Leuchars (pronounced or ; gd, Luachar "rushes") is a small town and parish near the north-east coast of

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The civil parish has a population of 5,754 (in 2011) Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved March 2016. See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type: Civil Parish 1930 and an area of .Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Leuchars. Places are presented alphabetically

History

The name of the town derives from the Scottish Gaelic, ''Luachair'', meaning "rushes", with an archaic Gaelic suffix ''-es'' that means "a place of", giving ''Luachaires'', or "The Place of the Rushes". The Barony of Leuchars is recorded during the reign of

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

(1165–1214). The 12th-century St Athernase Church is one of the finest surviving examples of an unaisled Romanesque parish church in Scotland. The church has two levels of blind arcading in the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

style running round the exterior, surmounted by a corbel table with heads of various designs. The interior has elaborate

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

and

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

arches, and a series of powerful beast-heads on the corbels supporting the ribs of the internal vaults. The nave has been rebuilt, while the apse roof is crowned by a small bell-tower added in the 17th century. The medieval

Leuchars Castle Leuchars Castle, was a castle that was located near Leuchars, Fife, Scotland. A motte and bailey castle was built in the 12th century. The town was created a barony in the time of King William the Lion. The castle was built of stone in the 1 ...

was located to the north of the town: it was demolished in the 19th century but the

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy to ...

can still be seen, as well as a nearby

doocot A dovecote or dovecot , doocot (Scots Language, Scots) or columbarium is a structure intended to house Domestic pigeon, pigeons or doves. Dovecotes may be free-standing structures in a variety of shapes, or built into the end of a house or ba ...

The surrounding area was improved by drainage in the 18th century. In the 19th century, a railway station on the line from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

brought increased prosperity to the town. When The St. Andrews Railway

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

was closed in the late 1960s, Leuchars became the closest place to get the train to

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

. Since then,

Leuchars railway station Leuchars railway station ( ) serves the towns of Leuchars and St Andrews in Fife, Scotland. The station is the last northbound stop before Dundee. The station was built as Leuchars Junction station for the route over the Tay Bridge to Dundee, t ...

has been used by many

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

students. In 1911 construction started on what would become RAF Leuchars. This Royal Air Force station would host a great variety of aircraft in its time, protecting the North of the United Kingdom from airborne threats until the final QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) aircraft of 1 Squadron departed RAF Leuchars in September 2014. The Station has since been handed over to the Army as of March 2015. The station remains an RAF diversion airfield for aircraft in distress and QRA aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth.

Geography

The town is located near the north-eastern coast of

. The town has a population of 3,060. The town is nearly to the north of the village of

Guardbridge Guardbridge ( sco, Gairbrig) is a village in the north-east of Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is approximately north-west of St Andrews, and is situated on the estuary of the River Eden, at the junction of the A91 road between St And ...

, which lies on the north bank of the River Eden where it widens to the ''Edenmouth''

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

before joining the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

at ''St Andrews Bay''. Leuchars is north-east of

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...

and north-west from the university town of

. The city of

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

is to the north, across the rail and road bridges that span the

Firth of Tay The Firth of Tay (; gd, Linne Tatha) is a firth on the east coast of Scotland, into which the River Tay (Scotland's largest river in terms of flow) empties. The firth is surrounded by four council areas: Fife, Perth and Kinross, City of Du ...

. The town had an adjoining

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

base, RAF Leuchars, which was established in 1920, and was home to the

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

. In 2015, the RAF base became an Army base, as the regimental headquarters of 2 Close Support Battalion REME and the

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British ...

, who saw their return to Scotland after 20 years in Germany, as coming home.

Climate

Leuchars has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

, like most of

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

. On average, Leuchars gets around of rain each year and 1,564 hours of sunshine, making it one of the driest and sunniest places in Scotland. The highest recorded temperature was in August 1990, while the lowest was , which was recorded in February 1986.

References

External links

Comprehensive local website
{{Authority control Towns in Fife Parishes in Fife