being one of the first industrial villages in Scotland, as against the numerous farming and fishing based planned villages. This was because it encompassed not only the housing accommodation for the workers, but an integrated operation of coalmining, limestone quarrying, tramways, lime kilns, the harbour and other ancillary operations. Building of the original village

1612-424: The estate of the Earl of Elgin and Wester Gellet to Pittencrieff Park at Dunfermline. Limekilns is the birthplace of George Thomson . Charlestown, Fife Charlestown (also known as Charlestown-on-Forth ) is a village in Fife , Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Firth of Forth , around 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Limekilns and 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Dunfermline . The village

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1664-525: The golden fringe being the coast and its chain of little ports with their thriving fishing fleets and rich trading links with the Low Countries . Wool , linen , coal and salt were all traded. Salt pans heated by local coal were historically a feature of the Fife coast. The distinctive red clay pan tiles seen on many old buildings in Fife arrived as ballast on trading boats and replaced the previously thatched roofs. In 1598, King James VI employed

1716-530: The headquarters of Fife Regional Council from shortly after its creation in 1975. Fife is a peninsula in eastern Scotland bordered on the north by the Firth of Tay , on the east by the North Sea and by the Firth of Forth to the south. The route to the west is partially blocked by the mass of the Ochil Hills . Almost all road traffic into and out of Fife has to pass over one of four bridges, south on

1768-560: The kilns still in situ. Most of the kilns were re-faced, probably in the 19th century. The kilns were built by Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin, in the late 18th century, building dates quoted vary, but Pevsner states that the first nine were built 1777 to 1778 and the last five in 1792. They were the largest group of lime kilns in Scotland, producing a third of all lime production, and were particularly important to agriculture for soil improvement but also for building work to produce mortar, plaster and other lime based products. Through

1820-419: The late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the kilns were part of a major industrial complex of the time, including coal mining, ironworking and salt extraction. Coal and limestone were brought in from the local quarries, also on the Earl's estate. The adjacent harbour was as well built by the Earl and used for transporting the lime products, limestone and importantly coal. There were local railway lines, also

1872-469: The leaders of Scotland gradually moved southwards away from their ancient strongholds around Scone. Malcolm had his principal home in Dunfermline and his wife Margaret was the main benefactor of Dunfermline Abbey . The Abbey replaced Iona as the final resting place of Scotland's royal elite, with Robert I amongst those to be buried there. The Earl of Fife was until the 15th century considered

1924-590: The main administrative body for the area until the creation of county councils in 1890. Following the Acts of Union in 1707, the English term "county" came to be used interchangeably with the older term "shire". Elected county councils were established in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 , taking most of the functions of the commissioners (which were eventually abolished in 1930). The two burghs of Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy were deemed capable of managing their own affairs and so were excluded from

1976-783: The massive kilns still exist today. For many centuries Limekilns was also the northern terminus for a ferry linking it to Bo'ness on the southern side of the Forth. This found an echo in Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped : and it was from Limekilns that David Balfour and Alan Breck were carried across the Forth in a rowing boat. Soap was also produced from a soapworks located near Caupernaum Pier. The 'Soap Sheds' still exist and are used as storage facilities. The years of industrial decline meant that most of these industries were lost and Limekilns became just another sleepy coastal village. New housing estates were added during

2028-563: The northeast coast of Fife lies the historic town of St Andrews , home to the University of St Andrews —the most ancient university of Scotland and one of the oldest universities in the world —and the Old Course at St Andrews , considered the world's oldest golf course . Fife, bounded to the north by the Firth of Tay and to the south by the Firth of Forth , is a natural peninsula whose political boundaries have changed little over

2080-563: The outskirts of Cowdenbeath. The east corner of Fife, along the string of villages between Earlsferry and Kingsbarns , and along with their hinterland, is known as the East Neuk (corner, or projecting point of land) of Fife; small settlements around sheltered harbours, with distinctive vernacular "Dutch" or corbie (crow) stepped gabled and stone-built architecture. The area has amongst the highest concentration of second homes and holiday lets in Scotland. The fishing industry , on which

