Visit Dunfermline Places

Welcome to Visit Dunfermline Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Dunfermline

  

Dunfermline Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Dunfermline

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Dunfermline history

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There have been various interpretations of the name, “Dunfermline”. The first element, “dun” translated from Gaelic, has been accepted as a (fortified) hill, and is assumed to be referring to the rocky outcrop at the site of Malcolm Canmore’s tower in Pittencrieff Glen (now Pittencrieff Park). The rest of the name is problematic. The second element, “the ferm” may have been an alternative name for the Tower Burn according to a medieval record published in 1455 which, together with the Lyne Burn to the south, suggests the site of a fortification between these two watercourses. The first record of a settlement in the Dunfermline area was in the Neolithic period. This evidence includes finds of a stone axe, some flint arrowheads and a carved stone ball near the town. A cropmark which is understood to have been used as a possible mortuary enclosure has been found at Deanpark House, also near the town. By the time of the Bronze Age, the area was beginning to show some importance. Important finds included a bronze axe in Wellwood and a gold torc from the Parish Churchyard. Cist burials from the Bronze Age have also been discovered at both Crossford and Masterton, the latter of which contains a pair of armlets, a bronze dagger and a set necklace believed to have complemented a double burial. The first historic record for Dunfermline was made in the 11th century. According to the fourteenth-century chronicler, John of Fordun, Malcolm III married his second bride, the Anglo-Hungarian princess Saint Margaret, at the church in Dunfermline between 1068 and 1070; the ceremony was performed by Fothad, the last Celtic bishop of St Andrews. Malcolm III established Dunfermline as a new seat for royal power in the mid-11th century and initiated changes that eventually made the township the de facto capital of Scotland for much of the period until the assassination of James I in 1437. Following her marriage to King Malcolm III, Queen Margaret encouraged her husband to convert the small culdee chapel into a church for Benedictine monks. The existing culdee church was no longer able to meet the demand for its growing congregation because of a large increase in the population of Dunfermline from the arrival of English nobility coming into Scotland. The founding of this new church of Dunfermline was inaugurated around 1072, but was not recorded in the town’s records. King David I of Scotland (reigned 1124–53) would later grant this church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, to “unam mansuram in burgo meo de Dunfermlyn” which translates into “a house or dwelling place in my burgh of Dunfermline”. The foundations of the church evolved into an Abbey in 1128, under the reign of their son, David I. Dunfermline Abbey would play a major role in the general romanisation of religion throughout the kingdom. At the peak of its power the abbey controlled four burghs, three courts of regality and a large portfolio of lands from Moray in the north down into Berwickshire. From the time of Alexander I (reign 1104–28), the Abbey would also become firmly established as a prosperous royal mausoleum of the Scottish Crown. A total of eighteen royals, including seven Kings, were buried here from Queen Margaret in 1093 to Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany in 1420. During the fight for Scottish Independence from English rule, between 1296 and 1329, Robert The Bruce had insisted as early as 1314, he wanted to be buried in the royal mausoleum in Dunfermline. This was so he could maintain the legacy of previous Scottish Kings interred here, referring to them as our ‘predecessors’. Robert The Bruce (reigned 1306–29) would ultimately become the last of the seven Scottish Kings to be given this honour in 1329, although his heart was taken to Melrose Abbey. Dunfermline had become a burgh between 1124 and 1127, if not before this time. Dunfermline Palace was also connected to the abbey and the first known documentation of the Auld Alliance was signed there on 23 October 1295. Although the second son of King James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark, Prince Charles (later Charles 1) was born in Dunfermline Palace, Fife, on 19 November 1600, the Union of the Crowns ended the town’s royal connections when James VI relocated the Scottish Court to London in 1603. King Charles thus became the last monarch to be born in Scotland. The Reformation of 1560 had previously meant a loss of the Dunfermline’s ecclesiastical importance. David Ferguson was the town’s first reformed minister. On 25 May 1624, a fire engulfed around three-quarters of the medieval-renaissance burgh. Some of the surviving buildings of the fire were the palace, the abbey and the Abbot’s House. The decline in the fortunes of Dunfermline lasted until the introduction of a linen industry in the early 18th century. One reason for which the town became a centre for linen was there was enough water to power the mills and nearby ports along the Fife Coast. These ports also did trade with the Baltic and Low Countries. Another reason was through an act of industrial espionage in 1709 by a weaver known as James Blake who gained access to the workshops of a damask linen factory in Edinburgh by pretending to act like a simpleton in order to find out and memorise the formula. On his return to his home town in 1718, Blake established a damask linen industry in the town. The largest of these factories was St Leonard’s Mill which was established by Erskine Beveridge in 1851. A warehouse and office block was later added around 1869. Other linen factories were built on land to both the north and south ends of the burgh. During the mid-19th century, power loom weaving started to replace linen damask. The latter did not survive, going into decline straight after the end of First World War. In 1909 the Royal Navy established Scotland’s only Royal Naval Dockyard at nearby Rosyth. Post-war housing began in the late 1940s with the construction of temporary prefabs and Swedish timber houses around areas such as Kingseat and Townhill. Additional provisions were made for electricity, water and sewage systems. Council housing was focused towards Abbeyview, on a 97-hectare (240-acre) site on Aberdour Road; Touch, to the south of Garvock Hill; Bellyeoman and Baldridgeburn. Private housing became focused to the north of Garvock Hill and on the site of West Pitcorthie Farm. Dunfermline has experienced significant expansion since 1999, especially in an expansion corridor on the eastern side of the town. This growth has edged the population centre towards the town’s boundary with the M90 road corridor; it is planned to continue until 2022. Major developments include the creation of the Duloch and Masterton neighbourhoods with over 6,000 homes, three new primary schools, new community infrastructure, employment land and the Fife Leisure Park. With the expansion there has been a dramatic rise in the town’s population; more than 20% over a 15-year period. Fife Council have begun drafting plans for an expansion of a similar scale on Dunfermline’s south-west, west and north sides, which will see the creation of 4,000 homes, a new high school and three new primary schools in the first phase. Today, Dunfermline is the main centre for the West Fife area, and is also considered to be a dormitory town for Edinburgh. The town has shopping facilities, a major public park, a main college campus at Halbeath and an-out-of-town leisure park with a multiplex cinema and a number of restaurants. The online retailer Amazon.com has opened a major distribution centre in the Duloch Park area of Dunfermline.

