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Kirkcaldy has in its time been home to a number of pipe bands. Currently the town has the Kirkcaldy and District Pipe Band, which has gone under the name of the K.U.S.I. (Kirkcaldy United Services Institute) and the Argos Pipe Band.
The town name was mentioned in the song Cry Baby Cry by The Beatles in 1968.
[edit] Adam Smith Theatre
The Adam Smith and Beveridge Halls was the original name for the building when it was donated to the town by Andrew Carnegie in 1899. A major redevelopment of the halls in 1973 gave a new name for the building, Adam Smith Theatre, which has been used ever since. The alternate name, Adam Smith Centre is also used locally. [11]
The Theatre provides a home to many organisations in the town. These include: KADS (Kirkcaldy Amateur Dramatic Society), KAOS (Kirkcaldy Amateur Operatic Society) and KGASS (Kirkcaldy Gilbert & Sullivan Society).
The theatre is the main venue in Kirkcaldy for the annual Fife Festival of Music [12],usually held from the third week of January to the first week in February. The aim is to encourage all types of musicianship, inviting participation of local violinists, singers, school choirs and instrumental groups.
The main auditorium acts as the town's only cinema facility, since the closure of the ABC Cinema on 4 December 2000.
The local senior football team in the town is Raith Rovers F.C., who play at Stark's Park on Pratt Street, south of the town centre. The club formed in 1883 and was elected to join the first Scottish league in 1901. They went full time in 1990 as a decision made by then manager Frank Connor who shortly afterwards left the club. Under manager Jimmy Nicholl they not only went on to play one full season in the SPL (1992-1993) but also won the Coca-Cola cup (now CIS cup) in 1994 and went onto a guaranteed spot in the UEFA cup in 1995 after he left. They are of present (as of 2007/08 Season) playing in the Scottish second division.
Kirkcaldy has a local junior side, known as Kirkcaldy YM (Young Men), who play in the East Region, Central Division although they dropped out of the league after the 2006/2007 season because of a lack of players. They are hopeful to form a new team and backroom staff including manager in place for the 2008/2009 season. [13]
Kirkcaldy RFC, the local senior rugby side in the town currently play their matches from their small ground situated in the Beveridge Park. They are of present (as of Jan 08) playing in the BT Premiership Third Division. They have in recent years managed promotion from Premiership 3 as leaders at the end of the 1996/1997 season and promoted to Premiership 1 in 1999. Their player Matthew Harvey has had several appearances for Scotland's under 21s.
The oldest existing ice hockey team in the United Kingdom, the Fife Flyers, are based in the town, playing at the Fife Ice Arena on Rosslyn Street. They played in the now defunct British National League alongside teams in Guildford, Milton Keynes, Slough, Dundee and Paisley Pirates. The team's future was recently put in jeopardy for the 2005/2006 season after the British National League was disbanded. This resulted in them having to join the Scottish National League, playing teams of a markedly lower standard. [14]
The Beveridge Park in the town hosted motorcycle racing before the Knockhill circuit was built in 1974.
[edit] Golf Courses
Kirkcaldy has two golf courses. Kirkcaldy Golf Club, commonly known as Balwearie course, was established in 1904 and designed by Old Tom Morris. It is an 18 hole course in 150 acres (0.61 km²) of parkland. The course has a clubhouse which serves meals, a bar and a small golf shop. There is also a small practise putting green prior to the first hole.
Dunnikier Park Golf Course, opened in 1963, is an 18 hole parkland course to the north of the town. It is a municipal course and is adjacent to Dunnikier House Hotel.
[edit] Education
[edit] Primary Schools
Capshard Primary School, Kirkcaldy
- Capshard
- Dunearn
- Dunnikier
- Dysart
- Fair Isle (construction of new school building lasted for two years until November 2006. younger pupils went to Kirkcaldy North and older pupils went to Capshard whilst the work was being carried out [8])
- Kirkcaldy North
- Kirkcaldy West
- Pathhead
- Sinclairtown
- Strathallan (opened in January 2007, the School is the newest addition to Kirkcaldy [9])
- St Marie's RC
- Torbain
- Valley
Some of Kirkcaldy's primary schools have an attached nursery near the main building. These include: Capshard, Fair Isle, Torbain, Kirkcaldy West and Kirkcaldy North.
