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East Wemyss
A village on the Firth of Forth, 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Kirkcaldy. Formerly known as Castleton, it stands close to the ruins of 16th-century Macduff's Castle which was the home of the Wemyss family before they built Wemyss Castle. The village takes its name from the 'weems' or caves in the sandstone cliffs which contain Pictish and early Christian symbols. Between 1898 and 1967 the majority of the people in East Wemyss relied on the nearby Michael Coal Pit for employment. East Wemyss was the birthplace in 1908 of the accordionist and band leader Jimmy Shand.
Elie
A coastal resort and residential town in the East Neuk of Fife, situated 2.5 miles (4 km) south-west of St Monance on the edge of a sickle-shaped bay with sandy beaches. Stretching out for a mile around the bay, it comprises from east to west the once separate settlements of Elie, Liberty, Williamsburgh and Earlsferry which were united as the burgh of Elie and Earlsferry in 1929. The town takes is name from the Ailie or island of Ardross which formed a natural harbour accessible only at low tide and in 1589 received its royal charter from James VI. Elie subsequently developed as an important centre of commerce, boat building, fishing and weaving. Its harbour, built in the 16th century, is now a haven for yachts and small craft and is one of few harbours in Scotland to be run by a private company for the people of the burgh. Elie has many interesting 17th, 18th and 19th century buildings. The parish church was built by Sir William Scott of Ardross in the 1630s prior to the disjunction of Elie from the parish of Kilconquhar in 1641, and to the east overlooking Ruby Bay stand the ruins of The Lady's Tower, built as a seaside summer house for Janet Fall, Lady Anstruther. Amongst Elie's most famous sons is the golfer James Braid who won the Open Championship five times between 1901 and 1910. In addition to two golf courses, Elie is today a centre for bowling, tennis, sailing and windsurfing.
Falkland
A royal burgh lying in the northern foothills of the Lomond Hills 8 miles north of Glenrothes. Situated in a strategic location on a north-south route that opens out into the valley of the River Eden, it was the site of a castle built by Macduff the Thane of Fife. The Stewarts purchased the property in the 14th century and in 1458 the town received its royal charter. Between 1501 and 1541 a palace was built by James IV and James V who came to hunt deer and wild boar in the surrounding forests. Adjacent to the palace is a garden within which there is a Royal Tennis Court, one of only two in the United Kingdom (the other being at Hampton Court). The palace still belongs to the Queen but has been maintained since 1952 by the National Trust for Scotland in its role as Deputy Keeper. Royal patronage was not sustained after the Union of the Crowns, although Charles II first constituted the Scots Guards here in 1650, but Falkland continued to prosper as a weaving town. In the early 1800s much of the town was improved by the Tyndall-Bruce family which inherited the Falkland Estate and in 1970 one of the first Conservation Area in Scotland was established in Falkland whose palace and houses are now a major tourist attraction. The former textile and linoleum industries no longer exist but paper bags are still made in Falkland. The burgh has a 9-hole golf course.
Flisk Parish
A sparsely populated rural parish on the shore of the Firth of Tay between Newburgh and Balmerino. It rises to 712 ft (217 m) at Glenduckie Hill and includes the ruins of Ballinbreich Castle, a former seat of the Leslie family.
Fordell
A former estate colliery village in W Fife, situated a mile to the east of Crossgates. It was once linked by Scotland's first private railway to St David's Harbour on the Firth of Forth and comprised two squares known as Fordel Square and Wemyss Square. To the south is the late 16th-century Fordell Castle which belonged to the Henderson family for over 400 years and was restored by the late Sir Nicholas Fairbairn MP.
Freuchie
A village in the Howe of Fife, situated 2 miles (3 km) east of Falkland. There are many interesting 18th and 19th century buildings including a Victorian Linen Mill and a church built in 1875. It is said that French masons working on the construction of Falkland Palace lived here during the 16th century and that the village was a place of exile for disgraced courtiers, hence the old saying 'Awa' tae Freuchie, whaur the Froggies live.'