2132-576: The principal peer of the Scottish realm, and reserved the right of crowning the nation's monarchs, reflecting the prestige of the area. A new royal palace was gradually constructed at Falkland , formerly the stronghold of Clan MacDuff , and was used by successive monarchs of the House of Stuart , who favoured Fife for its rich hunting grounds. King James VI of Scotland described Fife, in Middle Scots , as a: "beggar's mantle fringed wi gowd"

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2184-426: The property boom of the 1970s and 1980s, considerably boosting the size and population of the village. Limekilns sits within the lands which traditionally belonged to the Earl of Elgin of Broomhall House , which overlooks the village. The oldest building in the village is The King's Cellar, a large property which can be traced back to 1362. It has served many different purposes throughout its long life, notably as

2236-635: The rapid transport of goods. Modern ports were constructed at Methil , Burntisland and Rosyth . Kirkcaldy became the world centre for the production of linoleum . Postwar Fife saw the development of Scotland's second new town , Glenrothes . Originally to provide housing for miners at a new coal mine, the town eventually attracted a high number of modern Silicon Glen companies to the region. Fife Council and Fife Constabulary also centre their operations in Glenrothes. There are numerous notable historical buildings in Fife, some of which are managed by

2288-406: The routes over which these materials were transported in the past; "Craw Road" and "Rocks Road" refer to the avian inhabitants and the underfoot surface respectively; "The Run" refers to the route by which surplus water was run off from the upper part of the village and down to the sea. Charlestown is the home of Broomhall Cricket Club, named after Broomhall, the nearby home of Lord Elgin. They have

2340-433: The royal interests move south to London . In the early 14th century there was a port for the town of Dunfermline , called Galletts, at the site of the current settlement of Limekilns, this served as the principal port for the town which lies a few miles inland. The importance of the local limestone became clear quite early in the village's history, being used both as a fertiliser and for the manufacture of mortar used in

2392-495: The street pattern was reputedly laid out as the letters C and E, for Charles Elgin. The village was part of the Improving Movement in Scotland that led to the establishment of some 500 planned villages and small towns throughout the country between the mid 18th century to mid 19th century, although McWilliam writing earlier in 1975 gives a lower figure for the same period of some 200 towns. Charlestown however has

2444-412: The town of Clackmannan . By the early thirteenth century Fothriff had been joined to the earldom of Fife. Sometime between the reign of David I (reigned 1124–1153) and the mid-thirteenth century, this part of Scotland was divided into shires , being areas administered by a sheriff . Kinross and Clackmannan were each given their own sheriffs, whilst the rest of the Fife and Fothriff area was placed under

2496-552: The two parishes of Culross and Tulliallan , which had previously formed an exclave of Perthshire. Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy were brought within the administrative area of the county council in 1930, but classed as large burghs , allowing them to continue to deliver many local government functions themselves. Fife County Council was based at County Buildings in Catherine Street in Cupar , which had been built in 1817 as

2548-565: Was built around 1840. In 1887, on the occasion of Queen Victoria 's Golden Jubilee, the Queen's Hall was built at the village centre, to designs by Robert Rowand Anderson . Shipbuilding was carried on at Charlestown in the 19th century, as well as ship-breaking. Some of the German Imperial Fleet were brought here from Scapa Flow after World War I to be broken up. The fourteen massive lime kilns built of dressed-sandstone are

2600-641: Was commenced in 1756, and comprises the North Row, the South Row, the Double Row and also the shorter Hall Row and Lochaber to the east. The western half of the North and South Rows face the village green. Most house building was complete by 1771, although some houses were not completed until the early 19th century. The houses were originally single story, built in groups of six, some of them later extended to

2652-409: Was created covering the same area as the county, divided into three districts : Dunfermline , Kirkcaldy and North-East Fife . In 1996 the district councils were abolished and Fife Regional Council became a unitary authority known as Fife Council. Fife is one of the six local authorities in the city region of Edinburgh and southeast Scotland. There was a parliamentary constituency of Fife in

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2704-473: Was one of the ancient provinces of Scotland , under the authority of the Mormaer or Earl of Fife . The early province of Fife appears to have covered only that part of the later county lying east of a line from Newburgh to Scoonie . The western part of the later county was in the province of Fothriff , which also covered areas that would later become Kinross-shire and part of Clackmannanshire , including

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