Pittencrieff Park (known locally as "The Glen") is a public park in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It was purchased in 1902 by Andrew Carnegie, and given to the people of Dunfermline in a ceremony the following year. Its lands include the historically significant and topologically rugged glen which interrupts the centre of Dunfermline and, accordingly, part of the intention of the purchase was to carry out civic development of the area in a way which also respected its heritage. The project notably attracted the attention of the urban planner and educationalist, Patrick Geddes.
The glen is an area of topographical and historical significance to Dunfermline as the original site of Malcolm's Tower, the probable remains of which can be identified today on a strongly defendable outcrop of rock. To the eastern side of the park is Dunfermline Palace with Dunfermline Abbey and to the west it overlooks the village of Crossford.
History
The lands of the modern park were previously known as Pittencrieff Estate.[3] In 1902, Andrew Carnegie purchased both Pittencrieff House and Estate from its then-owner, Colonel James Maitland Hunt, ultimately with the intention of giving these to the people of Dunfermline. The official donation ceremony occurred the following year, and a trust fund in honour of the benefactory, known as Dunfermline Carnegie Trust, was founded for the general maintenance of the glen.[4]
As part of the donation of the estate, the Dunfermline Carnegie Trust invited proposals for the development of the area as a civic space. Two entries were submitted in 1903–04, one of which was by the world-renowned urban planner, naturalist and educationalist Patrick Geddes (1854–1932). His thinking about the commission, as he saw it, to balance preservation of heritage with regeneration, was an important influence in the formation of his ideas in town planning and civic renaissance.[5] The second entry was by the landscape designer, Thomas Mawson.[5] Although neither scheme was adopted, both influenced subsequent work on the establishment of the park as it exists today.
Pittencrieff House in 2011
More architectural features of the park, such as the huge ornate entrance gates, are by Robert Lorimer and were built in 1908.[6]
Pittencrieff House Museum
In the subsequent development of the modern park, Pittencrieff House was designed as a centre piece.[3][7]
The house was originally built in the 15th century by the Wemyss family. Sir Alexander Clerk of Stenton bought the house and its huge estate in 1610.[8] His eldest son styled himself as Alexander Clerk of Pittencrieff and extended the simple laird's house with two stories and an attic around 1635.[9] Two of the bedrooms were converted to create two long galleries for museum and art exhibition space in a restoration programme undertaken by Sir Robert Lorimar between 1911 and 1913.[3][7] The house itself served as the Pittencrieff House Museum, with exhibits about the formation of the park and its natural history, including dinosaurs, fossils and wildlife. It closed to the public after the Dunfermline Carnegie Library expanded its exhibition space.
Park features
On the northern boundary of the park lies the prominent statue of Andrew Carnegie which was built in 1914 and a dovecot, in the style of a round tower from around 1770.[9] The main gates to the park known as the Louise Carnegie Gates which opened in 1928 are located to the north-east.[9]
In September 2011 a memorial bench to the rock musician Stuart Adamson who grew up in the Dunfermline area and who died in 2001 was unveiled at the park. It was paid for by fans and is inscribed with some of his lyrics chosen by fans in an online poll.[10]
The park houses an aviary which is home to 9 resident pet peacocks.[11]
The park also holds a former petting zoo, a large greenhouse and three playgrounds.
Pittencreiff park has been home to the Dunfermline Parkrun[12] since its inception in July 2015.
The Friends of Pittencrieff Park is a registered charity and a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation) which has been in existence for almost 12 years and one of their most important functions is to liaise with Fife Council and the Carnegie Trust to ensure Pittencrieff Park (or the Glen as it is known locally) remains an outstanding visitor attraction for residents of Dunfermline and visitors to the area. They also undertake fund raising in order to finance projects such as renewal of play areas, creation and upkeep of the orchard and the kitchen garden, welfare of the peacocks etc.
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.
Dunfermline is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground 3 miles (5 km) from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. According to the National Records of Scotland, the Greater Dunfermline area has a population of 76,210.
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about 11.6 miles (19 km) north of Edinburgh and 27.6 miles (44 km) south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest settlement and the 12th most populous settlement in Scotland.
Sir Patrick Geddes was a British biologist, sociologist, Comtean positivist, geographer, philanthropist and pioneering town planner. He is known for his innovative thinking in the fields of urban planning and sociology.
Limekilns is a village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth, around 3 miles (5 km) south of Dunfermline.
Dysart is a town and former royal burgh located on the south-east coast between Kirkcaldy and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Dysart was once part of a wider estate owned by the St Clair or Sinclair family. They were responsible for gaining burgh of barony status for the town towards the end of the 15th century.
William Stuart Adamson was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he formed Big Country and was the band's lead singer and guitarist. The group's commercial heyday was in the 1980s. In the 1990s, he was a member of the alternative country band The Raphaels. In the late 1970s the British music journalist John Peel referred to his musical virtuosity as a guitarist as "a new Jimi Hendrix".
Crossford is a splendid village in West Fife, Scotland. It is 1 mile west of Dunfermline, east of Cairneyhill, astride the A994, at 56°03′51″N03°29′47″W.
Townhill is a small village that lies just north of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The origin of the community is thought to be from the coal-mining industry. There is a Church of Scotland parish church, which shares a minister with nearby Kingseat.
Duloch, or Duloch Park, is a residential suburb of Dunfermline, in Fife, Scotland.
Dunfermline is a former burgh and current city in Fife, Scotland. The town grew under the influence of Queen Margaret to be an important ecclesiastical burgh. On 20th May 2022 it was granted city status.
Dunfermline City Chambers is a municipal facility at the corner of Bridge Street and Kirkgate in Dunfermline, Fife. The building, which serves as home to the local area committee of Fife Council, is a Category A listed building.
Malcolm's Tower, also known as Malcolm Canmore's Tower, is a historic site in the Scottish city of Dunfermline, Fife. It consists of the foundations of a rubble built, rectangular tower enclosed by an oval shaped modern wall and is protected as a scheduled monument. It is located in Pittencrieff Park.
Craigtoun Country Park is a country park located approximately 4 miles to the south-west of St Andrews in the county of Fife, Scotland. The site is currently owned by Fife Council, with park amenities being operated as of 2012 by the charitable organisation Friends of Craigtoun Park.
Viewfield House is a large square stone built three storey Palladian villa in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It is a category B listed building.
Events from the year 1903 in Scotland.
James Campbell Walker was a Scottish architect in the 19th century, practising across the country and specialising in poorhouses and schools. His main claim to fame is in having designed Dunfermline Carnegie Library, the world's first Carnegie library, in Andrew Carnegie's home town of Dunfermline.
Sir Alexander Clerk of Pittencrieff (1600–c.1660) was a 17th-century Scottish merchant who twice served as Provost of Edinburgh.
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