Buckhaven

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Buckhaven
Buckhaven Hospital.jpg
The Randolph Wemyss Memorial Hospital, Buckhaven
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Buckhaven
Location within Fife
Population4,220 (mid-2016 est.) [1]
OS grid reference NT361988
Council area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Leven
Postcode district KY8
Dialling code 01592
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
56°10′39″N3°01′49″W / 56.1776°N 3.0303°W / 56.1776; -3.0303 Coordinates: 56°10′39″N3°01′49″W / 56.1776°N 3.0303°W / 56.1776; -3.0303

Buckhaven is a town on the east coast of Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth between East Wemyss and Methil. Buckhaven is on the Fife Coastal Path, and near to Wemyss Caves and Largo Bay.

Contents

History

The name Buckhaven is probably from the Scots terms buck or bukk "to gush out" [2] and haven or "harbour". [3] [4]

Once a thriving weaving village and fishing port, [5] in 1831 it was reported as having the second-largest fishing fleet in Scotland with a total of 198 boats. Fishing declined during the 19th century, but in the 1860s Buckhaven developed more into a mining town. Although coal waste blackened its beaches and silted up its now non-existent harbour, it later became a Fife coast holiday resort and recreation area for locals. Nowadays, it is classed as one of Fife's 'Regeneration areas' in need of regeneration both socially and economically. [6]

The first element is probably related to the Sc verb buck, bukk, ‘to pour forth, gush out’ (DSL), perhaps describing the coastal waters at Buckhaven, which is situated at a point where the Fife coastline swings a little further out into the North Sea. A related element occurs also in Buckie Burn DFL q.v. The second element is certainly Sc haven ‘harbour’, and the ‘fishers of Buckhaven’ are mentioned in the earliest known record from 1527 (Fraser, Wemyss ii no. 187).

In 1778, the minister of Wemyss Parish, Rev. Dr Harry Spens, wrote of his own flock at Buckhaven, ‘... the original inhabitants of Buckhaven were from the Netherlands about the time of Philip II of Spain (died 1598). Their vessel had been stranded on the shore. They proposed to settle and remain. The family of Wemyss gave them permission. They accordingly settled at Buckhaven. By degrees they acquired our language and adopted our dress, and for these threescore years past have had the character of a sober and sensible, an industrious and honest people. The only singularity in their ancient customs that I remember to have heard of was that of a richly ornamented girdle or belt, wore by the brides of good condition and character at their marriage, and then laid aside and given in like manner to the next bride that should be deemed worthy of such an honour. The village consists at present of about 140 families, 60 of which are fishers, the rest land-labourers, weavers and other mechanics.’ (OSA 790–1).

There is no doubt that the people of Buckhaven were regarded as different in speech and manners from surrounding communities, and it is probably in this context that such stories grew up (Millar 1895 ii, 50). One Paul Buk, a Dane, is recommended by the Synod to the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy in 1652 (Stevenson 1900, 384); such local encounters might have confirmed folk in their belief that Buckhaven was foreign!

/bʌkˈhevən/, locally /bʌkˈhain/. This latter pronunciation has given rise to the name of a Buckhaven public house, the Buck and Hind.

According to online sources and authors, [7] the fishing community of Buckhaven is said to have been largely the descendants of Norsemen [8] [9] who settled in the district in the 9th century. [10] Centuries later, Buckhaven's fisherfolk bought an Episcopal Church in St Andrews in 1869 and transported it stone by stone to Buckhaven, using fishing boats. The church was restored in the 1980s and converted into a theatre. Many years before, St Andrews had been combined with the other local Church of Scotland churches into one parish. The building continued to be owned by Buckhaven Parish Church after the conversion.

Buckhaven Museum has displays on the history of the fishing industry.

Census

According to estimates in 2006, the population including Methil stood at around 16,240: however, the Levenmouth area including Kennoway, Leven, the Wemyss villages, Largo Bay and Windygates has a combined population of around 37,410. [11] The population of Buckhaven, Methil, Leven is 24,474, according to the 2011 Census.

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

Fife Council area of Scotland

Fife 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 and Clackmannanshire. By custom it is widely held to have been one of the major Pictish kingdoms, known as Fib, and 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.

Firth of Forth Estuary or firth of Scotlands River Forth

The Firth of Forth is the estuary (firth) of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south.

Methil Human settlement in Scotland

Methil is an eastern coastal town in Scotland. It was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the Bishop of St Andrews. Two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as over 8,000 years old. Famous for its High Street having the most pubs per mile in Scotland, it was part of its own barony in 1614 and also part of the former burgh of Buckhaven and Methil. This burgh existed between 1891 and 1975. It is situated within a continuous urban area described as Levenmouth.

Leven, Fife Human settlement in Scotland

Leven is a seaside town in Fife, set in the east Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies on the coast of the Firth of Forth at the mouth of the River Leven, 8.1 miles (13.0 km) north-east of the town of Kirkcaldy and 6.4 miles (10.3 km) east of Glenrothes.

Fife Council

Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members.

