Falkland is a village, parish, and former

royal burgh A royal burgh ( ) was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs. Most royal burghs were either created by ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, Scotland, at the foot of the

Lomond Hills The Lomond Hills are a group of hills on the border of Fife and Kinross-shire in central Scotland, including East Lomond, West Lomond, and also Bishop Hill. At , West Lomond is the highest point in the Lomonds as well as the highest point in Fif ...

. According to the 2022 census it has a population of 1,041.

Etymology

The earliest forms of this name include ''Falleland'' (c. 1128) and ''Falecklen'' (c. 1160). The second element is the

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

''lann'' (enclosure) or possibly its

Pictish Pictish is an extinct Brittonic Celtic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from late antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited number of geog ...

cognate, but the exact etymology is unclear. The first element could be the Gaelic ''falach'' (hidden), ''failc'' (wash), or ''falc'' (heavy rain). The later

folk etymologies Folk etymology – also known as (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

of "falcon land" and "folkland" are not plausible., p. 158. In the Middle Ages, the name Falkland applied only to the Castle; the burgh and parish were known as Kilgour, which may mean "church/cell of Gabrán".

History

The lands of Kilgour existed in the Falkland area prior to the 12th century. But, the erection of Falkland Castle some time after 1160 was the crucial factor in the development of the medieval village, with workers and artisans. When King Malcolm donated the royal hunting estate of Falkland to Duncan, Earl of Fife in 1160, any previous hunting lodge may have been replaced by the castle. The site of Falkland Castle now lies within the grounds of the present

Falkland Palace Falkland Palace, in Falkland, Fife, Scotland, is a royal palace of the Scottish kings. It was one of the favourite places of Mary, Queen of Scots, who took refuge there from political and religious turmoil of her times. Today it is under th ...

. The church of Kilgour was located to the west of the present town. The benefice was counted as part of the Priory of Saint Andrews. It is known that an African servant of hers were buried in the kirk yard there in July 1591. The benefice was counted as part of the Priory of Saint Andrews. It is known that coffins were interred at a spot called the "Pillars of Hercules" on the way to Kilgour. About thirty years later, a replacement church was built in Falkland town by the master mason John Mylne and his son. The site of the old church at Kilgour has been absorbed into a farm. Despite being granted

status in 1458, Falkland had developed as a medieval settlement dependent on Falkland Castle and Falkland Palace. Thus it did not function in the same way as did other royal burghs. Falkland was the birthplace of the famous 17th-century

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

Richard Cameron. He was the town schoolmaster before he became a field or itinerant preacher. His house still stands in the main street of the village. Another Covenanter, Robert Gillespie, was arrested for preaching here; he was imprisoned on the

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, at its highest point, and is home ...

. John, Marquis of Bute, inherited much of this land in the late 19th century. He employed the architects John Kinross and Robert Weir Schultz to restore a considerable proportion of the village (including the Palace).

Legacy

*The

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

in the South Atlantic are named after Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount Falkland. *The 20th-century American country and western singer

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

, born to a poor farming family in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, traced part of his paternal family ancestry to this district of Fife. *Today, the parish church of Falkland is a Destination Hub on the St Margaret Pilgrim Journey.

Landmarks

Scotland's first conservation village is best known as the location of Falkland Palace, begun in 1500 by

James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...

, and the best example of French-influenced

Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

in Scotland. The palace was built to accommodate the royal court when they came to Falkland to hunt in the nearby forests;

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

, was a frequent visitor. The palace houses a Roman Catholic church which was used for the undertaking of mass. As at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly known as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood has s ...

in Edinburgh, a fire broke out during the occupation of the buildings by

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

's troops in 1654. The fire destroyed the East Range. The Court never returned to Falkland Palace after 1665 and until the 19th century the village and palace were neglected. In the late 19th century extensive rebuilding and restoration work began. Today the palace and gardens are open to the public through the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland () is a Scottish Building preservation and conservation trusts in the UK, conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organisation in Scotland and describes itself as "the charity that cares for, sha ...

. Falkland Parish Church was designed by

William Burn William Burn (20 December 1789 – 15 February 1870) was a Scottish architect. He received major commissions from the age of 20 until his death at 81. He built in many styles and was a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial Revival, often referred ...

and built between 1848 and 1850, replacing a previous church on the site. Falkland contains a number of

Listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

, including five at Category A: *

(also its royal stables and tennis court) *The House of Falkland * Falkland Town Hall *Moncrief House * Brunton House

Culture

Other features of the village include an old horse market, also including the Falkland Cricket Club, and the Falkland Golf Club. One of the country's leading environmental festivals, The Big Tent, was held for several years up to 2012 in the grounds of Falkland Estate in July. Organised by the Falkland Centre for Stewardship, the 2012 festival was headlined by

the Proclaimers The Proclaimers are a Scottish Rock music, rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid (born 5 March 1962). They came to attention with their 1987 single "Letter from America (song), Letter from America", which reached No. 3 ...

and the 2010 event by

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash. Although Cash is often classified as a country artist, her music draws f ...

. Since 2016 the main event of the year has been the Craft Symposium. The 2018 Symposium, held in August, celebrates traditional crafts and craftsmanship through talks, discussions, workshops, demonstrations, networking and site tours. The Falkland Library and Falkland Community Hall are run on behalf of the community by Falkland Community Development Trust, an organisation established to maintain, develop and/or operate a centre or centres providing facilities for a wide range of community activities and accommodation for community groups, and for public sector agencies which provide services of benefit to the community. All residents of Falkland can become members of the trust. The Falkland Society holds regular meetings with speakers, and has published several books about the village.Falkland Society: Publications
/ref>

Sport

Falkland has one of the oldest

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

courts, which was built for

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was List of Scottish monarchs, 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 a ...

in 1539. It is the oldest tennis court in use today, and the only active tennis court without a roof. Play is organized by the

Falkland Palace Royal Tennis Club The Falkland Palace Royal Tennis Club (also previously called the Falkland Palace Real Tennis Club) organizes play at the real tennis court in the gardens of Falkland Palace, Fife, Scotland. Built for James V of Scotland, court construction bega ...

. Forming in 1860, Falkland Cricket Club are the oldest cricket club in Fife. The club have played at Scroggie Park since 1948. Local running groups includ
Falkland Trail RunnersGet Fit Falkland
and th
Lomond Hill Runners
Falkland Trail Runners organise the Falkland Hill trail race in conjunction with the annual village gala.

Notable residents

* Rev George Buist (1779-1860)

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

in 1848 was minister of Falkland 1802 to 1813. *Sir David Deas, born and raised in Falkland

References

External links

Royal Burgh of Falkland and Newton of Falkland Community CouncilVisit FalklandEngraving of Falkland in 1693
by

John Slezer John Slezer (before 1650 – 1717) was a German-born military engineer and artist. Life Slezer was born in a German-speaking region of Europe, possibly the upper Rhineland. He may have spent his early years in military service to the Hous ...

at National Library of Scotland
The Falkland SocietyHistoric FalklandFalkland Historic Buildings wiki
{{Authority control Villages in Fife Parishes in Fife Royal burghs