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The Royal Burgh of Dunfermline (in Gaelic, Dùn Phàrlain) is a town in Fife, Scotland. It sits on high ground 3 miles from the shore of the Firth of Forth, northwest of Edinburgh. The town is the historic capital of Scotland and Robert the Bruce is buried within Dunfermline Abbey. The town is intersected from north to south by Pittencrieff Glen, a deep, picturesque and tortuous ravine, from which the town derives its name and at the bottom of which flows Lyne Burn. Dunfermline has a population of 39,229 .
Dunfermline is in close proximity to the site of the former naval base and dockyard of Rosyth. Major industries in the Dunfermline area include engineering, electronics, defence and textiles. These have more recently gone into a steady decline. Employment in the town has in recent years begun to diversify to service sector employment and major employers in Dunfermline now include HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) and BSkyB .
History
The history of Dunfermline goes back to a remote period, for the Culdees had an establishment here. The name comes from the Gaelic "Dùn Fearam Linn" which translates as "the fort in the bend of the stream". There is no documentary evidence for the name being derived from 'Parlan' or anything of the sort, other than the modern form of the name in Scottish Gaelic. The monks of the abbey called the Tower Burn, 'Aqua de Ferme' and the 'Ferm' element in the name dates back to documents of the eleventh century.
The town's increased fame and prosperity date from the marriage of Malcolm Canmore and his queen Margaret, which took place in the town in 1070. The king then lived in a tower on a mound surrounded on three sides by the glen. A fragment of this castle still exists in Pittencrieff Park, a little west of the later palace.
Under the influence of Queen Margaret in 1075 the foundations were laid of the Benedictine priory, which was raised to the rank of an abbey by David I (see Dunfermline Abbey). Robert the Bruce gave the town its charter in 1322, though in his Fife: Pictorial and Historical (ii. 223), A. H. Millar contends that till the confirming charter of James VI (1588) all burghal privileges were granted by the abbots.
In the 18th century Dunfermline impressed Daniel Defoe as showing the "full perfection of decay", but it regained prosperity. A staple industry was the manufacture of table linen. The weaving of damask was introduced in 1718 by James Blake, who had learned the secret of the process in the workshops at Drumsheugh near Edinburgh, to which he gained admittance by feigning idiocy; and after that date the linen trade advanced by leaps and bounds, much of the success being due to the beautiful designs produced by the manufacturers.
Among other industries that have largely contributed to the welfare of the town are dyeing and bleaching, brass and iron founding, tanning, machine-making, brewing and distilling, milling, rope-making and the making of soap and candles.
The town is well supplied with public buildings. Besides the New Abbey church, the United Free church in Queen Anne Street founded by Ralph Erskine, and the Gillespie church, named after Thomas Gillespie (1708—1774), another leader of the Secession movement, possess some historical importance. Erskine is commemorated by a statue in front of his church and a sarcophagus over his grave in the abbey churchyard; Gillespie by a marble tablet on the wall above his resting-place within the abbey.
The Corporation buildings, a blend of the Scots Baronial and French Gothic styles, contain busts of several Scottish sovereigns a statue of Robert Burns, and Sir Noel Paton’s painting of the "Spirit of Religion." Other structures are the County buildings, the Public, St Margaret’s, Music and Carnegie halls, the last in the Tudor style, Carnegie public baths, high school (founded in 1560), school of science and art, and two hospitals.
Dunfermline's East Expansion
In more recent years, Dunfermline has seen substantial growth, due in part to rising house prices in Edinburgh. This has resulted in the creation of a large commuter belt. The town expansion (known as Duloch Park) is taking place at the east of Dunfermline. It includes substantial provisions for housing and employment and includes a Tesco supermarket, a commercial leisure park and a district park with community woodland and open space. There are also plans to build a new health centre, 2 new primary schools and an Aldi foodstore.
The Fife Leisure Park forms part of the eastern expansion and sits adjacent to the M90 Motorway on the east of Dunfermline. It contains an Odeon multiplex cinema, a Carlton bingo hall, a bowling alley and a Bannatyne gym. There are also a number of fast-food restaurants and a hotel associated with the leisure park. A new Dobbies Garden Centre is being constructed at the south end of the site.
