The History of Kinghorn

The meaning of the name Kinghorn (or Kingorn , with stress on the latter syllable, as it was pronounced locally until at least the early 20th century) comes . Early Christian activity in the area is strongly suggested by the nearby place name Ecclesmaline, later Legsmalee. This seemingly derives from Pictish *egles + personal name [?] Màillidh, giving a meaning of ‘the church of (St) *Maillidh’. What comprises the modern parish of Kinghorn was originally known as Kinghorn Easter or Magna, in contrast to Kinghorn Wester or Minor, which is now Burntisland. The settlement around this church was created a royal burgh sometime in the twelfth century, and by the fourteenth century it was the seat of one of the constabularies of the sheriffdom of Fife. The former royal castle at Kinghorn was frequently visited by the Scottish Court in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. The King's castle, overlooking the major seaway of the Forth, stood on the headland above Pettycur. King Alexander III was returning on horseback to Kinghorn Castle to see his new wife Yolande of Dreux, when he fell and was found dead on the beach of Pettycur Bay in March 1286, creating the succession crisis that led to the Wars of Scottish Independence. A later structure, Glamis Tower (or Glamis Castle), stood just behind the High Street. When Sir John Lyon married Princess Johanna in 1373, the daughter of King Robert II, her dowry included Glamis Castle. Rebuilt in 1543, the castle was besieged by James Kirkcaldy of Grange in 1546 and fell. Both buildings have totally disappeared and the sites built over in modern times. During the Scottish Reformation, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Sarlabous sailed from Leith and fought with the Lords of the Congregation at Pettycur Bay on 7 January 1560. Kinghorn Castle remained an important possession of the Scottish Crown, and this was recognised by the creation of the Earldom of Kinghorne in 1606. In October 1589 the minister of Kinghorn parish, John Scrimgeour, was chosen by King James VI to accompany him on his voyage to meet his bride, Anne of Denmark, in Norway. A burn, fed from the freshwater Kinghorn Loch above the town, once provided the town with its water and subsequently provided the source of power to drive the machinery of flax mills. The old town was dramatically transformed in 1846 by the construction of the railway viaduct across the valley of the burn and the opening of Kinghorn Station by the Edinburgh and Northern Railway which had its terminus at Burntisland for ferries across the Forth to Granton. Much of the former horse ferry traffic from Pettycur Bay was lost to Burntisland. The huge viaduct (mainly solid) splits the original town in two and totally dominates the lower (southern) section. John Key, who had an engineering works at Kirkcaldy, opened a shipyard at Abden, on the north east side of the town, in 1864. Its final closure was in 1922. Remnants of the slipways remain. Ships built include - 1864 South Australian, Princess Helena, 1865 Niphon, Kinghorn, 1866 Dane, Great Northern, 1868 River Tay, 1869 Albatross, 1871 Alps, 1873 Clio, 1868 Travancore, 1869 Scotland, 1870 Andes, 1872 Macgregor, 1873 African, Kafir, 1874 Ithuriel, Mactan, 1876 John Stirling, 1877 Strathbeg, Griffin, John Beaumont, 1878 Lass O' Gowrie, Keilawarra, 1879 Joseph Rickett, Patrick Stewart, William Muir, 1882 Mentmore, Ranelagh, Glanworth, Glenmore, 1883 Heathmore, Gabo, Burwah, Cahors, Fitzroy, Crathie, Namoi, 1884 Eurimbla, Newcastle. Following the opening of the Forth Railway Bridge in 1890, the North British Railway started to promote Kinghorn's picturesque sheltered bay and beach as a resort, which led to considerable development of the town.

Source: Wikipedia