Levenmouth is a conurbation comprising a network of small settlements on the north side of the Firth of Forth, in Fife on the east coast of Scotland. It consists of three principal coastal towns; Buckhaven, Leven and Methil, and a number of smaller towns, villages and hamlets inland. The industrial towns of Buckhaven and Methil lie on the west bank of the River Leven, and the resort town of Leven is on the east bank. The "Bawbee Brig" links the two sides of the river. Historically, Buckhaven and Methil were joined together as one burgh, while Leven was separate. The area had an estimated population of 37,238 in 2006.

Fife Coastal Path

The Fife Coastal Path is a Scottish long distance footpath that runs from Kincardine to Newburgh along the coastline of Fife. The path was created in 2002, originally running from North Queensferry to Tayport. It was extended in 2011 with a new section running from Kincardine to North Queensferry, then again in 2012 from Newburgh to Tayport. The path, which usually takes between one week and 10 days to walk in full, now runs for 187 kilometres (116 mi). The Fife Coastal Path is managed and maintained by Fife Coast and Countryside Trust, a registered environmental charity, and is designated as one of Scotland's Great Trails by NatureScot. About 500,000 people use the path every year, of whom about 35,000 walk the entire route.

Buckhaven High School Secondary school in Buckhaven, Fife, Scotland

Buckhaven High School was a six-year co-educational non-denominational comprehensive school in Buckhaven, Fife, Scotland. In the past, Buckhaven was Levenmouth's high school for pupils who passed their qualifying exam. The school's motto was Perseverando.

Kirkcaldy (district) Former local gov. district in Scotland

Kirkcaldy was a local government district in the Fife region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996, lying a short distance to the south of the regional capital Glenrothes which lay within the district.

West Wemyss

West Wemyss is a village lying on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2007 population estimate, the village has a population of 237. The village was granted burgh of barony status in 1511, bearing the name from the Wemyss family who lived in Wemyss Castle.

The East Fife Central Railway was a mineral railway line in Fife, Scotland, that ran from near Leven to Lochty. It was intended to develop extensive coal measures in the area, but in fact they proved to be uneconomic. The line was completed by the North British Railway and it opened in 1898.

The Fife Coast Railway was a railway line running round the southern and eastern part of the county of Fife, in Scotland. It was built in stages by four railway companies:

The Wemyss Private Railway was a network of lines, sometimes known as the Wemyss Estate Railway. The lines were a group of mineral and other railways in Fife, Scotland, mainly on the land of the Wemyss family. They were built to connect coal pits to harbours and the railway network, for the use of tenants of the Estate. The Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway was built at the expense of the Wemyss Estate and carried passengers; it was later sold to the North British Railway.

Scoonie Human settlement in Scotland

Scoonie is a settlement and parish in Fife, Scotland, the parish contains the town of Leven. It is bordered on the north by the parishes of Kettle and Ceres, on the east by the parish of Largo, on the south by the parishes of Markinch and Wemyss, and on the west by the parishes of Markinch and Kennoway. It extends about 4+1⁄2 miles north to south. Its width varies between 5⁄8 and 2+3⁄4 mi . The parish is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, with a coastline of about 1+1⁄2 mi (2.4 km) The area of the parish is 4,107 acres.

The Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway was a railway company that built a line in the county of Fife in Scotland, connecting Buckhaven with the main line railway network at Thornton, and linking with collieries.

The Wemyss Estate Railway was a group of mineral and other railways in Fife, Scotland, mainly on the land of the Wemyss family. The lines were built to connect coal pits to harbours and the railway network, for the use of tenants of the Estate. The Wemyss and Buckhaven Railway was built at the expense of the Wemyss Estate and carried passengers; it was later sold to the North British Railway.

Largo, Fife Human settlement in Scotland

Largo is a parish in Fife, Scotland containing the villages of Upper Largo or Kirkton of Largo, Lower Largo and Lundin Links. It is bounded on the west by the parish of Scoonie, on the north by Ceres and on the east by the parishes of Newburn and Kilconquhar. It has a coastline of 2¾ miles along Largo bay. Inland it extends 3-4 ½ miles north from the south coast of Fife. Area 7,378 acres.

Wemyss, Fife

Wemyss is a civil parish on the south coast of Fife, Scotland, lying on the Firth of Forth. It is bounded on the north-east by the parish of Scoonie and the south-west by the parish of Kirkcaldy and Dysart and its length from south-west to north-east is about 6 miles. Inland it is bounded by Markinch and its greatest breadth is 2+1⁄4 miles.

References

  1. ↑ "Mid-2016 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  2. ↑ Robinson, Mairi (ed.). The Concise Scots Dictionary. p. 69. ISBN   978-0080284927. to pour forth or gush out; make a gurgling noise
  3. ↑ Taylor, Simon (2006). The Place-Names of Fife, Vol. 1. Shaun Tyas. pp. 585–6. ISBN   978-1900289771.
  4. ↑ "Fife Place-name Data :: Buckhaven". fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk.
  5. ↑ scottish-places.info
  6. ↑ heraldscotland.com
  7. ↑ scottish-places.info
  8. ↑ The Fife coast from Queensferry to Fifeness ISBN   978-1-236-38107-1 p. 107
  9. ↑ fifedirect.org.uk
  10. ↑ The Fife coast from Queensferry to Fifeness ISBN   978-1-236-38107-1 p. 107
  11. ↑ Archived 30 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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