History
The lands of the modern park were previously known as Pittencrieff Estate. In 1902, Andrew Carnegie purchased both Pittencrieff House and Estate from its then owner, Colonel James Maitland Hunt, ultimately with the intention to gift these to the people of Dunfermline. The official ceremony for the gifting of the park occurred the following year, and a trust fund in honour of the benefactory, known as Dunfermline Carnegie Trust, was founded for the general maintenance of the glen.
As part of the gifting of the estate, the Dunfermline Carnegie Trust invited proposals for the development of the area as a civic space. Two entries were submitted in 1903-04, one of which was by the world-renowned urban planner, naturalist and educationalist Patrick Geddes (1854–1932). His thinking about the commission, as he saw it, to balance preservation of heritage with regeneration, was an important influence in the formation of his ideas in town planning and civic renaissance. The second entry was by the landscape designer, Thomas Mawson. Although neither scheme was adopted, both influenced subsequent work on the establishment of the park as it exists today.
Read more about this topic: Pittencrieff Park
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