Burntisland
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 A view across Burntisland | |
  Burntisland Location withinFife | |
| Population | 6,630 (2020)[1] |
| OS grid reference | NT233859 |
| • Edinburgh | 7.5 mi (12.1 km) |
| • London | 339 mi (546 km) |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BURNTISLAND |
| Postcode district | KY3 |
| Dialling code | 01592 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 56°03′34″N03°13′57″W / 56.05944°N 3.23250°W /56.05944; -3.23250 | |
Burntisland (/bɜːrntˈaɪlənd/listenⓘ,Scots:Bruntisland)[2] is a formerRoyal burgh and parish inFife, Scotland, on the northern shore of theFirth of Forth. It was previously known asWester Kinghorn orLittle Kinghorn. The town has a population of 6,269 (2011).[3]
Burntisland is known locally for its award-winning sandy beach, the 15th-centuryRossend Castle, as well as the traditional summer fair andHighland games day. To the north of the town a hill called The Binn is a landmark of the Fife coastline; avolcanic plug, it rises 193 metres (632 ft) above sea level.
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Early evidence of human activity in this area has been found in rock carvings on the Binn, thought to be about 4,000 years old.[4] TheRoman commanderAgricola may have used the natural harbour and set up camp at the nearby Dunearn Hill in AD 83.[5]
The earliest historical record of the town was in the 12th century, when the monks ofDunfermline Abbey owned the harbour and neighbouring lands.[6] The settlement was known asWesterKinghorn orLittle Kinghorn and developed as a fishing hamlet to provide food for the inhabitants ofRossend Castle.[7] The harbour was then sold toJames V by the abbots ofDunfermline Abbey in exchange for a parcel of land.[7] The land was grantedroyal burgh status byJames V in 1541.[6] When the status was confirmed in 1586, the settlement gained independence from the barony ofKinghorn and was renamed Burntisland,[7] possibly a nickname from the burning of fishermens' huts on an islet now incorporated into the docks.[8] However, Ross (2007) considers this explanation of the town's name "implausible" and proposes the originBurnet's Land after a local personal name.[9]
Substantial remains of the originalparish church, built in the late 12th century, survive in a churchyard to the north of the old town on Church Street. The building of a town wall to both north and east in thepost-Flodden world of late 16th century Scotland, which placed the old church outwith the protective wall, was one of the several reasons that a new church was built in 1592:Burntisland Parish Church, also known as St Columba's.[10] This was the first new parish church built in Scotland after the Reformation. It is a unique shape, square with a central tower upheld on pillars, and lined all round with galleries, to allow the greatest number of people to be reached by the minister's words during the service. The church contains some carved wooden panels.[11]
In 1601, KingJames VI chose the town as an alternative site for the General Assembly of theChurch of Scotland. This was when a new translation of theBible was first discussed, a project which James brought to fruition a decade later in theKing James Bible.[10]
The town was part of the lands of Dunfermline belonging toAnne of Denmark. In April 1615 there was a riot in broad daylight against one of her legal officers by a crowd of over a hundred women who took his letters and threw stones at him. The rioters were "of the bangster Amasone kind" led by the wife of the Baillie of Burntisland according to the ChancellorAlexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline, who supposed the women were acting at the instigation of the townsmen including the minister Mr William Watson.[12]
Burntisland developed as a seaport, being second only toLeith in the Firth of Forth, andshipbuilding became an important industry in the town.James V improved the harbour in 1540 and named it "Our Lady Port". In 1544 it was defended by three artillery blockhouses.[13] An English report mentions a dock at Burntisland called the Newhaven and says a pier and the three blockhouses were to the west, at "Mill Dame".[14] During the war of theRough Wooing in 1548 the English commanderEdward Clinton planned to reconstruct the harbour and pier and their defences, employing a military engineer. In 1559, the town came under French occupation when Scottish Protestant leaders opposed the CatholicMary of Guise. The occupation ended with the arrival of an English fleet in 1560, prompting the occupiers to retreat by land, back to Leith.[15] The harbour at this time was dry at low-tide and ships lay in the "ooze" or mud.[16]
