Wemyss ( ) is a civil parish on the south 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, lying on 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 ...

. It is bounded on the north-east 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 ...

and the south-west by the parish of

Kirkcaldy and Dysart Kirkcaldy and Dysart is a civil parish on the south coast of Fife, Scotland, lying on the Firth of Forth, containing the towns of Kirkcaldy and Dysart and their hinterland. The civil parish was formed in December 1901 by an amalgamation of the ...

and its length from south-west to north-east is about 6 miles. Inland it is bounded by

Markinch Markinch (, (Scottish Gaelic: Marc Innis) is both a village and a parish in the heart of Fife, Scotland. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the village has a population of 2,420. The civil parish had a population of 16,530 (in 2011).Cens ...

and its greatest breadth is miles.The New Statistical Account of Scotland by the Ministers of the Respective Parishes, Vol. IX Fife-Kinross. Publ. William Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh, 1845; article on WemyssOrdnance Gazetteer of Scotland, by Francis Groome, 2nd edition 1896; article on Wemyss The name of the parish is from the

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 as ...

''Uaimheis'' meaning 'Cave Place', from ''uaimh'', 'cave', and ''es'', an obsolete Gaelic suffix meaning 'place of'. The parish gives its name to the family and

Earls of Wemyss Earl of Wemyss ( ) is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created in 1633. The Scottish Wemyss family had possessed the lands of Wemyss in Fife since the 12th century. Since 1823 the earldom has been held with the Earldom of March, created in ...

Settlements

Nearly a dozen towns and villages have existed in Wemyss parish over the years, some now joined to form larger settlements: The parish contains the towns of Methil and Buckhaven in the north, formerly constituting the burgh of Buckhaven and Methil. In the south are the villages of

East Wemyss East Wemyss () is a village situated on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 1,928. History East Wemyss was traditionally one of several coal mining communities along the south coa ...

and West Wemyss, between which is sited

Wemyss Castle Wemyss Castle (pronounced eems is situated in Wemyss on the sea cliffs between the villages of East Wemyss and West Wemyss in Fife, Scotland. Wemyss Castle is considered to be a multi-period building, and today's castle includes many elements ...

, ancient seat of the Earls of Wemyss and their family.Historic Scotland's record of listed buildings; entry for Wemyss Castle (only Category A listing in the parish of Wemyss) http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designation/LB16709 retrieved May 2016

History

The district is of much archaeological and historic interest. On the shore to the north-east are two square towers which are supposed to have formed part of

Macduff's Castle MacDuff's Castle is a ruined castle near East Wemyss, in Fife, Scotland. The site is associated with the MacDuff Earls of Fife, the most powerful family in Fife in the middle ages, although nothing survives from this period. The present ruins ...

, and near them are the caves (''weems'', from the Gaelic, ) from which the district derives its name. Several of them contain archaic sculptures, of uncertain origin. Coal mining was once the principal industry of the district, the coal being exported from the port of Methil. Its harbour was constructed by David, 2nd earl of Wemyss, and the town was a

burgh of barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town ( burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...

in 1662.

Parish history

A Parochial Board was established in 1845, which was superseded by a Parish Council in 1895. However, in 1891 the

police burgh A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975. The 1833 act The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Wm IV c.46). This ...

of Buckhaven and Methil was established, consisting of the towns of Buckhaven, Methil and Innerleven,Third Statistical Account of Scotland; volume on Fife, by Alexander Smith, Publ. 1952. Article on Wemyss, subsection on Buckhaven and Methil, p. 551 which contained most of the population of the parish (8,000 out of 15,000 in 1901). Parish councils in Scotland were abolished in 1930 but civil parishes persist for census and other non-administrative purposes, while Buckhaven and Methil burgh was abolished in 1975 The civil parish of Wemyss contains the Community Council areas of Coaltown of Wemyss, West Wemyss, East Wemyss and McDuff, Buckhaven, Methilhill, and Methil.Fife Community Council web site www.fifedirect.org.uk/CommunityCouncils retrieved May 2016 Historically the parish church was located in East Wemyss, which was the ''kirk town'' of the parish, but with the great growth of population in the 19th century (as a result of the coal industry), additional ecclesiastical-only parishes were erected, beginning with Methil and West Wemyss. (Also churches were built for the non-established denominations). The former parish church is St. Mary's by the Sea, in East Wemyss and there has been a church on this site since the 12th century. Originally rectangular in plan, the church seems to have been virtually rebuilt in 1528, with further rework in 1792 and 1810. After the Reformation, the chancel became the Wemyss Aisle.Historic Scotland's record of listed buildings; entry for St Mary's By-The-Sea http://portal.historic-scotland.gov.uk/designation/LB16704 retrieved May 2016Web site "Places of Worship in Scotland" (a project of Scottish Church Heritage Research Ltd); St Mary's by the Sea, Wemyss scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/4627 retrieved May 2016 The church closed in 1976 with the congregation being united with St. George's, East Wemyss (itself united with St Adrian's in West Wemyss in 1973) and the church was converted to a house in 1985.Web site "Places of Worship in Scotland"; St George's, Wemyss scottishchurches.org.uk/sites/site/id/8059 retrieved May 2016 Then in 2008 Buckhaven and Wemyss united as the Parish of Buckhaven and Wemyss, with services at St Adrian's (West Wemyss) and Buckhaven churches (St. George's was then closed). Church of Scotland web site; Parish of Buckhaven and Wemyss www.presbyteryofkirkcaldy.org.uk/congregations/buckhaven-wemyss-parish-church/ retrieved May 2016 Alongside this united parish, there are several Church of Scotland ecclesiastic parishes in northern areas of the civil parish of Wemyss (covering Methil, Innerleven and Methilhill).Church of Scotland web site; Presbytery of Kirkcaldy - see under Congregations www.presbyteryofkirkcaldy.org.uk retrieved May 2016 The civil parish has a population of 18,255 (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 its area is 4872 acres.Gazetteer of Scotland, publ, by W & AK Johnston, Edinburgh, 1937. Article on Wemyss. Places are presented alphabetically

References

External links

Wemyss parish at Fife Place-name Data
{{coord, 56.163, -3.070, region:GB_dim:10000, display=title Parishes in Fife