Dunfermline culture & places

Pittencrieff Park forms the western boundary of the town centre covering 31 hectares (76 acres) It was given to the people of Dunfermline in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie. A £1.4 million project to regenerate, restore and re-establish the park began in 2009.

Dunfermline geography / climate

Dunfermline is at 56°04′17″N 3°27′42″W / 56.07139°N 3.46167°W. The medieval town rose from approximately 51 metres (167 ft) above sea level in the south to 92 to 105 metres (302 to 344 ft) in the north. The town is geologically separated from the area to the north by the Cleish Hills. Average annual temperatures range from a maximum of 18 °C to a minimum of 9 °C (48 °F)

You can visit Dunfermline places with Walkfo Dunfermline to hear history at Dunfermline’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Dunfermline has 27 places to visit in our interactive Dunfermline map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Dunfermline, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Dunfermline places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Dunfermline & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 27 audio facts unique to Dunfermline places in an interactive Dunfermline map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Dunfermline Places Map
27 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Dunfermline historic spots	Dunfermline tourist destinations	Dunfermline plaques	Dunfermline geographic features
Walkfo Dunfermline tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Dunfermline

  

Best Dunfermline places to visit

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Dunfermline has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Dunfermline’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Dunfermline’s information audio spots:

RAF Pitreavie Castle RAF Pitreavie Castle was a station of the Royal Air Force located in Dunfermline and near Rosyth, Fife, Scotland. Built in the early 17th century, the castle was sold to the Air Ministry in 1938. The station was used to coordinate operations of RAF Coastal Command and the Royal Navy during the Second World War.

Viewfield House, Dunfermline Viewfield House is a large square stone built three storey Palladian villa in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It is a category B listed building.

Dunfermline City Chambers Dunfermline City Chambers is a municipal facility at the corner of Bridge Street and Kirkgate in Fife. The building serves as home to the local area committee of Fife Council. It is a Category A listed building.

Dunfermline Palace Dunfermline Palace is a ruined former Scottish royal palace and important tourist attraction. It is currently under the care of Historic Environment Scotland as a scheduled monument.

Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum The Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum is a biographical museum in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, dedicated to the life of Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie. The museum site includes the original 18th-century weavers cottage in which Andrew Carnegie was born and a memorial hall added by James Shearer in 1928.

Pittencrieff Park Pittencrieff Park (known locally as “The Glen”) is a public park in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It was purchased in 1902 by the town’s most famous son, Andrew Carnegie. Its lands include the historically significant and topologically rugged glen which interrupts the city centre.

Townhill, Fife Townhill is a small village that lies just north of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. The origin of the community is thought to be from the coal-mining industry.

Duloch Duloch, or Duloch Park, is a residential suburb of Dunfermline, in Fife, Scotland. The lower price of large homes compared to homes across the Forth, as well as its proximity to the M90 motorway, has attracted many Edinburgh commuters. Local amenities include two large supermarkets (Tesco and Aldi) and a small shopping area.

Visit Dunfermline plaques