[edit] High Schools
[edit] Balwearie High School
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Balwearie caters for pupils in the west side of the town [10] which includes the surrounding areas of Burntisland, Kinghorn and Autchertool [11] The School has been open since 1964 but did not become comprehensive until 1972.[12] The School also provides an adjacent DSE (Department of Special Education) unit [13] and a community centre outwith normal School hours. The school also recently invested in an all-weather games pitch. [14]
[edit] Kirkcaldy High School
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Kirkcaldy is the oldest high school of the four in the town. The School has existed since 1852, although the School is well equipped with up-to-date facilities including an all-weather games pitch and ICT equipment [15]. Kirkcaldy was once treated as the main high school for pupils that passed their eleven plus exam until this was phased out in 1974 when the new comprehensive program was introduced. The school is soon to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their main building. [16]
[edit] St Andrew's RC High School
St Andrew's [15], founded in 1959, is one of only two Catholic secondary schools in Fife, serving the eastern half of the county. [17] The catchment primary schools are St Marie's RC[16], St Paul's RC (Glenrothes)[17], St Ninian's RC (Cardenden)[18], St Patrick's RC (Lochgelly)[19], St Agatha's RC (Leven)[20], St Columba's RC (Cupar)[21], Greyfriars RC (St Andrews)[22]. A new games hall and building for social subjects and guidance has been opened in the last five years. Recently, there is a large extension going to become the new home of several re-located departments such as Art and Design, Music and Computing among others. [18]
[edit] Viewforth High School
Viewforth opened in 1908 [19] and is currently one of the smallest high schools in Scotland with only 375 pupils. [20] The School caters for pupils in the east of Kirkcaldy.
Viewforth was earmarked for closure in 2005, due to the falling pupil numbers and the deteriorating condition of the buildings. There was going to be a new secondary school to replace it to serve the area. However, nothing has been done about this since. [21]
[edit] Further Education
St Brycedale Campus, Kirkcaldy.
Adam Smith College, which was formed in August 2005 with the combining of Fife College and Glenrothes College [22] The College has two main campuses in Kirkcaldy, St Brycedale on St Brycedale Avenue (the larger) and Nairn/Priory on Victoria Road. St Brycedale Campus' famous tower blocks, which stood for four decades, were removed and the campus was both refurbished and extended before the merger. [23] [24]
The college provides training and education for over 15,000 people. Actors Ewan McGregor, Sharon Small, Dougray Scott and Shirley Henderson, DJ Edith Bowman and the artist Jack Vettriano attended the college.
The University of Dundee School of Nursing and Midwifery has a campus in Kirkcaldy, near the railway station. It was threatened with closure when the university wished to close the campus and relocate to Dundee in early 2006. [23]
[edit] Health
[edit] Forth Park Hospital
Forth Park Hospital as of present is the main maternity hospital in the town, currently situated on Forth Park Avenue. The hospital is going to close in 2010 and the site sold when the new maternity facilities at Victoria open. [24]
[edit] Victoria Hospital
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Kirkcaldy has been served by the Victoria Hospital (known locally as The Vic) since opening in 1967. It caters for the Kirkcaldy and mid-Fife area and is one of the two main hospitals in Fife. [25] The Whyteman's Brae Hospital on the other side of the road is part of the same complex, primarily catering for the elderly and for psychiatric patients.
