Cowdenbeath
Encyclopedia
Cowdenbeath is a town and burgh
in west Fife
, Scotland
. It is 5 miles north-east of Dunfermline
and 18 miles north of the capital, Edinburgh
. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a Police Burgh in 1890. According to a 2008 estimate, the town has a population of 11,640.
There is no evidence of a permanent settlement establishing itself around the current site of Cowdenbeath until the designation of the original Beath Kirk as a parish church in 1429/30 to act as a focal point to serve the surrounding area. The earliest written record of Beath (Beth), was found in a charter of Inchcolm Abbey
, dated 6 March 1178. This charter makes reference to the Chapel of Beth. Although it is generally accepted that the word ‘Beath’ in Gaelic means ’birch wood’, P.W. Brown suggests that the word means ‘abode’ or ‘a settlement.’ In 1643, the Parish of Beath was separated from Dalgety Bay and Aberdour. This significant date followed the building of a new church in 1640 at Beath, to replace the ruins of a sanctuary, which had fallen into sad disrepair.
By 1790 the records show that the parish of Beath had about 100 families whose livelihood came mainly from the soil. The fact that Beath Church served a very large area led to the creation of many "kirke roads", roads that form right-of-way even today. This church was replaced by the present church, built in 1832 and enlarged in 1886.
Cowdenbeath first came into prominence around 1820 as a stop on the north-bound coaching route to Perth. Indeed, Queen Victoria's entourage stopped at the Cowdenbeath Coaching Inn to change horses, on her first trip to Scotland in 1842, en route for Balmoral. The coaching inn, the Old Inn, was established at the junction of roads from North Queensferry, Perth, Dunfermline and Burntisland. When the new turnpike road from Queensferry to Perth was constructed, the Inn gained more importance.
Prior to 1850, Cowdenbeath was just a collection of farms within the Parish of Beath. The area was divided into four districts named after local farms: Kirkford, Foulford, White Threshes and Cowdenbeath farm, located close to the present-day site of Central Park. Local inhabitants of these focal points of growth, which were merging into a single town, met to decide on a name for the emerging town. The eventual decision was narrowed down to either White Threshes or Cowdenbeath and Cowdenbeath was the chosen name. The arrival of the Oakley Iron Company around 1850 was to have a long-lasting impact upon Cowdenbeath and make the name synonymous with coal-mining for almost 100 years. Shafts were sunk in the vicinity of the old Foulford Washer. It was in the mining for ore that the discoveries of the coal seams were made, and pits were sunk at every corner of the town. Prior to this, coal had been mined at Fordell for over a century, but the discovery of the coal seams at the depth they were found came as a pleasant surprise, considering the dip in the coal strata at Fordell, as it was previously thought that the seams at Cowdenbeath would be at such a depth as to be almost unworkable.
By 1850, the flourishing coal pits of Kelty, Lochgelly, Donibristle, Fordell and Hill of Beath surrounded the hamlet of Cowdenbeath. Within the greater area, which later became the Burgh of Cowdenbeath, there was little mining activity. Gibson, of Hill of Beath, and the Symes, of Cartmore, had opened small pits in the vicinity of Jubilee Park at the southern border of the Burgh, and other small pits appear to have been worked in the vicinity of Union Street. However, the situation was about to change when (contrary to earlier speculation) the Oakley Iron Company proved the area was rich in iron and coal. The opening of the Dunfermline-Thornton railway, via Cowdenbeath, in 1848, enhanced the prospects for mining and pits were literally sunk in every corner of the area, primarily for ironstone, but when this became uneconomic around the late 1870s, for coal alone.
The Forth Iron Company took over the Oakley Iron Company around 1860 then amalgamated with the Cowdenbeath Coal Company in 1872. When the Fife Coal Company subsequently took them over in 1896, the Cowdenbeath Coal Company's pits were listed as: Lumphinnans Nos. 1, 2, 7, 11; Cowdenbeath Nos. 3, 7, 9; Foulford No. 1 and Mossbeath. This effectively made the Fife Coal Company one of the largest coal mining concerns in Scotland. Such was the upsurge in mining activity that the population of Cowdenbeath doubled (4,000 - 8,000) in the ten years between 1890 and 1900 and gave rise to the nickname "Chicago of Fife". This was a significant increase on the 1820 figure of 120.
