Kinglassie
Encyclopedia
Kinglassie is a small village in central Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.It is located 0.5 miles to the southwest of Glenrothes
Glenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...

. The population of the village was recorded as 1,320 in the 2001 census.

History

Formerly known as Goatmilk, the village of Kinglassie lies to the north of the Lochty Burn 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Glenrothes in Fife and 3 miles southeast of Perth and Kinross district. It was given to the monks of Dunfermline by Alexander I, but little of antiquity remains except for the Dogton Stone with its Celtic Cross situated in a field a mile (1.5 km) to the south. For many years Kinglassie was a weaving village but in the 19th and 20th centuries it developed as a mining town.

From a very early period down to the Reformation, Scotland was dotted over with certain divisions of lands known as "Schyres." Thus in the immediate neighbourhood of Kinross were "Kynros-Schyre," "Portmocke-Schyre,"* "Kinglassy-Schyre," "Muchard-Schyre," "Doloure-Schyre," &c. These Schyres must not be confounded with the Shire of the present day; they were simply divisions of land, similar in extent to an average modern Parish.

1650. Part of the lands of Kinglassie annexed to the parish of Portmoak.

It has a primary school, Mitchell Hall (1896), library and Miners' Welfare Institute (1931). Fife Airport lies a mile (1.5 km) to the north and on a hill overlooking the farm of Redwells stands Blythe's Folly, a 15.6m (52 feet) high tower built in 1812 by an eccentric Leith shipowner.
Kinglassie's development during the late 19th and early 20th Century was marked by its rapid expansion to house mine workers,many mine workers perished and were injured during the mines lifetime and the mine was plaqued by water flooding problems. The Kinglassie Pit started in 1908 and closed in 1967. The Westfield open cast coal mine lies to the west of the village and is still regarded as the biggest man-made hole in Europe by local people.

Glastian of Kinglassie B (AC)
(also known as Glastian of MacGlastian)
Born in County Fife, Scotland; died at Kinglassie (Kinglace), Scotland, in 830. As bishop of Fife, Saint Glastian mediated in the bloody civil war between the Picts and the Scots. When the Picts were subjugated, Glastian did much to alleviate their lot. He is the patron saint of Kinglassie in Fife, and venerated in Kyntire (Benedictines, Husenbeth).

Currently

A housing development of nearly 80 houses has been in place for a number of years in Kinglassie. At the present time (June 2010) the project should have been finished however due to the economic crisis Britain has faced over the past year the development has taken a much slower pace.

Schools

Kinglassie primary school is a small school housing approx 150 pupils,it was built in 1913 and is a category B listed building.

Pupils are represented in the school by the pupil Council, and the eco-committee which consists of pupils, staff, parents and members of the wider community and is proactive in promoting conservation initiatives throughout the school.

A parent council represents the parent body and raises funds for various initiatives. In addition, children are supported in class by a growing number of parent helpers and the school is well supported by parents generally.

Local landmarks

Blythe's Tower, built 1812, is a four storey square tower, 15.8 m (54 ft) high, built of random rubble with ashlar string courses and a crenellated parapet. It is currently a category B listed building. The tower interior was formerly floored to afford access to an observation platform. The tower was built by a linen merchant in order to view ships as they entered the Forth, affording the merchant the opportunity to procure the best goods at port. During World War Two, the tower was used as a look out tower by the home guard.
The Dogton Stone, dating from around 800AD, is believed to commemorate a major battle between the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...

 and the Scots. The Mitchell Hall, built 1896, was donated to the community by a local farmer. It is used by local community groups, and is an asset to the wider Fife community.

Culture

The Kinglassie & District Pipe Band
Pipe band
A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term used by military pipe bands, pipes and drums, is also common....

 was reformed in 1982. It is currently in Grade 4a and its members are mostly of school age.

Fife mining museum formed 1992 is located in Kinglassie at the back of the Kinglassie Miners Welfare Institute.

Notable people

Sir William Reid
William Reid (British Army officer)
Sir William Reid was a British soldier, administrator and meteorologist.He was born at Kinglassie, Fife and was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich....

 (b. April 25, 1791, Kinglassie - d. October 31, 1858, London, England), governor of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

 (1839–46), Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

 (1846–48), and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 (1851–58); knighted 1851.

Jimmy Bonthrone
Jimmy Bonthrone
James "Jimmy" Bonthrone was a Scottish professional footballer, coach and manager.Born in Kinglassie, Fife, Bonthrone's playing career centred around his time with a successful East Fife team, although he also played for Dundee, and for George Farm at...

, footballer and manager: born Kinglassie, Fife 16 June 1929; played for East Fife
East Fife F.C.
East Fife Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the Fife coastal town of Methil...

 1947-58, Dundee
Dundee F.C.
Dundee Football Club, founded in 1893, are a football club based in the city of Dundee, Scotland. They are nicknamed The Dee or The Dark Blues and play their home matches at Dens Park. Their shirt colour is dark blue. Dundee currently play in the Scottish First Division, having been relegated from...

 1958-60; manager, East Fife 1963-69, Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...

 1971-75; general manager, East Fife 1980-94; married (two sons); died Kirkcaldy, Fife 7 June 2008.

Willie Fernie (born 22 November 1928 in Kinglassie, Fife. Died: 1 July, 2011, in Glasgow, aged 82.) was a Scottish footballer who played for the Scotland national football team in both the 1954 and 1958 FIFA World Cups. He also played for Celtic 1948-1958, Middlesbrough 1958-1960, St. Mirren 1961-1963,Partick Thistle 1963, Alloa 1963, Fraserburgh 1963-1964, Coleraine 1964 and Bangor 1964-1965 before becoming manager of Kilmarnock FC 1973-1977.

Alan Murray, founder of Alan Murray Architects, award-winning Edinburgh architectural firm.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK