Crail (); gd, Cathair Aile) is a former royal burgh, parish and community council area (Royal Burgh of Crail and District) in the East Neuk 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. The locality has an estimated population of 1,630 (2018).

Etymology

The name ''Crail'' was recorded in 1148 as ''Cherel'' and in 1153 as ''Karel''. The first element is the Pictish ''*cair'' (c.f. Welsh ''caer'') meaning "fort", though this word seems to have been borrowed into

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. The second element may be either Gaelic ''ail'', "rocks", or more problematically Pictish ''*al''; no certain instance of this word exists in P-Celtic. However, if the generic element were Pictish, then this is likely of the specific.

History

The site on which the parish church is built appears to have religious associations that pre-date the parish church's foundation in early mediaeval times, as evidenced by an 8th-century cross-slab preserved in the church. The parish church was itself dedicated (in the 13th-century) to the early holy man St. Maelrubha of Applecross in Wester Ross.

Crail Castle Crail Castle was a castle that was located in Crail, Fife, Scotland. Crail became a Royal Burgh in the 12th century. The castle was frequented by King David I of Scotland during his reign in the early 12th century and a receipt for its repair ...

was an occasional residence of David I of Scotland during the 12th century but subsequently fell into ruin. Crail became a royal burgh in 1178 during the reign of King William the Lion.''Scottish Seaside Towns'', Brian Edwards Robert the Bruce granted permission to hold markets on a Sunday.

Mary of Guise Mary of Guise (french: Marie de Guise; 22 November 1515 – 11 June 1560), also called Mary of Lorraine, was a French noblewoman of the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine and one of the most powerful families in France. She ...

, afterwards consort of

James V James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and duri ...

, landed in Crail in June 1538 after a severe storm, and was hospitably entertained in the ancient mansion of Balcomie Castle, whence, accompanied by the king, she proceeded to St. Andrew's.

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

, visiting Crail on his way 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 ...

in 1559, was moved to deliver a sermon in

Crail Parish Church Crail Parish Church is an ancient church building in Crail, Fife, Scotland. It is Category A listed, its oldest part dating to the 12th century. The walls and gravestones of its kirkyard are also Category A listed. In its first form, the chu ...

. Afterwards, protesters went through the church and forcefully removed images which were put in place by previous generations but were now considered ideologically unsound. In August 1583, many of the inhabitants of Crail attacked nearby Wormiston House, which belonged to Sir John Anstruther. They filled up newly made ponds and ditches, and destroyed a plantation of ash trees. They were vexed at Anstruther because his new ditches had been built on land they claimed to belong to them as common land. The Privy Council of Scotland ordered them to rebuild the dykes. In 2017, the Community Council was granted the Letters Patent to the Crail Shield and Coat of Arms. This was lost when the Royal Burgh of Crail Council was abolished in 1976.

Architecture

The most notable building in the town is the parish church, situated in the Marketgate – from the mid-13th century St Maelrubha's, in later medieval times St Mary's, but now, as part of the Church of Scotland's ministry, known just as Crail Parish Church. It was founded in the second half of the 12th century. From early in its history, it belonged to the Cistercian Nunnery of St Clare in Haddington, East Lothian, and remained the Nunnery's possession until the Reformation. The kirkyard also includes a war memorial gateway of 1921. Crail Tolbooth is near the juncture of Tolbooth Wynd and the Marketgate. It stands on its own at the edge of the large marketplace with its mercat cross in the centre of the town. This is where the Sunday markets were once held. (The former marketplace is now used as a car park.) The tolbooth has a characteristic tower dating from about 1600 and a European-style roof, similar to buildings in Holland. The weathervane on the spire is in the form of a smoked haddock (known locally as a ''Crail Capon'') rather than the traditional cockerel form. The Crail Museum and Heritage Centre, largely staffed by volunteers and open every day in summer, is sited in a neighbouring building, also of historical interest, at the top of Tolbooth Wynd. It houses temporary exhibitions and has a permanent exhibition on RNAS Crail. The

Golf Hotel The Golf Hotel is a hotel and restaurant in Crail, Fife, Scotland. It is a Category A listed building dating to the early 18th century, although one source claims it is 16th century. The west pier was rebuilt in 1828 by

Robert Stevenson Robert Stevenson may refer to: * Robert Stevenson (actor and politician) (1915–1975), American actor and politician * Robert Stevenson (civil engineer) (1772–1850), Scottish lighthouse engineer * Robert Stevenson (director) (1905–1986), Engl ...

. This work incorporated the crane on the southwest corner which lifts timbers into slots to seal the inner harbour. The structure of the inner walls of the harbour features a highly unusual vertical coursing of the stones.

Notable residents

* Andrew Duncan, minister exiled for opposing the policies of James VI ( c.1560–1626) * James Sharp, became Archbishop of St Andrews (1618–1679) * James Oswald (1710–1769), composer * William Dickson, footballer (1866–1910) *

Oswald Wynd Oswald Morris Wynd (1913–1998) was a Scottish writer. He is best known for his novel ''The Ginger Tree'', which was adapted into a BBC televised mini-series in 1989. Wynd was born 4 July 1913 in Tokyo of parents who had left their native Pe ...

, author (1913–1998) *

Joan Clarke Joan Elisabeth Lowther Murray, MBE (''née'' Clarke; 24 June 1917 – 4 September 1996) was an English cryptanalyst and numismatist best known for her work as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Although she did not ...

, cryptanalyst and former fiancée of Alan Turing (1917–1996)

Carboniferous fossils

On the beach beside the harbour, there are fossilised trees related to Horsetails, dating back to the

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

geological period.

Sport

The Crail Golfing Society is the seventh oldest in the world, formed in 1786. Their oldest course, Balcomie, was formally laid out by

Tom Morris Sr. Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died ...

in 1894, but competitions had been played there since the 1850s.

Gallery

Image:The unusual stonework at Crail Harbour.jpg, The unusual stonework at Crail Harbour Image:Scotland Fife Crail 20070725 0117.jpg, Crail Harbour Image:Scotland Fife Crail 20070725 0119a.jpg, House near the harbour Image:Crail harbour.jpg, Crail Harbour Image:Scotland Fife Crail 20070725 0136.jpg, Viewing the harbour from above Image:Crail Harbour, Fife, Scotland.JPG, Boats in Crail Harbour

References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * * * *

External links

The Royal Burgh of Crail and District Community Council
{{Authority control Towns in Fife Royal burghs Parishes in Fife