Newburgh is a royalburgh and parish inFife,Scotland, at the south shore of theFirth of Tay. The town has a population of 2,171 (in 2011),^[2] which constitutes a 10% increase since 1901 when the population was counted at 1,904 persons.

Newburgh
Newburgh High Street and central tower
Newburgh Location withinFife
Population	2,110 (2020)[1]
OS grid reference	NO234183
• Edinburgh	28 mi (45 km)
• London	358 mi (576 km)
Council area	Fife
Lieutenancy area	Fife
Country	Scotland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	Cupar
Postcode district	KY14
Police	Scotland
Fire	Scottish
Ambulance	Scottish
UK Parliament	North East Fife
Scottish Parliament	North East Fife
List of places UK Scotland 56°21′06″N3°14′18″W / 56.3517°N 3.2383°W /56.3517; -3.2383

The town has a long history of fishing and industrial heritage.Lindores Abbey lies at the eastern edge of the town.

In 1266 Newburgh was granted burgh status byKing Alexander III, as a burgh belonging to the Abbot ofLindores. In 1600, Newburgh was given toPatrick Leslie, 1st Lord Lindores, son of theEarl of Rothes. In 1631, Newburgh was made a Royal Burgh by KingCharles I.

Since the Second World War many new houses have been built in Newburgh but the population has only increased by about 10%, partly due to lower average occupancy rates.

For some time, Newburgh's industries chiefly consisted of the making of linen, linoleum floorcloth, oilskin fabric and quarrying. There was for many years a net and coble fishery on the Firth Of Tay, mainly for salmon and sea trout.

The harbour area was used originally for boatbuilding and thetransshipment of cargoes toPerth for vessels of over 200 tons. Raw materials for making linoleum such as cork and linseed oil were also imported at the "Factory Pier". Aggregates from the Whin Stone quarry were also shipped from Bell's Pier.

The main employer from the early 1920s was thelinoleum factory known locally as the "Tayside", operated by the Tayside Floorcloth Company. In the subsequent decades, Newburgh was a prosperous industrial town pulling in workers for the factories from surrounding towns and villages. As linoleum fell out of fashion in the late 1960s and 1970s, attempts were made to producevinyl flooring and tiles but the factory was no longer profitable. After several changes in ownership it finally closed in 1980 after a large fire destroyed much of the building.

Situated to the East of the linoleum factory was another factory known locally as "The Oilskin". Since before the First World War, its mostly female workers producedoilskin fabric for waterproof clothing such as fishermen's suits andSou'westers. The factory was taken over by textiles giantCourtaulds in the 1960s but it also closed some years later as demand for the product declined.

As of 2020, most industries in Newburgh have closed except for quarrying, which is now the town's biggest single employer. It is mainly a dormitory town with many of those of working age commuting for work toPerth,Dundee, andGlenrothes. Local trades and services include a health centre, nursing home, and supermarket on the site of the formerShip Inn.

In 2017 a new whisky distillery opened on the site of Lindores Abbey at the east end of Newburgh.^[4] This produces Lindores Abbeywhisky on the site where "Aqua vitae"—an early form of whisky—was produced by the monks.^[5] The distillery incorporates an event venue and offers catering and tours of the distillery and Abbey ruins.

After many years of lying derelict, the linoleum factory was demolished and cleared and its site is now a recreational waterfront linked to the Mugdrum Park and theFife Coastal Path.

Newburgh Town House was designed in theItalianate style, with a central tower and spire, and built on the south side of the High Street in 1808. It forms a continuous block with the other houses. The Laing Museum and Library was added to the north side of the street in 1894-96.^[6]

On high ground, about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of the town (at56°20′20″N3°14′44″W / 56.339°N 3.2455°W /56.339; -3.2455 (Macduff's Cross)) stand the remains of Macduff's Cross, of which only the pedestal survives.^[7] In legend, it marks the spot whereclan Macduff was granted rights of sanctuary and composition for murder, in return for its chief's services againstMacbeth.

Denmylne Castle,^[8] about 1 mile (1.6 km) south-east of Newburgh on theCupar road, was the home for more than 250 years of the Balfour of Denmylne family, of which the brother,James andAndrew were the most distinguished members. The castle was abandoned in 1772 when the estate was sold and now stands within a 19th-century steading whose construction will have necessitated the removal of the castle's subsidiary buildings. It has been unroofed for at least 200 years and is in a state of disrepair. A lintel dated 1620 has been re-used in one of the steading's building. It is ascheduled ancient monument.^[9]

Lindores Abbey is situated near the Tay, on the East side of the town. Only fragments remain of theTironensian (reformedBenedictine) abbey, founded about 1190 byDavid of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon, brother ofWilliam I the Lion. Nonetheless, the ground plan of the whole structure can still be traced. Best preserved are the south-west gateway through the precinct wall, various remains of the wall itself, and part of the east cloister range, including the still-vaultedslype, all built of local red sandstone. The monastic church itself had a single aisle on the north side, with aisled north and south transepts, a central tower and a detached western tower orcampanile, similar toCambuskenneth Abbey. It is ascheduled ancient monument.^[10]

The monks were noted agriculturists and oversaw famous orchards. Some houses in Newburgh's High Street are said to have orchards with trees descended from the original plantings, although many plots have now been sold and developed for housing. Numerous architectural fragments from the Abbey are built into buildings in the town.

Lindores Abbey is also famous as the birthplace of Scotch Whisky owing to its links to FriarJohn Cor and the Exchequer Rolls of 1494. The Abbey is now home to the McKenzie Smith family and has been for 100 years. The site is being preserved, and saw a new distillery opened in 2017.

The multi-walledPictishhill fort ofClatchard Craig once stood to the south of the town.^[11][12] Archeological excavations have shown that the fort was occupied between the sixth and eighth centuries AD, as a site of high status.^[11][12] The fort was destroyed by quarrying during the late twentieth century.

Newburgh has been noted for itsChristmas lights, which are designed by local children.^[13]

Nearby Lochmill Loch has been dammed to provide the town with a water supply and fishing.

At Blackearnside, a forest of alders, to the east of the village,William Wallace defeatedAymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke in 1298.

Mugdrum Island, opposite the large Mugdrum estate from which it takes its name, ("ridge of the pig[s]" inGaelic), is offshore in the Firth dividing it into 'North Deep' and 'South Deep' channels. For many years cattle were ferried over to the island for summer grazing, but this is no longer practised.

Newburgh is home to thefootball clubNewburgh, who compete in theEast of Scotland League Third Division, and an activesailing club.

Newburgh is situated on theFirth of Tay, seven miles (11 km) northwest of Ladybank Junction alongside theEdinburgh to Aberdeen railway line (between Perth and Ladybank).Newburgh railway station served the town from 1848 to 1955. There is an active campaign to reopen the station. Fife Scottish (now Stagecoach in Fife) used to have a bus depot in the town at East Shore Road; however, this was closed in 1991. No buses are now based in Newburgh although the Perth to Glenrothes and Newburgh to St Andrews via Ladybank station services still serve the town.

The town lies on theA913.

• Samuel Amess (1826–1898), 25thMayor of Melbourne.
• Robert Hunter (1823–1897), lexicographer and encyclopaedist.
• Betty Law (1928–2001), curler.
• Robert Lawson (1833–1902), architect.

•   This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Newburgh (Scotland)".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 467.

• Newburgh Bear
• Newburgh station campaign