Valleyfield
Valleyfield consists of High Valleyfield and Low Valleyfield which are neighbouring villages in Perthshire detached in Fife, midway between Dunfermline and Kincardine-on-Forth. Low Valleyfield is on the shore of the Firth of Forth, High Valleyfield on the ridge immediately to the north.
The population of High Valleyfield was 2,940 in the 2001 Census; separate figures for the smaller settlement of Low Valleyfield were not published.
High Valleyfield was a mining village linked to the nearby Valleyfield Colliery which opened in 1908 and closed in 1978.[1] The workings at Valleyfield connected to those at Longannet coal mine to the west, and under the Firth of Forth to those at Bo'ness on the south bank opposite.[2] On 28 October 1939, an explosion at the mine killed 35 men.[3][4][5]
In the early 1800s, Sir Robert Preston (Floating Bob) commissioned the landscape architect, Sir Humphry Repton, to design a parkland setting for his classical mansion, Valleyfield House. Botanist David Douglas worked there as an apprentice gardener for a time.[6] The Baronetcy of Valleyfield became dormant in 1873, following the death of the 9th Baron. By 1918, the estate had been abandoned by its owners, the East of Fife Coal Company, who had opened the Valleyfield Colliery in 1912. Valleyfield House was demolished in 1941.
Preston Island by Low Valleyfield, now a peninsula as the result of the landfill of ash from nearby Longannet power station, was the site of coal mining and major salt works from the 17th century onwards.[7]
Notable people from Valleyfield
- Hugh Kelly - played over 400 league games for Blackpool between 1946 and 1960, including two FA Cup Finals.
- Bert Paton - footballer[8]
- Sean Brand - plays for and is assistant coach of Northern AFC in the Footballsouth Premier League and also coaches their Premier Women's team. Also played for Otago United in the 2008/2009 New Zealand National League Season. Named the Soccersouth Sportsman of the Year 2008.
- David Sinclair - footballer, played for Raith Rovers and Millwall
Footnotes
- ↑ "Valleyfield Colliery - Canmore". https://canmore.org.uk/site/49465/valleyfield-colliery. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ↑ "The forgotten tunnel that crosses the River Forth". 18 October 2019. https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/culture/the-forgotten-tunnel-that-crosses-the-river-forth/.
- ↑ "Valleyfield 1939 - Scottish Mining Website". http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/33.html.
- ↑ "Community marks mining disaster". 28 October 2014. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-29789779.
- ↑ "Valleyfield turns out to remember mine tragedy". https://www.dunfermlinepress.com/news/13518363.valleyfield-turns-out-to-remember-mine-tragedy/.
- ↑ "Walk of the week: Valleyfield Wood, Fife". https://www.scotsman.com/sport/walk-of-the-week-valleyfield-wood-fife-1-1424824.
- ↑ "Preston Island". Gazetteer for Scotland. http://www.scottish-places.info/features/featurefirst22.html. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
- ↑ "Bert Paton". Neil Brown. http://www.neilbrown.newcastlefans.com/player11/bertpaton.htm. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Valleyfield) |
- Location map: 56°3’36"N, 3°36’22"W
- Valleyfield, Fife Place-name Data