Such was the extent of the importance of Cowdenbeath to coal mining at the turn of the century (circa 1900) that several institutions essential to mining became established there. The headquarters offices of the Fife Miners’ Association were opened in Victoria Street on 8 October 1910, the first Mine rescue station opened at Cowdenbeath on 4 November 1910 on Stenhouse Street, opposite Beath High School. The Central Works, Cowdenbeath, (commonly referred to as "The Workshops") were built in 1924 by the Fife Coal Company Limited in order to centralise its supervisory staff and to cope with the greater amount of manufacturing and maintenance work caused by the intensive mechanisation programme which was being introduced in its mines.
Another significant mining-related building, which reflected Cowdenbeath's growing status at the forefront of mining technology, was the establishment of the Fife Mining School in 1895. The school had humble origins, operating out of two rooms in Broad Street School, until it was transferred to the basement of Beath High School on Stenhouse Street. It was not until 1936 that Fife Mining School acquired its own custom-built building on the site of the old Woodside House on Broad Street. The new Fife Mining School was erected at a cost of £22,500, and was opened on 22 March by Mr Ernest Brown, MP, then Parliamentary Secretary to the Mines Department. The school trained apprentices in all aspects of the mining trade, however, it did have a temporary change of use during both World Wars, when it was used to train women working in the munitions industry. The mining school closed in 1976, reflecting the diminishing role of coal-mining in the community.
. Its precise coordinates are 56.11°N 3.35°W. The town lies in a low, undulating, arable landscape to the south east of the Ochil Hills
. Whilst for the main part Cowdenbeath is fairly level, there are significant portions of the town which have succumbed to subsidence as a result of the network of mineshafts and tunnels underlying the town. Notably, there are photographs of Cowdenbeath High Street published in Stenlake Publications which depict Cowdenbeath High Street circa 1900, and which shows a flat High Street in which it is possible to view its entire length from north to south under the overarching railway bridge. This is impossible today, as the subsidence on the High Street has been so great that the railway bridge now obscures the view from one end to the other.
The south and eastern boundaries of Cowdenbeath are circumscribed by the A92 main road to Kirkcaldy, and beyond that the peat-bog and petrochemichal plant of Mossmorran.
The western perimeter of Cowdenbeath merges into the neighbouring village of Hill of Beath, and is bound by the natural landscape of the gentle slopes of the hill itself, and by Loch Fitty. The proximity of the M90 motorway to the south of Cowdenbeath, and to the east at a lesser extent also serves to define its lower boundary.
The northern boundary of Cowdenbeath is characterised by a rural landscape, which merges into the Lochore Meadows Country Park ("The Meadies"). This formerly industrial/mining landscape which was host to a number of pit-heads (including the Mary Pit - whose winding gear structure dominates the park as a monument to its mining legacy) is now a very pituresque area which provides leisure and recreational outdoor amenities.
The expansive 'Public Park' is situated towards the north of the town. It was established in 1910, and formally opened in 1911. The venture was largely funded by the Gothenburg Public House Society
, which donated over £7,000 to the initiative. In its prime the park boasted an ornate bandstand, a paddling-pool, putting-course and swing-park, and was a focal point for various leisure pursuits, and the venue for the annual "Store" (Co-operative Society) treat. Although most of these amenities have long since gone, the park is still tended by the local authority and provides a public open space for all to use.
Cowdenbeath also has a golf club which was originally built as a 9 hole course on the old Dora Coal mine site. Work began in 1988 and the course was completed and ready for play in 1991. The length of the course was 3315 Yards.
The course was extended to 18 holes and opened by Sir Michael Bonallack in 1996. The length of the course is now 6207 yards with a standard scratch score of 71. A new clubhouse was built and officially opened on 6 December 1998 by ex-provost James Cameron who had opened the first clubhouse. There had been a golf club at the northern end of the town before WW2, resulting in one of the now-demolished houses being name "Golf View".
Central Park is a rather dilapidated stadium in the centre of Cowdenbeath. It is home to Cowdenbeath F.C.
and has a maximum capacity of 5,270 (1,620 covered seating).
