Limekilns is a village in

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. It lies on the shore of the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

, around south of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

History and economy

Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an old settlement dating back to the 14th century. In its early days Limekilns was mainly a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

village, with the large natural

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

, sheltered by the rocky ridge known as The Ghauts, providing docking facilities for small to medium transport and cargo ships. From here ships traded with the ports in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

and France until the seventeenth century when the

Union of the Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...

saw the royal interests move south to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In the early 14th century there was a port for the town of

, called Galletts, at the site of the current settlement of Limekilns, this served as the principal port for the town which lies a few miles inland. The importance of the local

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

became clear quite early in the village's history, being used both as a fertiliser and for the manufacture of mortar used in the construction of stone buildings. Workings using kilns fuelled by charcoal and later coal to convert lime to quicklime grew up, the product being exported from the port along the east coast of Scotland. Today the only tangible legacy of this industry in village is the name Limekilns. In the 1750s the lime industry transferred a mile or so west along the coast to Charlestown, where the ruins of the massive

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

s still exist today. For many centuries Limekilns was also the northern terminus for a ferry linking it to

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...

on the southern side of the Forth. This found an echo in Robert Louis Stevenson's ''Kidnapped'': and it was from Limekilns that David Balfour and Alan Breck were carried across the Forth in a rowing boat.

Soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

was also produced from a soapworks located near Caupernaum Pier. The 'Soap Sheds' still exist and are used as storage facilities. The years of

industrial decline Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...

meant that most of these industries were lost and Limekilns became just another sleepy coastal village. New housing estates were added during the property boom of the 1970s and 1980s, considerably boosting the size and population of the village.

Landmarks

Limekilns sits within the lands which traditionally belonged to the

Earl of Elgin Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the ...

of Broomhall House, which overlooks the village. The oldest building in the village is The King's Cellar, a large property which can be traced back to 1362. It has served many different purposes throughout its long life, notably as a store house,

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

. It is currently employed as a

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Lodge and is generally not open to the public. The village has a range of amenities including a primary school, doctor's surgery, shops and a Sea Scout Group as well as a Guide unit. The Ship Inn is said to be the 'watering hole' featured in

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's novel ''Kidnapped''.

Transport

The

Earls of Elgin Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...

owned land in the Crossford area in connection with the Elgin Colliery (at Parkneuk and Baldridge Burn, NW of Dunfermline) and the Elgin Railway that ran from the Colliery round Crossford and then down beside Waggon Road and on to Charlestown harbour. The route of the railway and the site of the Elgin Colliery are shown in a map in Chalmers' book, Historical and Statistical Account of Dunfermline. Plate = I To the north, paths run via Pitliver to Crossford and through the estate of the Earl of Elgin and Wester Gellet to Pittencrieff Park at Dunfermline.

Notable people

Limekilns is the birthplace of George Thomson.

References

{{Authority control Villages in Fife