Gateside
A village in Strathmiglo Parish 2 miles (3 km) west of Strathmiglo, situated on the north bank of the River Eden and straddling the A91 road to St Andrews. Once the site of the chapel of St Mary of Dungaitside which belonged to the monks of Balmerino Abbey, it comprises the old fermtoun village of Gateside, the hamlet of Edensbank, and a 19th-century roadside settlement formerly known as Edentown or Edenshead. During the 19th century the Gateside Mills produced wooden bobbins and shuttles for weaving factories. Today these mills produce clothing, furniture and turned wood components.
Gauldry
A village in the parish of Balmerino linked with Wormit, NE Fife, situated 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Wormit on a ridge north of the Motray Water. Once occupied by farmers, weavers and estate workers, Gauldry is now largely populated by commuters to Dundee and Cupar. In addition to being the base of a local coach company, it is the location of Balmerino Primary School and has a village hall (1896) and a park (Duncan Park) dedicated to a great-grand daughter of Admiral Viscount Duncan of Camperdown. Nearby stands Naughton House (1793) and the ruins of Naughton Castle built in the 16th century by the Hay family.
Giffordtown
A 19th-century hamlet in Collessie Parish, central Fife, situated in the Howe of Fife to the north-west of Ladybank. It has an equestrian centre. It is also known as Gifferton.
Glenrothes
The administrative capital of Fife, a 'new town' situated on the River Leven between Leslie and Markinch. Developed during the 1950s and 1960s on the principles of a 'Garden City' style layout of well-landscaped, low-rise suburban housing, its planners originally envisaged a target population of 32,000. The town grew up adjacent to existing paper mills but by the 1970s had gained a 'Silicon Glen' reputation for its hi-tech industries. A wide range of food processing, engineering and hi-tech industries are located on its Whitehill, Viewfield, Queensway and Southfield industrial estates and a major town centre retail complex has been developed at the Kingdom Centre. In 1975 Glenrothes superseded Cupar as administrative capital of Fife. To the north of the River Leven Greater Glenrothes incorporates the districts of Formonthills, Coul, Pitcairn, Collydean, Balgeddie, Whinnyknowe, Leslie Parks, Forester's Lodge, Pitcoudie, Balfarg, Cadham, Mount Frost, Balbirnie Burns and Prestonhall. To the south of the river lie the districts of Macedonia, South Parks, Queensway, Auchmuty, Woodside, Eastfield, Pitteuchar, Viewfield, Rimbleton, Caskieberran, Tanshall, Newcastle, Goatmilk, Whitehill, Southfield, Finglassie, Stenton, Bankhead and Bankhead West. The town is well endowed with playing fields and parks which include the Riverside Park, Gilvenbank Park, Balbirnie Park, Tanshall Park, Warout Wood, Carleton Park and Lochty Park. There is a 56-acre airfield at Goatmilk, a swimming pool and sports centre adjacent to Glenrothes College at Viewfield, the Lomond Community Recreation Centre at Woodside, Stenton Community Centre, a hospital at Forester's Lodge, a bowling Green at Tanshall Park and two 18-hole golf courses at Goatmilk and Balbirnie.
Goatmilk
The former name for the village of Kinglassie and the name of a farm and district in south-west Greater Glenrothes. In Celtic and medieval times there was a territory known as Gaitmilkshire.
Gowkhall
A small village in Carnock Parish, W Fife, situated to the north of the A907 3 miles (5 km) west of Dunfermline.
Guardbridge
A village in Leuchars Parish, E Fife, situated at the head of the River Eden estuary 3 miles (5 km) north-west of St Andrews. The six-arched Old Guard Bridge or Gaire Brig was built in the 15th century by Bishop Henry Wardlaw of St Andrews and repaired a century later by Archbishop James Beaton. The village developed at crossings over the River Eden and Motray Water, and during the Middle Ages it is said that pilgrims used to gather here before making the final journey under guard to the holy shrine at St Andrews. A distillery founded here by William Haig in 1810 was converted to a paper mill in 1873. The manufacture of paper is still the leading local industry.
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