The stadium has a tarmac track encircling the football pitch, one of Britain's fastest, used for stock-car racing. It has recently been announced however that the stadium has been sold for redevelopment (possibly a new retail park) with a new one being built nearby for the football club, complete with an all weather pitch. Central Park is the site of Britain's most northerly speedway track. The team based in Cowdenbeath were known as the Fife Lions and featured riders from Edinburgh Monarchs and Glasgow Tigers in a series of challenge matches against league teams and scratch sides. The speedway track, which staged 8 meetings including a world championship qualifying round, was unusual in that it featured a brick wall safety fence.
are situated on Stenhouse Street. There is a library
situated at the north end of the High Street. There is a post office
situated near the middle of the High Street nearly opposite the Town House. The red sandstone
Town House building is situated in the centre of the High Street. This sandstone is the same stone that was used to construct the original Beath High School on Stenhouse street. The remnants of the stone can be seen to this day forming a low wall around the sheltered housing which now occupies the site of the old high school.
Cowdenbeath is also served by one secondary school. Beath High School
was founded in 1910 as a grammar school mainly for the children of local mine executives. It was an imposing building built of red sandstone and stood on Stenhouse Street. Unfortunately, the mine-works emanating from the No. 7 pit, whose, original pit-head was in close proximity to the school, caused significant subsidence in latter years. A modern school was opened in 1964, built in Kirkford next to Kirk of Beath Church and cemetery. At this point the school was split, with the old building becoming the lower school, and subsequently commonly referred to as "Old Beath", whilst the modern school was referred to as "New Beath". The old building was demolished in the 1990s and in 2003 the "new" school, itself, was closed due to subsidence and a new Public Private Partnership school was built. It is maintained by Sodexo.
On 25 March 1983, Mrs Jane Cosans of Cowdenbeath changed discipline in Scottish schools. She was awarded £11,846 by the European Court of Human Rights
, plus costs, as recompense for her son's suspension from Beath High School for refusing to be belted
. This significantly contributed to the banning of the use of the belt in Scottish schools.
is a motorway-standard dual carriageway
road running from the M90 motorway
(which runs from Edinburgh
to Perth
) in Dunfermline
to Kirkcaldy
(and further to Glenrothes
, Dundee
and Aberdeen
). The A92 bypasses the east of the town with a junction at Bridge Street.
Cowdenbeath railway station
is situated just off the High Street, via a steep ramp to/from each platform. It is on the Fife Circle Line
with a half-hourly service to Edinburgh
(Monday to Saturday daytimes).
Burgh
A burgh was an autonomous corporate entity in Scotland and Northern England, usually a town. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Burgh status was broadly analogous to borough status, found in the rest of the United...
in west Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is 5 miles north-east of Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
and 18 miles north of the capital, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. The town grew up around the extensive coalfields of the area and became a Police Burgh in 1890. According to a 2008 estimate, the town has a population of 11,640.
History
The earliest indication of human activity in the immediate vicinity of the current site of Cowdenbeath was provided by the discovery of late bronze-age vessels containing incinerated human remains, in 1928. An article by A.D. Lacaille F.S.A Scot details the find of a late bronze-age cemetery near Tollie Hill. One of the urns found contained fragments of processed Arran pitchstone, indicating some economic activity & commerce.There is no evidence of a permanent settlement establishing itself around the current site of Cowdenbeath until the designation of the original Beath Kirk as a parish church in 1429/30 to act as a focal point to serve the surrounding area. The earliest written record of Beath (Beth), was found in a charter of Inchcolm Abbey
Inchcolm Abbey
Inchcolm Abbey is a medieval abbey located on the island of Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The Abbey, which is located at the centre of the island, was founded in the 12th century during the episcopate of Gregoir, Bishop of Dunkeld. Later tradition placed it back in the reign of King...
, dated 6 March 1178. This charter makes reference to the Chapel of Beth. Although it is generally accepted that the word ‘Beath’ in Gaelic means ’birch wood’, P.W. Brown suggests that the word means ‘abode’ or ‘a settlement.’ In 1643, the Parish of Beath was separated from Dalgety Bay and Aberdour. This significant date followed the building of a new church in 1640 at Beath, to replace the ruins of a sanctuary, which had fallen into sad disrepair.
By 1790 the records show that the parish of Beath had about 100 families whose livelihood came mainly from the soil. The fact that Beath Church served a very large area led to the creation of many "kirke roads", roads that form right-of-way even today. This church was replaced by the present church, built in 1832 and enlarged in 1886.
Cowdenbeath first came into prominence around 1820 as a stop on the north-bound coaching route to Perth. Indeed, Queen Victoria's entourage stopped at the Cowdenbeath Coaching Inn to change horses, on her first trip to Scotland in 1842, en route for Balmoral. The coaching inn, the Old Inn, was established at the junction of roads from North Queensferry, Perth, Dunfermline and Burntisland. When the new turnpike road from Queensferry to Perth was constructed, the Inn gained more importance.
