Cairneyhill
| Cairneyhill | |
| Fife | |
|---|---|
 Modern houses on the north side of Cairneyhill | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NT044863 |
| Location: | 56°3’39"N, 3°32’9"W |
| Data | |
| Dialling code: | 01383 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Fife |
Cairneyhill is a village in the west of Fife, three miles west of Dunfermline, on the A994. Its population was estimated as around 2,430 in 2008.[1]
The village's architecture is a mix of old weavers' cottages and modern suburban housing estates. Most residents work either locally or commute to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling or Kirkcaldy. The village is located north and west of the A985, a major trunk road that provides fast travel by car or bus to the Kincardine Bridge, the M90 motorway and the Queensferry Crossing/Forth Road Bridge.
The Firth of Forth is just a mile and a half south of Cairneyhill. A mile to the east of the village is Crossford.
About the village
Cairneyhill hosts a number of local businesses and other amenities. There are two shops (one contains a post office), a garden centre, a petrol station, a number of housing estates, a guest house (The Maltings), a local pub (the Cairneyhill Inn), a primary school, a Scout hall, and a small industrial estate. There is also a golf course, "The Forrester Park Resort," which has two restaurants and a driving range. There is also a hairdressers.
The Torry Burn runs through the village. There are seven bridges that cross the burn; four foot bridges and three road bridges.
History
The name is from the Scots for rocky hill,[2] though the village is not on any noticeable hill. Old maps before 1800 make little mention of the name, the area usually being marked as Pitdinny or Pitdinnie, which is still found in a local farm on the eastern edge, as well as an area of housing in the village.
The village grew in the 18th century as a settlement for local weavers and was served by the parish church that was built in 1752 and is still used today. This was a hotbed of dissenters and the village was a central point for the religious disputes in Scotland in the early 19th Century.
There is a small bridge over the Torry Burn at the west end of the village known as the "Conscience Bridge". This name arises from local legend, in which a murderer was caught and confessed to his crime on the bridge and hanged himself. The line of the road has been straightened and widened over the years, with only the original north parapet remaining, but the name of the bridge is carved into a plaque which can be seen by leaning over the wall.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cairneyhill) |
References
- ↑ "Cairneyhill". Gazetteer for Scotland. 1995–2019. http://www.scottish-places.info/towns/townfirst22.html. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
- ↑ "Fife Place-name Data :: Cairneyhill". https://fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk/placename/?id=268.
