Pittenweem Priory Gatehouse.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Pittenweem ( ) is a fishing village and civil parish 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 ...
, on the east coast of Scotland. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,747.


Etymology

The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish ''pett'' 'place, portion of land', and "-enweem" is
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 ...
''na h-Uaimh'', 'of the Caves' in Gaelic, so "The Place of the Caves". The name is rendered ''Baile na h-Uaimh'' in modern
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 ...
, with ''baile'', 'town, settlement', substituted for the Pictish prefix. The cave in question is almost certainly St Fillan's cave.


History

The settlement has existed as a fishing village since early medieval times. The oldest structure, St. Fillan's Cave, dates from the 7th century. An Augustinian priory moved here from the Isle of May in the 13th century, but there was already a church at that time. Pittenweem Parish Church (which is attached to the local tolbooth) has a Norman doorway dating to before 1200. The gatehouse to the east is 15th century. The priory dormitory and refectory was remodelled post-Reformation (1588) to give a new function as a manse. This building was later named the "Great House". Until 1975 Pittenweem was a royal burgh, having been awarded the status by King
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 ...
(1513–42) in 1541. Founded as a fishing village around a probably early Christian religious settlement, it grew along the shoreline from the west where the sheltered beaches were safe places for fishermen to draw their boats up out of the water. Later a breakwater was built, extending out from one of the rocky skerries that jut out south-west into 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 ...
like fingers. This allowed boats to rest at anchor rather than being beached, enabling larger vessels to use the port. A new breakwater further to the east was developed over the years into a deep, safe harbour. In 1779 John Paul Jones (founder of the American Navy) anchored half-a-mile off Pittenweem in the USS ''Bonhomme Richard''. There is a feudal Lordship and Barony of Pittenweem created by James VI for Frederick Stewart in 1609. It was held by the Earls of Kellie until it passed to Sir John Anstruther and then to the Bairds of Elie. The current Lord Baron is Claes Zangenberg.


Industry

Pittenweem is currently the most active of the fishing ports in the East Neuk coast of Fife. In the 18th century, Pittenweem had a series of coal mines on the coast between Pittenweem and St Monans. At one time the village was served by the Fife Coast Railway.


Geography

The village sits astride a raised beach.


Education

Pittenweem Primary School is a traditional village school with its own playing fields on the northern side of the older part of the village. It caters for children aged 4/5 to 11/12. Secondary education (up to ages 16, 17 or 18 depending on educational ambitions) is provided at Waid Academy in the neighbouring town of
Anstruther Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther ...
. The nearest private educational institution is St Leonards School in
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 ...
, or the High School of Dundee.


Religion

In the Middle Ages, Pittenweem Priory was a small
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
monastery linked to that on the Isle of May and built over the ancient sacred cave associated with
St Fillan Saint Fillan, Filan, Phillan, Fáelán (Old Irish) or Faolán (modern Gaeilge & Gàidhlig) is the name of an eighth century monk from Munster, who having studied at Taghmon Abbey, traveled to Scotland and settled at Strath Fillan. Name The na ...
. The cave, which is fitted out as a chapel, was rededicated as a place of worship by the
Bishop of St. Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...
in 1935.Sharp, Mick, ''The Way and the Light'', Aurum Press Ltd, 2000. Current denominations with churches include: Church of Scotland, Catholic,
Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the l ...
and Baptist. Other denominations have had churches or the equivalent, but these have been converted to other purposes. The Parish Church Hall, for example, was once "Pittenweem St. Fillan's". The late 17th to early 18th centuries saw a number of notorious witch-hunts by the local minister. Pittenweem Tolbooth was used as the jail for some of the
Pittenweem witches The Pittenweem witches were five Scottish women accused of witchcraft in the small fishing village of Pittenweem in Fife on the east coast of Scotland in 1704. Another two women and a man were named as accomplices. Accusations made by a teenage b ...
. Five women were severely beaten and one was murdered by a
lynch mob Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
.


Culture

In the late 1960s the local fishermen celebrated the re-opening of the re-designed harbour with a Gala Day, when the boats were
dressed overall Dressing commonly refers to: * Dressing (knot), the process of arranging a knot * Dressing (medical), a medical covering for a wound, usually made of cloth * Dressing, putting on clothing Dressing may also refer to: Food * Salad dressing, a type ...
and people could take short trips on the boats. By the early 1980s, however, increasing regulation, higher fuel costs and a shrinking fleet were bringing this event to its knees. In its place in 1982 sprang up an Arts Festival, which initially incorporated the Gala Day as its finale. The Arts Festival has moved on somewhat, however, becoming one of the best-loved art festivals in Scotland with an estimated 25,000 visitors in 2013. Many artists have re-discovered the charms and the light of the area, which was always popular with itinerant and hobby artists, and have moved to the village, creating a vibrant artistic community. Pittenweem had the first newspaper in the area – the ''Pittenweem Register'' (1844–56). There is also a fairly well-known song, "Pittenweem Jo", written in 1960.


Politics

The local Member of the UK Parliament (representing North East Fife) is Wendy Chamberlain of the Liberal Democrats. The local (representing Fife North East)
Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The ad ...
(MSP) is Willie Rennie of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. From 1885 to 1983, Pittenweem was part of the East Fife Parliamentary constituency, its most famous MP being Prime Minister
H. H. Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
(Liberal) from 1886 to 1918.


Sport

The local football team is Pittenweem Rovers AFC. The local rugby team is Waid Academy FPRFC.


Notable people

* John Douglas, Anglican Bishop of Salisbury *
John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...
, clockmaker * Ian Stewart, musician *Frederick Stewart, Lord Pittenweem, local aristocrat * Sir Walter Watson Hughes, public benefactor, founder of the University of Adelaide, South Australia *
Wallace Lindsay Wallace Martin Lindsay (12 February 1858 – 21 February 1937) was a classical scholar of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a palaeographer. He was Professor of Humanity at University of St Andrews. Biography Lindsay was born in Pi ...
(Wallace Martin Lindsay), classical scholar, Professor of Humanity at St Andrews University, 1899 to 1937


Gallery

File:Pittenweem Skerries.jpg, West Shore, Pittenweem from the West Braes showing skerries in the foreground, the old harbour in the mid-ground and the new harbour in the background. The Isle of May (or May Island) is on the horizon. File:Pittenweem1.jpg, West Shore, Pittenweem from the West Braes File:Pittenweem pool.jpg, Pittenweem swimming pool looking towards St Monans with the Lady's Tower, Elie, in the distance File:Harbour at Pittenweem, Fife, Scotland.JPG, Pittenweem Harbour


See also

* List of fishing villages *
Moschatel Press Moschatel Press is a small press publisher producing artist's books and poetry collections. It was founded in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, in 1973, by the artist Laurie Clark and the Scottish poet Thomas A. Clark and moved to Pittenweem, Fife ...


References

{{Authority control Villages in Fife Fishing communities Fishing communities in Scotland Parishes in Fife