Town Centre & Shopping
Dunfermline is a sub-regional shopping centre serving west Fife. The main shopping thoroughfare is located along a traditional, pedestrianised High Street. The High Street contains a number of well-known retailers including Marks & Spencers, Primark, Boots, Next and River Island.
At one end of the High Street is a modern shopping mall, the Kingsgate shopping centre. At the other end lies one of the most attractive town parks in Scotland, Pittencrieff Park. A former capital of Scotland Dunfermline has an abbey and palace ruins which are located on the south-west edge of the town centre.
Facilities in and around the centre include the Carnegie Theatre, the Carnegie Library, the Carnegie Sports Centre, the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum and the Abbots House Museum. The centre has a vibrant leisure scene with a diverse range of restaurants, bars, night-clubs and cafes.
A major expansion of the Kingsgate shopping centre is currently underway. This is being built on the site of the former bus station and a multi-storey carpark. The extension will contain two levels of shops and will be anchored by a large Debenhams store. Fife Council intend to provide a new bus station at the site of the former Co-Op store at the west end of the High Street.
Dunfermline has two major retail parks. The Carnegie Retail Park is located adjacent to the town centre, it contains retailers including B&Q, Comet and Halfords. The Halbeath Retail Park is located out-of-town at the east of Dunfermline and contains stores including Asda, Homebase Currys and Focus.
Queen Margaret Hospital
QMH was built in two phases; phase 1 completed in 1983 while the second phase in 1993. After only 8 years there were plans to downgrade the Hospital, and remove the A&E.
Education
Primary Schools
Dunfermline has 14 primary schools. These are;
- Bellyeoman Primary School
- Canmore Primary School
- Commercial Primary School
- Lynburn Primary School
- Masterton Primary School
- McLean Primary School
- Milesmark Primary School
- Pitcorthie Primary School
- Pitreavie Primary School
- Pittencrieff Primary School
- St.Leonard's Primary School
- St.Margaret's RC Primary School
- Touch Primary School
- Wellwood Primary School
Secondary Schools
There are four high schools in the Dunfermline area. These are:
Dunfermline High School
Thought to be one of the oldest schools in Scotland, with evidence for its founding in the early 1120s, Dunfermline High School and its alumni have played an important part in the town's history throughout the ages. It was King David I, the son of Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margaret, who originally put up the money for the school.
It was taken out of the Abbey under which it was born and founded properly in the town in 1468 by Abbott Richard De Bothwell.
Later the school was burned down during the reformation and rebuilt by Queen Anne of Denmark in 1560 who was gifted the school as a present by the King.
In the Old Statistical Account of Scotland of 1790 reference is made to a school kept by Mr Robert Paterson over Queen Anne of Denmark's house in Dunfermline. Under the patronage of Queen Anne, wife of James VI of Scotland, a school was founded which was open to both boys and girls.
The poet Robert Henryson was one of the first "Masters" of the school. (Later the title master was changed to Rector)
It is from these great people that shaped the school in the first 800 years of its life that the house names come from - Canmore, Queen Margaret, Bothwell, Henryson; Denmark house was lost as recent school restructuring work as preparation for downsizing in 2008 when the school will be rebuilt. The school is the fourth largest in Scotland .
The school badge is made up from the crest of Malcolm Canmore, the Queen Margaret Cross and the symbol of Abbot Bothwell.
The school has two latin mottos: 1. "Quid Quid agis age pro viribus" meaning "Everything you do do it with vigour". 2. "Labor Omnia Vincit" meaning "Work conquers everything".
Queen Anne High School
- Main Article Queen Anne High
Queen Anne High School is a large non-denominational secondary school of around 1,800 pupils. It is the fifth largest in Scotland . It is located on the northern outskirts of Dunfermline on Pilmuir Street (the A823).
Between the latter part of the nineteenth century and the 1930s, the school was located on a site between what is now bounded by the Kingsgate Shopping Centre, Pilmuir Street and Carnegie Drive. In the 1930s it moved to the former Dunfermline High School building that lay to the north of Priory Lane. In the 1950s it moved again to a new campus at Broomhead, just to the south of its current location. In August 2003 it moved again, but this time only 200 yards to the north.
