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Upper Largo | |
---|---|
Largo Kirk | |
Location within Fife | |
Civil parish | |
Council area | |
Country | Scotland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Police | Scotland |
Fire | Scottish |
Ambulance | Scottish |
Upper Largo or Kirkton of Largo is a village in the parish of Largo, near the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. It rests on the southern slopes of Largo Law, half a mile north of Largo Bay and the rather larger village of Lower Largo. It is the home of Largo Cricket Club.
To traffic passing through Upper Largo it can be mistaken for a single street (this is Main Street) of mostly stone built shops and houses. A junction in the centre of this street leads either north-east towards St Andrews along the A915 road or east along the coast on the A917.
At the western end of Main Street is the Upper Largo Hotel and a ship's chandlery, in what was formerly the village garage and filling station. A minor road north of here leads to a small village green and the adjacent kirkyard of the Largo and Newburn Parish Church. The kirkyard is on a rise and affords good views over the rooftops of the village, and of the houses and cottages on the north side of the green.
Further east along Main Street there is a minor road heading south off Main Street. This residential street turns sharply to the right and rejoins Main Street at the very western edge of the village. The houses on the street offer views over Largo Bay and across The Firth of Forth to Edinburgh and East Lothian.
On the very eastern edge of the village is Buckthorns farm and Buckthorns Farmhouse. [1]
Along the St Andrews road is one of Upper Largo's most impressive buildings, John Wood's Hospital, which was founded in 1659 or 1665 as an almshouse or hospital for old men sharing the surname of its founder, John Wood. [2] It was renovated in 1975 as part of a wider development of the site that saw more than ten residences built nearby, which now form sheltered housing.
Sir Andrew Wood, often referred to as the Scottish Nelson, made his name in battles against the English fleet in the years around 1500, and in recognition of his feats he was given estates in this part of Fife by James III and James IV. [3]
He lived in the medieval Largo House, of which only a tower now remains, three hundred yards west of the parish church. The oldest part of today's church dates back to 1623, but it was clearly built on the site of an earlier one. Sir Andrew linked his house and the church with what is believed to be Scotland's earliest canal, built so he could be rowed to church in his personal barge each Sunday in a manner befitting a naval hero.
The fortalice of the medieval Largo House was replaced as the laird's residence by the nearby Palladian Largo House built c. 1750 by James Durham. [4] This now stands as a shell after being partially demolished by Charles Brand of Dundee Ltd in 1951, on the instructions of the owners, the Maitland-Makgill-Crichton family of Monzie Castle, Crieff, to avoid having to pay rates. The main block of the house is attributed to James Adam but recent research[ citation needed ] indicates that it may actually have been designed by John Douglas, an equally important architect and contemporary of the Adams. Further wings were added in 1814 and 1831 by General James Durham, who had his coat of arms placed on the tympanum.
Largo Law rises to 290 metres (950 ft), is conical in shape and is the remains of a volcanic plug. It is easily ascended from Upper Largo, to the south, starting at NO 423037, where there is a cemetery, an information board and parking space. The route passes between the steadings of Chesterstone Farm before directly ascending the hill's steep south face.
The outlier of Flagstaff or Crescent Hill is on a ridge to the east of the main summit, 2 km distant. [5] A prehistoric barrow sits on the summit. [6]
Now located just within the entrance to the churchyard of the Parish Church, this Class 2 Pictish Stone is incised with a cross and Pictish symbols on one face and a hunting scene and Pictish symbols, including a double disc and Z-rod and a Pictish beast, on the other. [7]
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.
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.
Crail is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area in the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland.
Ceres is a village in Fife, Scotland, located in a small glen approximately 2 miles (3 km) over the Ceres Moor from Cupar and 7 mi (11 km) from St Andrews. The former parish of that name included the settlements of Baldinnie, Chance Inn, Craigrothie, Pitscottie and Tarvit Mill.
Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747.
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.
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Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on Largo Bay along the north side of the Firth of Forth. It is east of, and contiguous with, Lundin Links.
Lundin Links is a small village in the parish of Largo on the south coast of Fife in eastern central 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.
Gullane is a town on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland. There has been a church in the village since the ninth century. The ruins of the Old Church of St. Andrew built in the twelfth century can still be seen at the western entrance to the village; the church was abandoned after a series of sandstorms made it unusable, and Dirleton Parish Church took its place.
Dunkeld is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundary Fault, and is frequently described as the "Gateway to the Highlands" due to its position on the main road and rail lines north. Dunkeld has a railway station, Dunkeld & Birnam, on the Highland Main Line, and is about 25 kilometres north of Perth on what is now the A9 road. The main road formerly ran through the town, however following the modernisation of this road it now passes to the west of Dunkeld.
A mercat cross is the Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. It therefore served a secular purpose as a symbol of authority, and was an indication of a burgh's relative prosperity. Historically, the term dates from the period before 1707, when the Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state, but it has been applied loosely to later structures built in the traditional architectural style of crosses or structures fulfilling the function of marking a settlement's focal point. Historical documents often refer simply to "the cross" of whichever town or village is mentioned. Today, there are around 126 known examples of extant crosses in Scotland, though the number rises if later imitations are added.
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.
Arbirlot is a village in a rural parish of the same name in Angus, Scotland. The current name is usually presumed to be a contraction of Aberelliot or Aber-Eliot, both meaning the mouth of the Elliot. It is situated west of Arbroath. The main village settlement is on the Elliot Water, 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) from Arbroath. There is a Church of Scotland church and a primary school. The school lies 1 mile (1.6 km) further west, in the approximate geographic centre of the parish.
Dairsie, or Osnaburgh, is a village and parish in north-east Fife, Scotland. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southwest of Leuchars Junction, and 3 miles (4.8 km) east-northeast of Cupar on the A91 Stirling to St Andrews road. The village grew out of two smaller settlements, and developed principally around the industry of weaving. Since the late twentieth century it has become a dormitory settlement for nearby towns.
Newburn is a civil parish in the County of Fife in Scotland. It is located on the north coast of the Firth of Forth and bounded by the parishes of Kilconquhar and Largo. It was originally a rural parish with no major settlement, but with the development of Leven as a seaside resort in the late 19th century, the population of the parish grew considerably.
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.
Cameron is a parish in east Fife, Scotland, 3½ miles south-west of St Andrews.
Largoward is a village in East Fife, Scotland, lying on the road from Leven to St Andrews in the Riggin o Fife, 4½ miles north-east of Lower Largo and 6½ miles south-west of St Andrews. It is an agricultural and former mining village, one of the three main villages of the civil parish of Kilconquhar, along with Colinsburgh and the village of Kilconquhar. Coal must have been worked for a considerable length of time in the district, as it is recorded that coal was driven annually from Falfield, just north-west of the village, to Falkland Palace for the use of King James VI.