[edit] Shopping and Leisure
[edit] Kirkcaldy Town Centre
Kirkcaldy's town centre is focused on a traditional High Street which runs parallel with the coast stretching from the historic harbour in the north-east to Nicol Street in the south-west. Kirkcaldy is a sub-regional centre and currently has the largest retail provision of all of Fife's town centres. [25]
The central portion of Kirkcaldy's High Street was pedestrianised in 1991 between Whytescauseway and Kirk Wynd. There are a number of major retailers here with The Mercat Shopping Centre and The Postings Shopping Centre both in the vicinity. There was a Mercat Cross on the High Street until 1782 and a plaque erected by the Civic Society marks its former position.
Kirkcaldy's swimming pool opened in 1972 and is located on the esplanade, adjacent to the Mercat Shopping Centre. The pool contains a shallow pool for infants, a medium-sized and a large pool with diving boards. There are plans for a new pool to be built, under which work would start in April 2010, the pool to open by October 2011 at the latest. This plan does not include additional community sports facilities, which had been under consideration.[26] However, Kirkcaldy Area Sports Council are putting pressure on Fife Council to stop the £11 million replacement of the swimming pool from going ahead. They want to look seriously at the future of the town and the leisure facilities it can successfully provide to the population by suggesting other plans. They believe that the construction of a multi-purpose sports centre would be better financially than just a replacement of the town's swimming pool. [27]
plaque of former town house in Kirkcaldy. The plaque reads: This building stands on the site of the former Town House and Town Clock 1827-1935
The former town house was situated at 166 High Street from 1827-1935, the site being marked by a Kirkcaldy Civic Society plaque on the current building, now a Marks and Spencer store. The current town house was built in 1958, a little to the west of the High Street. This building has a distinctive green copper spire with a clock face. The town square which fronts the town house is used for the Kirkcaldy Farmers Market and local Scout groups for St Andrew's Day celebrations.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court, Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court also faces onto the town square and serves the town and the central Fife area including Glenrothes and Levenmouth.
The northern section of the town centre also contains a number of important civic buildings including the town's museum and library, a college campus and the Adam Smith Theatre. The railway station and bus station are also located at sites in the northern part of the town centre.
[edit] Waterfront Development
Kirkcaldy has historically turned its back on its waterfront and as a result the esplanade has become renowned for its run-down and dilapidated appearance. [28]
There have been plans to redevelop the waterfront development for a number of years. In 2001 proposals were put forward to build a new retail park at least 70 m out into the Firth of Forth. [26] [27] However this was refused on access and environmental grounds and because of its relative disconnectivity from Kirkcaldy's central shopping area. [28] A number of well known high street retailers were said to be interested at one stage in coming to the town as part of this development. [29] More recently revised plans to regenerate the waterfront have been prepared. This is expected to include the development of a cinema, new shops, a hotel and would see replacement of the crumbling 88-year-old sea wall. These form part of a wider Masterplan to regenerate the town centre and will be expected to start sometime during 2009 and 2010. [30] [31] [32]
[edit] Further shopping facilities
Kirkcaldy has a large retail park on the former site of Chapel Farm, north-west of the town centre. [33] The park is anchored by Sainsbury's [29] , eleven other retail units and three fast food restaurants, McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut [30]. The retail park is probably the most successful in Fife, and this extra competition may have contributed to a slight drop in pedestrian flow in the town centre. [31] A forthcoming development due in late 2008, will see an extension holding a B&Q anchor store and builders yard and 360 new car park spaces. [34]
There is a plan to build new retail units and a business park on a site adjacent to the former Nairn's factory on Nairn Street. Morrisons are to anchor this development.[35][36]
[edit] Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery
The Museum and Art Gallery building in the War Memorial Gardens, Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery, which opened in 1925, was donated by John Nairn as part of the War Memorial "to those who fell in the Great War", himself having lost his only son in the conflict[32]. The Museum and Art Gallery holds a permanent display of Kirkcaldy's industrial heritage and many notable paintings, particularly of the Scottish Colourists. [37]
[edit] Kirkcaldy Central Library
The Central Library is part the same building as the Museum and Art Gallery but was added later in 1928 [32][33]. The library is the biggest in the town, containing a children's section, adult's section and a reference library. There is also a portrait of John Nairn, who gifted the library to the town, located in the adult's section.
There had been a plan to build a new library in the town on part of the former Nairn's factory. A lack of space and the need for an extension was the possible reason. [38]
[edit] Employment
Employment sites in Kirkcaldy are largely concentrated in the north of the town. Main sites include Mitchelston, Randolph and the John Smith Business Park.
Smaller industrial sites are also located at Smeaton, Hayfield, Dysart, the harbour and Invertiel.
Kirkcaldy employs around 21,500 people representing around 16% of employment in Fife. Unemployment in Kirkcaldy is above the national average at 4.9%.[39] The largest private sector employers in Kirkcaldy are MGT, a Call Centre operation.[34] Forbo Nairn (floor coverings), ESA McIntosh Ltd (furniture manufacturers) and Kingdom Bakers Ltd (food & drink) are also major employers in Kirkcaldy.
There are plans to provide further business space at Kirkcaldy east near the Kingslaw development site. This forms one of Fife's key Strategic Development Areas. This is aimed at addressing the chronic shortage of jobs in Kirkcaldy and is intended to aid with the high levels of unemployment in the town and its travel-to-work area[clarify] which has seen Kirkcaldy officially branded as the third poorest town in the UK. [40][41]
The John Smith Business Park is also in line for a jobs boost, with Fife Council giving the development £2.75 million and another £400 000 being provided by Scottish Enterprise Fife[42] for the long term economy for both the town and central Fife. The new extension is expected to be open by early 2009.
[edit] Public parks
Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy
[edit] Ravenscraig Castle and Park
The remains of Ravenscraig Castle are seated upon a cliff to the east of the harbour. The castle was built in 1460 under the order of James II but, still incomplete, was exchanged by James III for Kirkwall Castle with the Sinclair Earls of Orkney. The castle is thought to have been one of the first in Scotland to be designed for defence against artillery.[5] [35] It is now in the care of Historic Scotland.
Ravenscraig Park, was gifted to Kirkcaldy by Michael Nairn in 1929, like many other public parks and open spaces donated by local industrial philanthropists[35]. The park is located between Dysart and the Pathhead Sands, and stretches along the coast as far as Dysart Habour, a stretch comprising many secluded coves.
[edit] Beveridge Park
Beveridge Park was bequeathed to the town by Provost Michael Beveridge for the memory of his wife in 1890. The land supplied was originally part of the Raith Estate and was donated to the town by the linoleum firm, Nairn's. [43] The park operates a boating pond, a small skateboard park, bowling green, crazy golf and contains the ground of Kirkcaldy RFC. [44]
[edit] Other Parks
Gallatown Park and Dunnikier Park are both located in the north of the town.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Road Network
Kirkcaldy is within easy access from the A92 whereby two exits exist at both the east and west sides of the town. The A92 connects the town to Glenrothes (A911) and Dundee to the north and Dunfermline (A907) to the west. It connects with the M90 linking to the Forth Road Bridge and Edinburgh at Dunfermline. There are also main roads from the surrounding areas such as the A915 (Standing Stane Road) from Leven/St Andrews; A955 from Methil and East Wemyss and the A921 from Kinghorn/Burntisland/Aberdour which all meet in the town.
[edit] Kirkcaldy Railway Station
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Kirkcaldy Railway Station, Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy railway station is located to the north-west of the town centre on Station Road[36] adjacent to the Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery with another entrance on Whyte Melville Road. The station is on the route for the Fife Circle Line and is deemed a commuter station for Edinburgh. The existing station building dates from 1991. The previous building had been subject to a fire.
Stations in Dysart and Sinclairtown were closed during Beeching's railway cuts. There has been a proposal to reopen Sinclairtown Station, which closed in 1968. [37]
[edit] Kirkcaldy Bus Station
Kirkcaldy Bus Station, Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy Bus Station is on Hunter Place.[38] Recently, the main terminal building was demolished and rebuilt, along with work to replace the old stances and paving. This was scheduled to be completed by Christmas 2006, but was hindered by the liquidation of the Rosyth firm carrying out the work. [45] [46] The main building took until Summer 2007 to be fully completed.[47]
The Station contains a newsagents, seating area, cafe, lockers and toilets in the main terminal building and a hairdressers in a unit at the rear of the building.
[edit] Hovercraft service
Between 16 and 28 July 2007 an experimental hovercraft service (marketed as Forthfast) was operated between Kirkcaldy and Portobello, Edinburgh. Stagecoach operated the trial service and are considering establishing this link on a permanent basis. However, the service is now being geared up to start in 2009 at the latest. [48]
[edit] Kirkcaldy Park and Ride
There has been a proposal to operate a park and ride system for people to visit the town centre over the recent problems with Kirkcaldy Station's car park charging, which has received backing from councillor George Leslie. [49]
Kirkcaldy has a weekly newspaper, The Fife Free Press, which is published every Thursday. The paper contains local news articles, a sports section, theatre and cinema listings, recruitment pages and a page dedicated to schools' projects.
The Fife Herald & Post, a freesheet, is delivered to Kirkcaldy households each week.
The main radio stations for Kirkcaldy are Forth One, broadcasting from Edinburgh, which covers the south Fife area on 97.3MHz (FM) from the transmitter site at Craigkelly in nearby Burntisland, alongside its sister station Forth 2 on 1548KHz (AM).
Kingdom FM broadcasts from the Fife town of Markinch covering the Kirkcaldy area on 96.1 and 96.6MHz (FM).
Kirkcaldy's own Victoria Radio Network (VRN 1287) broadcasts 24-hours a day around the town on medium wave 1287KHz (AM).
Other radio stations that can be received are Tay FM from Dundee on 102.8 MHz (FM) and Glasgow-based Real Radio on 101.1Mhz (FM)
[edit] Politics & Regional Information
[edit] Political subdivisions
From 1975 Kirkcaldy gave its name to a local government district in the Fife region of Scotland. Since 1996 it has been included in the Fife unitary area. (See: Subdivisions of Scotland)
[edit] Constituencies
There is a Kirkcaldy constituency of the Scottish Parliament. The current Kirkcaldy MSP is Marilyn Livingstone of the Labour Party, serving from 1999, the year of the birth of the Scottish Parliament.
Kirkcaldy is now part of the Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency of the UK Parliament in 2005, which replaced the old Kirkcaldy constituency. The current Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP is Gordon Brown serving from 2005 (stepping down from his Dunfermline East seat) who is at present the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Dr Lewis Moonie formerly held the seat for eighteen years, before becoming a life peer in the House of Lords which he is now known as Baron Moonie of Bennochy.
[edit] Fife Constabulary
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The police station in Kirkcaldy, built in the same style as the nearby Adam Smith Theatre and older buildings of the Adam Smith College, is near the centre of town situated on St. Brycedale Avenue.
[edit] Twin towns
Kirkcaldy is twinned with Ingolstadt, Germany. Ingolstadt is an industrial town in Bavaria, Germany with a population of 121,000; it is the home of the Audi Car Plant.
[edit] Religion
Kirkcaldy has a large number of churches, the oldest, the Old Kirk, dating back to the late 16th century. The larger church next door (on the other side of Kirk Wynd), St. Brycedale Church, now known as St Bryce's Kirk was opened in 1881. St. Bryce himself was at one time Bishop of Tours, in France, and it is thought that the town of Falkirk owes its name to him, being derived by way of Gaelic and Anglo-Saxon from Eglwys Brioc (church of Bryce), Bryce having travelled to Central Scotland in the early 5th century. [50]
There are currently plans for a mosque in the Templehall area of the town but a variety of concerns has been raised by locals and the community council.[51]
[edit] Churches
[edit] Church associations
At one time the 4th Kirkcaldy Company of the Boys Brigade was the largest company in this organisation.
[edit] Pictures
Kirkcaldy History Monument, Tolbooth Street
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Tolbooth Street (once the site of a Tolbooth)
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Historical Mounement,High Street
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M&S Clock, 166 High Street
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Mercat Cross Site, 166 High Street
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Kirkcaldy Town House, Town Square
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First World War Memorial, War Memorial Gardens
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Second World War Memorial, War Memorial Gardens
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(Railway Bridge) Wemyssfield
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Old Milestone, Abbotshall Road
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Victoria Tramways Power Station, corner of Nairn Street and Dunnikier Road
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Former Nairn's Building, Nairn Street (soon to be demolished)
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Royal Burgh of Kirkcaldy Map, 1824 (temporary location)
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Dundee University School of Nursing and Midwifery
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[edit] References
- , Fife Council (2008) Population Estimates for Towns and Villages in Fife [1]
- , http://www.kirkcaldycivicsociety.co.uk/kdy/kirkcaldyhome.htm Kirkcaldy Civic Society
- , Dorward, David (1979), Scotland's Place-names, Edinburgh: William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., ISBN 0-85158-132-3
- , Reader's Digest Association (1965), Reader's Digest Complete Atlas of the British Isles, London: Reader's Digest Association Ltd.
- , a b c Collins Encyclopaedia of Scotland (HarperCollins 1994), ISBN 0-00-255082-2 (John Keay, Julia Keay)
- , Fife Free Press (2005) Kirkcaldy History [2]
- , Fife Free Press (2005) Kirkcaldy History [3]
- , fifedirect - Fair Isle Primary School - School Booklet
- , fifedirect - Kirkcaldy - Strathallan Primary School
- , fifedirect - A to Z - Balwearie High School
- , http://www.ethosnet.co.uk/casestudy22.htmand
- , fifedirect - A to Z - Balwearie High School
- , http://www.ethosnet.co.uk/casestudy22.htmand
- , fifedirect - Balwearie High School Community Use
- , fifedirect - A to Z - Kirkcaldy High School
- , Do you remember your days at KHS? - Fife Today
- , fifedirect - A to Z - St.Andrew's RC High School
- , fifedirect - A to Z - St.Andrew's RC High School
- , fifedirect - A to Z - Viewforth High School
- , http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/933/0031698.xls
- , Viewforth to close. New secondary to be built - Fife Today
- , New name and a new era for merged college - Fife Today
- , Tower block hollowed out and slowly vanishing from skyline - Fife Today
- , Today Fife College ... tomorrow Adam Smith? - Fife Today
- , Fife Council (2007)Kirkcaldy Town Centre Profile[4]
- , Site for new swimming pool - Fife Today
- , http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/Call-to-halt-11m-pool.3919592.jp
- , Fife Free Press(2008) Is Esplanade as bad as all that?Fife Free Press, 2009-03-05. Retrieved on March 10, 2008
- , http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shoppingandservices/storelocator/searchresults.htm?query=Kirkcaldy
- , http://www.pizzahut.co.uk/restaurant/huts/KIRKCALDY-pizza-hut.html
- , Town Centre Footfall Report, p7
- , a b Kirkcaldy Civic Society (2000) Kirkcaldy Town Centre Walkabout p7, ISBN 0 946294 23 2
- , fifedirect - Kirkcaldy Central Library
- , Fife Council (2006/07)Kirkcaldy Economic Profile [5])
- , a b Kirkcaldy Town Map - R P A Smith Street Plans
- , fifedirect - A to Z - Kirkcaldy Railway Station
- , Fife Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More
- , fifedirect - A to Z - Kirkcaldy Bus Station
[edit] External links
[edit] Further interest
[edit] Town Rivalry, Kirkcaldy Vs Glenrothes
[edit] Economy & Employment
(Source: Wikipedia) |