Further Education
Dunfermline is home to the Lauder College. It is located in the Halbeath area on the east of the town.
Dunfermline is within commuting distance for universities in Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee and Glasgow.
Transport
Dunfermline is served by two rail stations on the Fife Circle line. These are Dunfermline Town and Dunfermline Queen Margaret. Stations located at Rosyth and Inverkeithing also serve a number of housing estates to the south of the town.
The main bus provider in Dunfermline is Stagecoach Fife, which operates services to surrounding towns and cities, including a 20mins service to Edinburgh. A number of these bus services link to the Ferrytoll park and ride facility which has been built to the south of Inverkeithing. Buses from here link with Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh Airport.
Political subdivisions
Just before the 1975 reforms of the local government, there were plans to cut Fife in two with the southern half going to Edinburgh hands, but after public protest the plans were dropped.
From 1975 Dunfermline gave its name to a local government district in the Fife region of Scotland. Since 1996 it has been included in the Fife unitary area. (See: Subdivisions of Scotland)
See A. H. Millar’s Fife: Pictorial and Historical (2 vols,, 5895); and Sheriff Alneas Mackay’s History of Fife and Kinross (189?).
Town twinning
Notable People
Several distinguished names have connections with Dunfermline. Robert Henryson (1430 - 1506), the poet, was long one of its schoolmasters. John Row (1568 - 1646), the Church historian, held the living of Carnock, 5 km (3 miles) to the west., and David Ferguson (d. 1598) who made the first collection of Scottish proverbs (not published till 1641), was parish minister; Robert Gilfillan (1798—1850), the poet, and Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901), painter and poet—whose father was a designer of patterns for the damask trade - were all born here.
Andrew Carnegie, however, is in a sense the most celebrated of all her sons, as he is certainly her greatest benefactor. He gave to his birthplace the free library and public baths, and, in 1903, the estate of Pittencrieff Park and Glen, rich in historical associations as well as natural charm, together with bonds yielding £25,000 a year, in trust for the maintenance of the park, the support of a theatre for the production of plays of the highest merit, the periodical exhibitions of works of art and science, the promotion of horticulture among the working classes and the encouragement of technical education in the district. So while New York's Carnegie Hall is much better known, Dunfermline has its own.
Dunfermline is the hometown of the still-running 1970s rock band, Nazareth, and the `80's pop-rock band Big Country was formed here in 1981. Dunfermline is also known as the birthplace of musician Ian Anderson, the frontman of the long-running British group Jethro Tull.
Singer Barbara Dickson is also from the town.
Gillian McKeith also grow up in the town as well.
Sport
Football
Dunfermline has one professional football team, Dunfermline Athletic (DAFC), which plays in the Scottish Premier League (SPL), the top division in Scottish football. The club is based at East End Park on Halbeath Road and has the nickname 'The Pars'. Dunfermline Athletic won the Scottish Cup in 1961 and 1968, and played regular European football in the UEFA and European Cup-Winners Cups throughout the 60s and early 70s. They reached the Semi Final of the European Cup Winners Cup in season 68-69, losing 1-2 on aggregate to eventual winners Slovan Bratislava. On the way to the semi-final they beat Apoel FC Olympiakos and West Bromwich Albion
Rugby Union
Dunfermline Rugby Football Club are based at McKane Park. The club has various teams, from the First XV which plays in Scotland's Premier 3 League, through to a Mini Section for primary school children.
Athletics
Linsey Macdonald was a member of the bronze medal winning women's 400m relay team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She was also a finalist in the individual 400m. Her old club Pitreavie AAC is still an active club with international competitors in track and field, cross country and road running.
The Dunfermline City Half Marathon is one of several summer long distance races which attracts an international field.
External links
- Dunfermline online website
- Dunfermline Athletic Football Club
- Dunfermline RFC - the online home of Dunfermline Rugby Football Club.
- Pitreavie Amateur Athletic Club, Dunfermline
- Early Carnegie Libraries - featuring the world's first Carnegie Library in Dunfermline.
- Queen Anne High School
- Dunfermline Economic Profile
References
- Scottish Executive. "Scottish schools, names, addresses and school rolls". Retrieved 2006-12-23.