Largo (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well ...

: An Leargach) is a parish in Fife,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

containing the villages of

Upper Largo Upper Largo or Kirkton of Largo is a village in the parish of Largo, near the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. It rests on the southern slopes of Largo Law and half a mile north of Largo Bay and the rather larger village of Lower Largo. It is the h ...

or Kirkton of Largo,

Lower Largo Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on Largo Bay along the north side of the Firth of Forth. It is east of, and contiguous with, Lundin Links. Largo is an ancient fishing village in the parish of Larg ...

and

Lundin Links Lundin Links is a small village in the parish of Largo on the south coast of Fife in eastern central Scotland. The village was largely built in the 19th century to accommodate tourists visiting the village of Lower Largo. Lundin Links is conti ...

. It is bounded on the west by the parish of

Scoonie Scoonie is a settlement and parish in Fife, Scotland, the parish contains the town of Leven. It is bordered on the north by the parishes of Kettle and Ceres, on the east by the parish of Largo, on the south by the parishes of Markinch and Wem ...

, on the north by

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

and on the east by the parishes of

Newburn Newburn is a semi rural parish, former electoral ward and former urban district in western Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. Situated on the North bank of the River Tyne, it is built rising up the valley from the river. It is situated ...

and

Kilconquhar Kilconquhar ( or ; sco, also Kinneuchar, from the gd, Cill Dhúnchadha or gd, Cill Chonchaidh, Church of (St) Duncan or Conchad) is a village and parish in Fife in Scotland. It includes the small hamlet of Barnyards. It is bounded by the paris ...

. It has a coastline of 2¾ miles along Largo bay. Inland it extends 3-4 ½ miles north from the south coast of Fife.History of the County of Fife Vol.3, by John Leighton, 1840, p. 129 Area 7,378 acres.Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Largo. Places are presented alphabetically UpperLargo

Near the eastern edge of the parish is situated Largo Law, height 953 ft., a conical hill of volcanic origin, whose summit provides an extensive view of the surrounding area and across the Firth of Forth to the Lothians. West of Largo Law is a deep ravine, through which flows a small burn, intersecting the parish from north to south for 2 miles. The name "Largo" comes from the

word for hillside: Learg; a reference to the area being on a hillside of Largo Law. The original name was recorded as Leargach, with the 'ach' element being an early Gaelic place suffix. The church of the parish is situated in Upper Largo and dates from 1817, although it includes stonework from the earlier church dated 1623.New Statistical Account of Scotland - Vol. Fife and Kinross, by Ministers of their respective parishes, Publisher: William Blackwood, 1845, p. 434 The manse, which stands close by the west side of the Church, dates from 1760-1770, being considerably enlarged in 1822. The estate of Largo was once the most extensive in the parish, with a mansion, Largo House, about a mile west of the church in Kirkton of Largo. The Barony of Largo was conferred by James III in 1482 on Sir Andrew Wood, his naval commander, in recognition of his victories over the English. Sir Andrew caused a canal to be built from his mansion almost down to the church, thus enabling him to arrive by barge at the church each Sunday. Traces of the canal may be seen behind the manse. Largo Parish 1927

Largo House built in 1750 is now a ruin. During the second World War it served as headquarters of the Polish Parachute Brigade and in 1951 the roof was removed to avoid local property taxation (a similar experience to

Dalquharran Castle Dalquharran Castle is a category A listed building in South Ayrshire, Scotland, designed by Robert Adam and completed around 1790. The first recorded lord of the property which already included a castle, was Gilbert Kennedy, as stated in a 1474 Ch ...

). Immediately west of Largo House, near Lundin Links, was Lundin House, site of the Lundin estate originating from the grant of a Barony to Philip de Lundin by

Malcolm IV Malcolm IV ( mga, Máel Coluim mac Eanric, label=Medieval Gaelic; gd, Maol Chaluim mac Eanraig), nicknamed Virgo, "the Maiden" (between 23 April and 24 May 11419 December 1165) was King of Scotland from 1153 until his death. He was the eldest ...

. In the northern part of the parish lies New Gilston, a village 3 miles north of Upper Largo, surrounded by agricultural land. It has the distinction of being the highest inhabited village in Fife. The hamlet of Woodside is a short distance to the west. The population of the parish in 1755 was 1,396, 1,867 in 1801 and grew to 2,500 in 1951. The civil parish now has a population of 2,524 (in 2011).Census of Scotland 2011, Table KS101SC – Usually Resident Population (See “Standard Outputs”, Table KS101SC, Area type Civil Parish 1930), National Records of Scotland, accessed March 2016
/ref> Civil parishes in Scotland, as units of local government, were abolished in 1929. but have been used later for census purposes. Largo Area Community Council covers approximately the same area as Largo civil parish, plus Newburn to the east.{{cite web, url=http://www.largo-area-cc.org.uk/largo_area_map.htm, title=Largo area map, website=largo-area-cc.org.uk, accessdate=February 6, 2016, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406232259/http://www.largo-area-cc.org.uk/largo_area_map.htm, archive-date=6 April 2017, url-status=dead Similarly, Largo parish is united with Newburn for church purposes.

References

Fife Parishes in Fife