Prior to 1850, Cowdenbeath was just a collection of farms within the Parish of Beath. The area was divided into four districts named after local farms: Kirkford, Foulford, White Threshes and Cowdenbeath farm, located close to the present-day site of Central Park. Local inhabitants of these focal points of growth, which were merging into a single town, met to decide on a name for the emerging town. The eventual decision was narrowed down to either White Threshes or Cowdenbeath and Cowdenbeath was the chosen name. The arrival of the Oakley Iron Company around 1850 was to have a long-lasting impact upon Cowdenbeath and make the name synonymous with coal-mining for almost 100 years. Shafts were sunk in the vicinity of the old Foulford Washer. It was in the mining for ore that the discoveries of the coal seams were made, and pits were sunk at every corner of the town. Prior to this, coal had been mined at Fordell for over a century, but the discovery of the coal seams at the depth they were found came as a pleasant surprise, considering the dip in the coal strata at Fordell, as it was previously thought that the seams at Cowdenbeath would be at such a depth as to be almost unworkable.
By 1850, the flourishing coal pits of Kelty, Lochgelly, Donibristle, Fordell and Hill of Beath surrounded the hamlet of Cowdenbeath. Within the greater area, which later became the Burgh of Cowdenbeath, there was little mining activity. Gibson, of Hill of Beath, and the Symes, of Cartmore, had opened small pits in the vicinity of Jubilee Park at the southern border of the Burgh, and other small pits appear to have been worked in the vicinity of Union Street. However, the situation was about to change when (contrary to earlier speculation) the Oakley Iron Company proved the area was rich in iron and coal. The opening of the Dunfermline-Thornton railway, via Cowdenbeath, in 1848, enhanced the prospects for mining and pits were literally sunk in every corner of the area, primarily for ironstone, but when this became uneconomic around the late 1870s, for coal alone.
The Forth Iron Company took over the Oakley Iron Company around 1860 then amalgamated with the Cowdenbeath Coal Company in 1872. When the Fife Coal Company subsequently took them over in 1896, the Cowdenbeath Coal Company's pits were listed as: Lumphinnans Nos. 1, 2, 7, 11; Cowdenbeath Nos. 3, 7, 9; Foulford No. 1 and Mossbeath. This effectively made the Fife Coal Company one of the largest coal mining concerns in Scotland. Such was the upsurge in mining activity that the population of Cowdenbeath doubled (4,000 - 8,000) in the ten years between 1890 and 1900 and gave rise to the nickname "Chicago of Fife". This was a significant increase on the 1820 figure of 120.
Such was the extent of the importance of Cowdenbeath to coal mining at the turn of the century (circa 1900) that several institutions essential to mining became established there. The headquarters offices of the Fife Miners’ Association were opened in Victoria Street on 8 October 1910, the first Mine rescue station opened at Cowdenbeath on 4 November 1910 on Stenhouse Street, opposite Beath High School. The Central Works, Cowdenbeath, (commonly referred to as "The Workshops") were built in 1924 by the Fife Coal Company Limited in order to centralise its supervisory staff and to cope with the greater amount of manufacturing and maintenance work caused by the intensive mechanisation programme which was being introduced in its mines.
Another significant mining-related building, which reflected Cowdenbeath's growing status at the forefront of mining technology, was the establishment of the Fife Mining School in 1895. The school had humble origins, operating out of two rooms in Broad Street School, until it was transferred to the basement of Beath High School on Stenhouse Street. It was not until 1936 that Fife Mining School acquired its own custom-built building on the site of the old Woodside House on Broad Street. The new Fife Mining School was erected at a cost of £22,500, and was opened on 22 March by Mr Ernest Brown, MP, then Parliamentary Secretary to the Mines Department. The school trained apprentices in all aspects of the mining trade, however, it did have a temporary change of use during both World Wars, when it was used to train women working in the munitions industry. The mining school closed in 1976, reflecting the diminishing role of coal-mining in the community.
