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Cowdenbeath (Coilltean Beithe in Scottish Gaelic) is a burgh in Fife, Scotland. The outlying area of the eponymous town was awarded burgh status in 1890. The origin of the name is uncertain. One theory is that Cowdenbeath is an anglicized version of Coilltean Beithe, meaning Birch Woods. A local myth is that Cowden is the name of a warlord based there in ancient times.
[edit] Information
[edit] Industry and Population
The town made its name as a famous coal mining centre. At the height of its size, the town was home to 25,000 people, mostly connected with this industry, but as the mines closed in the 1960s, the population declined in common with the trend of Scottish towns. It is now relatively settled at its current level of around 11,627 (2001 Census).
[edit] Geography
Cowdenbeath lies in south-western Fife, near the larger town of Dunfermline. Its precise coordinates are 56.11°N 3.35°W. As the mining legacy of the town suggests, Cowdenbeath lies near the southern ridge of hills running through Fife.
The town has a railway station on the Fife Circle Line. It forms part of the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Westminster parliamentary constituency.
[edit] Education
[edit] Primary Schools
There are three primary schools in Cowdenbeath.
- Cowdenbeath Primary School - serving the south of the town.
- Foulford Primary School - serving the north of the town.
- St Bride's Primary School - Roman Catholic school serving Cowdenbeath as well as Crossgates, Hill of Beath and Lumphinnans.
Some pupils in the north east and south west of the town attend Lumphinnans and Hill of Beath primary schools respectively.
[edit] Beath High School
Main Article - Beath High School
Beath High School was founded in the late 19th century as a grammar school, mainly for the children of local mine executives. It was an imposing building built of red sandstone and stood on Stenhouse Street. Nobel Prize winner, Sir James Black, whose work is behind the drug Ranitidine, attended Beath. In the 1950s the level of scholarship was high[citation needed], with eight languages taught: Hebrew, Latin, Ancient Greek, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. The headmaster of the time is said to have told pupils at the start of each assembly "Scottish education is the best in the world, Fife education is the best in Scotland, and Beath education is the best in Fife. I"m not going to let any of you lot mess that up."[citation needed] A modern school was opened in 1964, built in Kirkford next to Kirk of Beath Church and cemetery. At this point the school was split, with the old building becoming the lower school. The old building was demolished in the 1990's and in 2003 the 'new' school was closed due to subsidence and a new Public Private Partnership school was built. It is maintained by Sodexho.
Cowdenbeath contains a rather dilapidated stadium called Central Park, which can hold a maximum capacity of 5,268. A large expanse of terracing, a minority of which has a roof over it, and covered seating for 1,622 spectators. The stadium boasts a tarmac track, one of Britain's fastest, used for stock-car racing, and within by this is a football pitch, used by the Scottish Football League club Cowdenbeath F.C., known affectionately as The Blue Brazil. It has recently been announced however that the stadium has been sold for redevelopment, with a new one being built nearby for the Football club, complete with an all weather pitch, and presumably including stock cars too although nothing has been announced regarding their future as yet. Central Park is the site of Britain's most northerly speedway track. John S.Hoskins promoted eight meetings between May and July 1965 including a preliminary round of the Speedway World Championship. The team based in Cowdenbeath were known as the Fife Lions and featured riders from Edinburgh Monarchs and Glasgow Tigers. The shale circuit was used for training purposes before the track was taken over for stock cars. The speedway track was unusual in that it featured a brick wall safety fence.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 56°07'N, 3°21'W
(Source: Wikipedia) |