Kirkcaldy - Landmarks

Landmarks

The oldest church in Kirkcaldy is the Old Kirk, the old parish church, on Kirk Wynd. The earliest mention of the Old Kirk is the record of its consecration in 1244 to St Brisse and St Patrick by David de Bernham, Bishop of St Andrews. The building's deterioration in the late eighteenth century was addressed by major renovations to the main body of the church between 1807 and 1808. Only the square western tower, which dates from around 1500, was retained and is now the oldest building to have survived within the old burgh. Other significant churches in the town include St Bryce Kirk built between 1877 and 1881 by James Matthews at the corner of St Brycedale Avenue and Kirk Wynd; Abbotshall Parish Church on Abbotshall Road, completed in 1788 and Linktown Church built in 1830-1 by George Hay on Bethlefield Place.

Kirkcaldy Town House on Wemyssfield is the centrepiece of the town's civic square. It was designed in the 1930s by David Carr and William Howard of Edinburgh. World War II stopped work on the building until 1950. Construction was split into two phases: the west wing, which was completed in 1953, and the east wing, completed in 1956.

Kirkcaldy War Memorial in War Memorial Gardens unveiled in 1923 was gifted to the town by John Nairn, linoleum manufacturer and grandson of Michael Nairn. This was dedicated to Ian Nairn, the son of John Nairn who died in the First World War. A Second World War memorial, designed by Thomas Hubbard, was later added and unveiled in 1958. The memorial commemorates the lives of 1,012 people from the First World War and 452 from the Second World War. Forming a centre piece to these gardens is the Kirkcaldy Museum, Art Gallery and Library building, also donated by Nairn.

In the north-east are two homes of early wealthy merchants and shipowners connected with Kirkcaldy's harbour. The Merchant’s House or Law’s Close at 339-343 High Street; once owned by the Law family, is one of the best surviving examples of a sixteenth-century town house in Scotland. Sailors' Walk, at 443-449 High Street; consists of two seventeenth-century houses, resting on foundations dating back to around 1460. These two houses were once divided into four dwellings; three of which were owned by the Oliphant family and the fourth by James Ferguson of Raith.

North of the harbour area, on The Path, are two examples of distinctive architectural styles. Hutchison's House was designed by George Spears, the owner of the nearby East Bridge distillery, in 1793. Path House, originally known as Dunnikier House, is a three-storey L-plan tower house designed by John Watson in 1692 for his bride, Euphan Orrock. In 1703 Watson sold the house to the Oswald family, who had important links with the town.

Two large stately homes also exist within the town. To the north of Kirkcaldy is Dunnikier House, built in the late eighteenth century as a seat for the Oswald family, replacing their previous residence at Path House. To the south-west of Kirkcaldy is Raith House, built in the late seventeenth century by Sir Alexander Raith, 4th Earl of Raith and Melville, for his bride, Barbara Dundas. The house remains a private residence of the Munro-Ferguson family.

To the east of the town are the ruins of Ravenscraig Castle on a rocky spit of land extending into the Firth of Forth. King James II began construction of the castle in 1460 for his queen, Mary of Gueldres. It was also a means of defending the upper reaches of the Forth, including the port of Dysart. To a lesser extent it protected the harbour of Kirkcaldy against piracy and English rivalry. Ravenscraig is one of the earliest British castles designed to defend against and use artillery, an innovation demonstrated by the massive walls, the regularly placed shot holes, and the deep rock-cut ditch. Following the death of the King at the siege of Roxburgh Castle (1460), work continued on Ravenscraig, and it became a home for Mary of Gueldres until her death in 1463. In 1470 King James III granted the castle and lands to William Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and Caithness, in exchange for the castle in Kirkwall and the right to the Earldom of Orkney.