In 1622 a leaking Spanish ship entered the harbour and promptly sank. The crew said they were whalers, and they had whaling equipment, but the town baillies were suspicious and imprisoned the officers in the tolbooth and put the rest under house arrest under suspicion of piracy. The lawyerThomas Hamilton arranged their release, arguing they had committed no crime and there was peace with Spain at the time.[17] The town also became a major embarkation point for Scottish soldiers on their way to fight in theThirty Years War, in October 1627 the Burgh Council complained to theScottish Privy Council about the conduct of these troops.[18] In 1633 a barge, theBlessing of Burntisland, carryingCharles I and his entourage's baggage from Burntisland to Leith sank with the loss of Charles' treasure.[19]
In 1638, the town like much of the country rallied behind the cause of theNational Covenant in theWars of the Three Kingdoms.[20] The town with its good harbour became a magazine and supply depot for theArmy of the Covenant.[21]
Burntisland was held by theJacobite army for over two months during the rising known as the Fifteen. The Jacobites first of all raided the port on 2 October 1715, capturing several hundred weapons, then occupied it on 9 October.[22]
In September 1844 a newpier was completed to form a ferry link to the new harbour atGranton, Edinburgh.[23] It was built by local builder Peter Penny (1803-1866).[24]Burntisland Burgh Chambers was designed byJohn Henderson and completed in 1846.[25]
Burntisland became an important port for the localherring andcoal industries, and in 1847 theEdinburgh and Northern Railway opened from Burntisland north toLindores andCupar. By 1850 the world's firstroll-on/roll-offrail ferry service was crossing the Firth of Forth between Burntisland andGranton, enabling goods wagons to travel betweenEdinburgh andDundee without the need for unloading and re-loading at the ferries. (Passengers however had to disembark and use separate passenger ferries). This operated until 1890 when theForth Bridge opened.[26]
TheBurntisland Shipbuilding Company at Burntisland West Dock was founded in 1918 as an emergency shipyard for theFirst World War, specialising incargo ships.[27]
In 1929 the yard introduced the "Burntisland Economy" steamship, which was designed to maximise fuel economy.[27] The popularity of this design helped the yard to survive theGreat Depression.[27] In theSecond World War the yard continued to concentrate on merchant ships but also built threeLoch class frigates:HMS Loch Killin (K391),HMS Loch Fyne (K429) andHMS Loch Glendhu (K619).[27] By 1961 the shipyard had 1,000 workers but in 1968 the company got into financial difficulties.[27] The shipyard closed in 1969 and was sold toRobb Caledon ofLeith.[27]
Robb Caledon eventually secured orders to for the yard to build modules for theNorth Sea oil and natural gas industry, and formed its Burntisland Engineering Fabricators (BEF) subsidiary to manage this work. Towards the end of the 1970s orders declined, in 1978 Robb Caledon was nationalised as part ofBritish Shipbuilders and in 1979 Burntisland yard was closed. In 1990 under new owners Burntisland West Dock resumed the production of major offshore oil and gas fabrications.[28] Industry related to North Sea oil remains important for the town. In 2001 amanagement buyout took over the yard as Burntisland Fabrications or BiFab.[28] BiFab describes itself as the only major fabricator continuing in production in Scotland since 2005.[28]
A plant for the refining ofalumina was opened byAlcan early in the 20th century and closed in 2002, the land now used for housing.[29]
The pre-Reformation church (known as Kirkton church) lies on Church Street and served until 1592, at which point it was abandoned. It was ruinous by 1700 but was used for burials until the mid-20th century. The main body of the church serves as a burial vault to the local family Aytoun (Ayton) of Grange.
