Leslie, Fife

Last updated

Leslie
Green War Memorial 3.jpg
Leslie War Memorial
Fife UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Leslie
Location within Fife
Population3,010 (2022) [1]
OS grid reference NO249017
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town GLENROTHES
Postcode district KY6
Dialling code 01592
Police Scotland
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
56°12′07″N3°12′41″W / 56.20204°N 3.21145°W / 56.20204; -3.21145

Leslie (Scottish Gaelic: Fiodh Chill) [2] is a large village and parish on the northern tip of the River Leven Valley, to the west of Glenrothes in Fife. According to the population estimates (2006), the village has a population of 3,092. [3] The village was granted burgh of barony status by James II in 1458 for George Leslie who became the first Earl of Rothes. Later, this was upgraded to a police burgh in 1865. [4] [5]

Contents

The civil parish has a population of 12,254 (in 2011). [6]

Leslie is a linear settlement with the historic high street as its main focus. A large proportion of housing in Leslie is traditional however there are concentrations of more contemporary housing in the west of the village. The high street contains a number of community facilities including shops, pubs, restaurants and a dentist. Leslie also has a primary school which is located in the west of the village. The former Fettykil paper mill lies within the Leven valley to the south and historic Leslie House, former stately home of the Earls of Rothes, sits in large grounds to the south-east of the village within Riverside Park.

History

Leslie House Leslie House.jpg
Leslie House

Little is known about the history of Leslie before 1300. The original name of the village was Fiodh Chill, Scottish Gaelic for "Wooden Church". [7] [2] The village currently bears the name of the Leslie family descended from Bartolf or Bartholomew who was a Hungarian or maybe Flemish tradesman, who according to legend arrived in Scotland with Queen Margaret, the sister of Edgar the Ætheling in 1057. [8] [9] Finding favour with Queen Margaret's husband, Malcolm III, Bartolf became the governor of Edinburgh Castle and was knighted and granted with lands in the Garioch in Aberdeenshire, making his residence at Leslie Castle. [8] [9] A charter by William the Lion between 1172 and 1190, granted the lands in Aberdeenshire which were owned by Bartholomew to be passed down to his descendant. [9] In 1283, Norman de Leslie (the fourth descendant of Bartholomew) was granted the lands 'Fettykill' or 'Fythkill' from Alexander III. [8] [10] A settlement also known as 'Fettykill' began to develop around these lands. [8] [10] In 1455, the settlement was renamed '"Leslie"' after Sir George Leslie. Burgh of Barony status followed in 1458 being awarded by James II after Sir George Leslie who became 1st Earl of Rothes (a title which came from the family owning land at Rothes, near Elgin). [8] [11] During this time, the family started to become prominent in Scottish affairs. [11] John Leslie, the then Earl of Rothes, was awarded the title of Lord High Chancellor to Charles II in 1667 and then became known as the Duke of Rothes in 1680. [4] [11] Leslie House was built for the Duke of Rothes between 1667 and 1674 and this became the seat of his heirs. [4]

The main industry was paper making, in the form of what was known as Fettykil Paper Mill, operated by Smith Anderson, which continued into the 21st century. Transport of raw materials was largely by rail, as the factory was rail-linked by the Leslie Railway. Raw materials were brought in and finished product dispatched - even as late as the mid-1960s - by steam-hauled branch goods services.

The town is a key destination on the Fife Pilgrim Way, a historic walking route for pilgrims making their way to St Andrews. [12]

Sport

The village has its own 9-hole golf course and a public park to the north. Leslie Hearts play in the Kingdom of Fife Amateur Football Association's Championship, based at Quarry Park.

Notable people

See Category:People from Leslie, Fife.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perthshire</span> Historic administrative division in Scotland

Perthshire, officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south; it borders the counties of Inverness-shire and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus to the east, Fife, Kinross-shire, Clackmannanshire, Stirlingshire and Dunbartonshire to the south and Argyllshire to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fife</span> 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Andrews</span> Town in Fife, Scotland

St Andrews is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, 10 miles southeast of Dundee and 30 miles northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 as of 2011, making it Fife's fourth-largest settlement and 45th most populous settlement in Scotland.