Geography
Cowdenbeath lies in south-western Fife, near to the larger town of DunfermlineDunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
. Its precise coordinates are 56.11°N 3.35°W. The town lies in a low, undulating, arable landscape to the south east of the Ochil Hills
Ochil Hills
The Ochil Hills is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirling, Alloa, Kinross and Perth. The only major roads crossing the hills pass through Glen Devon/Glen Eagles and Glenfarg, the latter now largely replaced except for local traffic by the M90...
. Whilst for the main part Cowdenbeath is fairly level, there are significant portions of the town which have succumbed to subsidence as a result of the network of mineshafts and tunnels underlying the town. Notably, there are photographs of Cowdenbeath High Street published in Stenlake Publications which depict Cowdenbeath High Street circa 1900, and which shows a flat High Street in which it is possible to view its entire length from north to south under the overarching railway bridge. This is impossible today, as the subsidence on the High Street has been so great that the railway bridge now obscures the view from one end to the other.
The south and eastern boundaries of Cowdenbeath are circumscribed by the A92 main road to Kirkcaldy, and beyond that the peat-bog and petrochemichal plant of Mossmorran.
The western perimeter of Cowdenbeath merges into the neighbouring village of Hill of Beath, and is bound by the natural landscape of the gentle slopes of the hill itself, and by Loch Fitty. The proximity of the M90 motorway to the south of Cowdenbeath, and to the east at a lesser extent also serves to define its lower boundary.
The northern boundary of Cowdenbeath is characterised by a rural landscape, which merges into the Lochore Meadows Country Park ("The Meadies"). This formerly industrial/mining landscape which was host to a number of pit-heads (including the Mary Pit - whose winding gear structure dominates the park as a monument to its mining legacy) is now a very pituresque area which provides leisure and recreational outdoor amenities.
Sport and Leisure
Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre is located in Pit Road, next to Central Park in the centre of the town and has a swimming pool, gym, indoor sports facilities and three all-weather pitches for tennis or football. A small skatepark is situated outside the leisure centre. There are a number of playing fields situated around the town.The expansive 'Public Park' is situated towards the north of the town. It was established in 1910, and formally opened in 1911. The venture was largely funded by the Gothenburg Public House Society
Gothenburg Public Houses
The Gothenburg or Trust Public House system originated in the 1860s in Gothenburg, Sweden in an attempt to control the consumption of spirits. Earlier in the century, 34 litres annual per capita consumption of spirits was recorded in Sweden. In 1855 the country proscribed domestic distillation...
, which donated over £7,000 to the initiative. In its prime the park boasted an ornate bandstand, a paddling-pool, putting-course and swing-park, and was a focal point for various leisure pursuits, and the venue for the annual "Store" (Co-operative Society) treat. Although most of these amenities have long since gone, the park is still tended by the local authority and provides a public open space for all to use.
Cowdenbeath also has a golf club which was originally built as a 9 hole course on the old Dora Coal mine site. Work began in 1988 and the course was completed and ready for play in 1991. The length of the course was 3315 Yards.
The course was extended to 18 holes and opened by Sir Michael Bonallack in 1996. The length of the course is now 6207 yards with a standard scratch score of 71. A new clubhouse was built and officially opened on 6 December 1998 by ex-provost James Cameron who had opened the first clubhouse. There had been a golf club at the northern end of the town before WW2, resulting in one of the now-demolished houses being name "Golf View".
Central Park is a rather dilapidated stadium in the centre of Cowdenbeath. It is home to Cowdenbeath F.C.
Cowdenbeath F.C.
Cowdenbeath Football Club are a professional Scottish football team based in the town of Cowdenbeath, Fife. They currently play in the Second Division of the Scottish Football League. The club plays its home games at Central Park in the centre of the town which has the unusual feature of a motor...
and has a maximum capacity of 5,270 (1,620 covered seating).
The stadium has a tarmac track encircling the football pitch, one of Britain's fastest, used for stock-car racing. It has recently been announced however that the stadium has been sold for redevelopment (possibly a new retail park) with a new one being built nearby for the football club, complete with an all weather pitch. Central Park is the site of Britain's most northerly speedway track. The team based in Cowdenbeath were known as the Fife Lions and featured riders from Edinburgh Monarchs and Glasgow Tigers in a series of challenge matches against league teams and scratch sides. The speedway track, which staged 8 meetings including a world championship qualifying round, was unusual in that it featured a brick wall safety fence.