A new church,Burntisland Parish Church, was built in 1592 by a Dutch architect dedicated toSt Columba on a small hill overlooking the sea. In 1601 it was the meeting place of theGeneral Assembly of the Church of Scotland due to an outbreak of plague in the usual venue inEdinburgh. Many attendees would have come by sea. The Assembly was attended byKing James VI. It is said that it was at this Assembly that the King requested that a new version of the Bible be created: leading to the creation of the 1611 authorisedKing James Bible, which (after theUnion of Crowns in 1606 represented both England and Scotland but was requested whilst the King was solely King of Scotland.[30]
Ministers of the church in sequence were: John Brown (1567–1589); Andrew Lamb (1593–1596); William Symson (1597–1601); William Watson (1601–1616); John Michaelson (1616–1640, refused to sign the National Covenant); Andrew Lesly (1640–1643); John Smith (1643–1648);George Nairne (1649–1662, imprisoned); Harry Malcolm (1663); William Livingston (1663–1672, imprisoned); George Clerk of Crowley (1672–1688, suicide); George Johnston (1688–1691); James Pitcairn (c. 1691); James Inglis (1692–1699); John Cleghorn (1701–1711); Henry Robin (1714–1718, left due to adultery); James Thomson (1719–1740, moved toAntiburgher Church); Robert Spears (1743–1773); James Wemyss (1779–1820); Charles Watson (1820–1837), father ofRobert Boog Watson andPatrick Heron Watson; John Aikman Wallace (1827–1833); David Couper (1834–1843, moved to Free Church); Robert William Fraser (1843–1844); James MacKintosh (1844–1848); John Robin (1849–1873); James Edgar Hill (1873–1877); Robert James Cameron (1877–1879); John MacAlister Thomson (1879–1880, died in pulpit); Joseph Sage Finlayson (1880–1909); John Rogan (1910–?).[31]
Burntisland is home to the second oldest highland games in the world[32] starting in 1652. The Games take place on the third Monday of July, the start of the Fife/Glasgow fair fortnight, and a local market and summer fairground takes place on the same day.
Burntisland Shipyard is the town's senior football club, currently competing in theEast of Scotland League Second Division – the seventh tier ofScottish football.
The town is home to the eleventh-oldest golf club in the world – Burntisland Golf Club (the 'Old Club', as it is known among its members). Although it is not a course-owning club, its competitions are held over on the local course now run by Burntisland Golf House Club at Dodhead.
The Beacon Leisure Centre features a 25-metre swimming pool with a wave machine and flumes, as well as gym facilities. Opened in 1997, this replaced an open-air bathing pool which closed in 1979.[33]
One ofScotland's Great Trails, the 187 kmFife Coastal Path, passes through the town. From Aberdour the route follows the railway line, goes along the High Street, and then heads towards Kinghorn via the beach promenade and A921 road. At low tide it is possible to walk from the beach across the sands to Pettycur before rejoining the route in Kinghorn.
The town currently has one school, Burntisland Primary School, housed in a modern building which opened in August 2014 on the Toll Park. The school roll is around 690, which includes 160 nursery pupils.[34] The adjacent nursery building across the road continues to be used. At its previous site on Ferguson Place the school first opened in 1876, and by 2000 was spread across five separate buildings.
The majority of secondary school pupils attendBalwearie High School in nearbyKirkcaldy. Catholic pupils travel to St Marie's Primary School or St Andrews High School, also in Kirkcaldy.
Immediately to the west ofBurntisland railway station lies the 9-spanviaduct forming a significant feature in the harbour area of the town. Built in 1888 to carry the main railway line from Edinburgh toDundee, it is now a Category CListed structure, being a rare example of a survivingTown truss.
From May to August the annual summerfunfair, known as the Shows,[35] comes to town and there is also the second oldest highland games in the world, held on the third Monday every July.
The Burntisland and District Pipe Band compete inGrade 3B after being promoted from Grade 4B after a successful 2014 season. The band are 2014 British, U.K and European and World Champions. The band is known throughout for its development with children in the local area, creating players that now compete inGrade 1.
A free live music festival, Live on the Links, also takes place annually during the summer. First held in 1983 at the bandstand on the Links, it now runs for the whole weekend at different venues in the town on the second weekend in August.[36]
TheA921 coast road runs through the town and connects to theM90 motorway at Inverkeithing in the west and theA92 at Kirkcaldy in the east. The A909 travels inland towards the A92 at Cowdenbeath and the M90 at Kelty.
Burntisland railway station is on theFife Circle Line and provides direct links with Kirkcaldy to the north and Edinburgh to the south. However, only the southbound platform provides step-free access.
The town is also served byStagecoach bus service 7, which runs betweenDunfermline in the west andLeven (via Kirkcaldy) in the east. The circular B1 service covers most areas of the town.
Burntisland has beentwinned withFlekkefjord, Norway since 1946.[37]
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