Cupar is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the civil parish a population of 11,183. It is the historic county town of Fife, although the council now sits at Glenrothes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinross-shire</span> Historic county in Scotland

The County of Kinross or Kinross-shire is a historic county and registration county in eastern Scotland, administered as part of Perth and Kinross since 1975. Surrounding its largest settlement and county town of Kinross, the county borders Perthshire to the north and Fife to the east, south and west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl of Rothes</span> Scottish peer title

Earl of Rothes is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1458 for George Leslie, 1st Lord Leslie. He had already been created Lord Leslie in 1445, also in the Peerage of Scotland. His grandson, the third Earl, having only succeeded his elder brother in March 1513, was killed at the Battle of Flodden on 9 September of the same year. His son, the fourth Earl, served as an Extraordinary Lord of Session. Lord Rothes was also tried for the murder of Cardinal Beaton but was acquitted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenrothes</span> Administrative centre and town in Scotland

Glenrothes is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making it the third largest settlement in Fife and the 18th most populous locality in Scotland. Glenrothes is the administrative capital of Fife, containing the headquarters of both Fife Council and Police Scotland Fife Division and is a major service centre within the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newburgh, Fife</span> Town in Scotland

Newburgh is a royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland, at the south shore of the Firth of Tay. The town has a population of 2,171, which constitutes a 10% increase since 1901 when the population was counted at 1,904 persons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rothes</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Rothes is a town in Moray, Scotland, on the banks of the River Spey, 10 miles (16 km) south of Elgin. The town had a population of 1,252 at the 2011 Census. A settlement has been here since AD 600.

George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falkland, Fife</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Falkland, previously in the Lands of Kilgour, is a village, parish, historical capital and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, at the foot of the Lomond Hills. According to the 2022 census it has a population of 1,041.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elie and Earlsferry</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Elie and Earlsferry is a coastal town and former royal burgh in Fife, and parish, Scotland, situated within the East Neuk beside Chapel Ness on the north coast of the Firth of Forth, eight miles east of Leven. The burgh comprised the linked villages of Elie to the east and to the west Earlsferry, which were formally merged in 1930 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929. To the north is the village of Kilconquhar and Kilconquhar Loch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Markinch</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Markinch is both a village and a parish in the heart of Fife, Scotland. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the village has a population of 2,420. The civil parish had a population of 16,530. Markinch is east of Fife's administrative centre, Glenrothes and preceded Cupar as Fife's place of warranty and justice prior to the 13th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clan Leslie</span> Lowland Scottish clan

Clan Leslie is a Lowland Scottish clan. The progenitor of the Clan, Bartolf, was a nobleman from Hungary, who came to Scotland in 1067. He built a castle at Lesselyn, from which the clan name derives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathmiglo</span> Human settlement in Scotland

Strathmiglo is a village and parish in the north east of Fife, Scotland on the River Eden. It lies on the old A91 road from Milnathort to Cupar and St. Andrews but was bypassed by a new road to the north in the 1970s. Nearby settlements include Auchtermuchty and Falkland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirkcaldy (district)</span> Former local gov. district in Scotland

Kirkcaldy was a local government district in the Fife region of Scotland from 1975 to 1996. The district was named after the town of Kirkcaldy but also covered a wider area, including the Fife regional capital of Glenrothes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leslie House</span>

Leslie House in Leslie, Fife — where several of the buildings are listed — is the largest and earliest Restoration house in Fife, Scotland, and was the seat of the Earls of Rothes for over 250 years. Sir Robert Spencer-Nairn acquired the house in 1919, and in 1952 donated it to the Church of Scotland. After having been sold for redevelopment in 2005, the building suffered severe fire damage. The restoration work finally started in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scoonie</span> 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+12 miles north to south. Its width varies between 58 and 2+34 mi . The parish is on the coast of the Firth of Forth, with a coastline of about 1+12 mi (2.4 km) The area of the parish is 4,107 acres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartolf Leslie</span> Scottish and Hungarian nobleman

Bartolf also known as Bartholomew was a Scottish and Hungarian nobleman and the founder of the Leslie family, who currently serve as Earls of Leven and Earls of Rothes and Lord Newark, all of which are situated in the historic kingdom of Scotland. He came over from Hungary in 1067 with Margaret later St Margaret of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverside Park, Glenrothes</span>

Riverside Park is a large town park situated in Glenrothes, Fife. The park straddles the River Leven valley riparian corridor, comprising significant areas of woodland, grassed playing fields and wetlands. The Lothrie Burn flows through the park as a tributary connecting to the River Leven.

References

Notes

  1. "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Fettykil". Fife Place-name Data. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  3. "Population Estimates for Towns and Villages in Fife" (PDF). Fife Council. March 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 June 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 Lamont-Brown Fife in History and Legend pp.157-158.
  5. Fife Council Kirkcaldy's History, Its Places and Its Famous Folk p.11.
  6. Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved March 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930
  7. "Leslie". Fife Place-name Data. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Fiet Old Leslie p.3.
  9. 1 2 3 Ferguson A History of Glenrothes p11
  10. 1 2 Ferguson A History of Glenrothes pp13-14
  11. 1 2 3 Ferguson A History of Glenrothes p.17.
  12. "Leslie to Markinch". fifecoastandcountrysidetrust.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2020.

Bibliography