History
We have exciting news! On Monday 27 February Avocado Sweet launched a new, hand-illustrated history map of Dunfermline at the Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum. Sponsored by the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust and Fife Council’s Strategic Events Investment Programme, the map was written by us and designed and drawn by Dunfermline-based artist Natasha of Tupelo Tree. The cover features the blossom so characteristic of Dunfermline in spring, the two central pages are
It must be spring; the snowdrops have raised their delicate heads above ground. A great place to see them is on the Valleyfield Snowdrop guided walks hosted by West Fife Woodlands & Shiresmill Therapy Riding Centre. All are welcome to come along and join the free guided walks and hear the story of Valleyfield House and Estate. The Valleyfield House and Estate is a fascinating story; Fife’s answer to Downton
Having been unoccupied for twenty years, Bennet House, a small domestic dwelling of historic and vernacular importance in Culross, was in a sorry state. Luckily the Little Houses Improvement Scheme (LHIS), the National Trust Scotland’s in-house building preservation trust, was able to purchase it to safeguard its future: Bennet House is now a study house with regular hard hat tours available to the public. Throughout the conservation process, the public
Nearly 400 years ago the King’s Poet, Ben Jonson walked from Culross Palace to Dunfermline Abbey. On Sunday 25 September you can join a guided walk inspired by his travels, finishing at Fire Station Creative where, from 4pm until 7pm, there will be live music and poetry. The walk starts at 10.30am beside Admiral Cochrane’s statue near the Palace and finishes at the Fire Station Creative at around 4pm. The
by Caroline Copeland When Bannockburn House was put up for sale at the beginning of this year, the local Community Council was quick to approach the owner with the idea of opening the house up to the local community. An open day was proposed, and for the first time in living memory, the people of Bannockburn were to be able to see the inside of the house. Steeped in
You can only imagine the state of mind of the baillie’s son who, on this day in 1624, having misfired a musket into one of 17th century Dunfermline’s many thatched roofs, saw the entire town burn to a cinder over the course of four hours. Among the few buildings left standing was Abbot House. The records of many Scottish towns refer to this great fire but strangely it doesn’t seem
Between 1968 and 1971 Nick Hedges photographed some of the dire housing conditions in Glasgow and Edinburgh for the charity, Shelter. Nearly 50 years later he has agreed that the photos can be used in an exhibition in St Andrews Square, Edinburgh. Until now usage had been restricted to protect the families featured. Nick remembered how one woman told him that just a few days before, she had been in bed
If you’re into local history, here’s a quirky event you may want to check out: next Saturday 19 September, there will be free, costumed guided tours around Dunfermline’s Heritage Quarter as part of a series of events marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Lauder. Lauder, the uncle of Andrew Carnegie and the man credited with instilling in the young Carnegie his life-long love of history, was one of
The famous Great Tapestry of Scotland which tells the history of Scotland in rich and vibrant handstitched colour, is in Fife until September. You can see the entire tapestry, consisting of 160 individual panels running 143 metres long, at the Kirkcaldy Galleries throughout the summer. One of the biggest community arts projects in the world, a thousand volunteers worked for more than 50,000 hours to complete the project using a range of embroidery skills and
Love these century old pictures of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Might be the ‘boulevards’ or the gardens but both cities look a bit like Paris. There’s also pictures of Perth, Portobello, Largs, Rothesay. Thanks to one of our featured Fife Creatives, Clive Ramage for sharing the pictures. Above, Edinburgh and below, Glasgow Below, Portobello Below, Perth, Rothesay and Largs