Other amenities
The Medical Practice and Police StationPolice Station
Police Station is a American TV series that aired in syndication in 1959. Stories were taken from actual files.- Cast :*Baynes Barron as Sergeant White*Larry Kerr as Detective Chuck Mitchell*Henry Beckman as Detective Stan Abramson...
are situated on Stenhouse Street. There is a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
situated at the north end of the High Street. There is a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
situated near the middle of the High Street nearly opposite the Town House. The red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
Town House building is situated in the centre of the High Street. This sandstone is the same stone that was used to construct the original Beath High School on Stenhouse street. The remnants of the stone can be seen to this day forming a low wall around the sheltered housing which now occupies the site of the old high school.
Education
There are three primary schools in the town. Cowdenbeath Primary School serves the southern end of the town. Foulford Primary School serves the northern end of the town. St Bride's Primary School, the only Roman Catholic primary, serves both the town as well as Crossgates, Hill of Beath and Lumphinnans. Some pupils in the north east and south west of the town attend Lumphinnans and Hill of Beath primary schools respectively.Cowdenbeath is also served by one secondary school. Beath High School
Beath High School
Beath High School is a non-denominational state secondary school located in Cowdenbeath, Fife. The school is run by Fife Council and the current roll stands at around 1200 pupils aged from 11 to 18. It serves the towns of Cowdenbeath and Kelty as well as the villages of Crossgates, Hill of Beath...
was founded in 1910 as a grammar school mainly for the children of local mine executives. It was an imposing building built of red sandstone and stood on Stenhouse Street. Unfortunately, the mine-works emanating from the No. 7 pit, whose, original pit-head was in close proximity to the school, caused significant subsidence in latter years. A modern school was opened in 1964, built in Kirkford next to Kirk of Beath Church and cemetery. At this point the school was split, with the old building becoming the lower school, and subsequently commonly referred to as "Old Beath", whilst the modern school was referred to as "New Beath". The old building was demolished in the 1990s and in 2003 the "new" school, itself, was closed due to subsidence and a new Public Private Partnership school was built. It is maintained by Sodexo.
On 25 March 1983, Mrs Jane Cosans of Cowdenbeath changed discipline in Scottish schools. She was awarded £11,846 by the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
, plus costs, as recompense for her son's suspension from Beath High School for refusing to be belted
Tawse
The tawse, sometimes formerly spelled taws is an implement used for corporal punishment...
. This significantly contributed to the banning of the use of the belt in Scottish schools.
Notable people
Alumni of Beath High School include:- Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner, Sir James Black, whose work is behind the drug RanitidineRanitidineRanitidine is a histamine H2-receptor antagonist that inhibits stomach acid production. It is commonly used in treatment of peptic ulcer disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease . Ranitidine is also used alongside fexofenadine and other antihistamines for the treatment of skin conditions...
. In an excerpt from his autobiography, Sir James is quoted as saying: "The imprinting mathematical influence was Dr Waterson at Beath High School, a brilliant and rumbustious teacher, who more or less man-handled me into sitting the competitive entrance examination for St Andrews University." - Jennie Lee, Baroness Lee of Asheridge, attended Beath High School. She graduated from Edinburgh University and worked as a teacher in Cowdenbeath before being adopted the ILP candidate for the North Lanarkshire constituency, which she won at a 1929 by-election, becoming the youngest member of the House of Commons. A member of Harold Wilson's government of 1964, she was influential in the creation of the Open UniversityOpen UniversityThe Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
. Her father was manager of the Crown Hotel at the north end of the High Strret, which was destroyed by fire on 13 May 2009. Her husband was Aneurin Bevan MP. - Another noteworthy student of Beath was James Curran Baxter, or "Slim Jim" Baxter, one of Scotland's most prolific football players. A statue commemorating Jim BaxterJim BaxterJames Curran Baxter was a left-footed Scottish footballer who played as a midfielder. He is regarded by some as the country's greatest ever footballer...
can be found in adjacent Hill of BeathHill of BeathHill of Beath is a village in Fife, Scotland just outside Dunfermline and joined to Cowdenbeath.It is the birthplace of Rangers F.C legend Jim Baxter, and Celtic F.C midfielder Scott Brown.-See also:* Hill of Beath Hawthorn F.C....
, his home village, outside the working men's club.
- Ian RankinIan RankinIan Rankin, OBE, DL , is a Scottish crime writer. His best known books are the Inspector Rebus novels. He has also written several pieces of literary criticism.-Background:He attended Beath High School, Cowdenbeath...
, the author of the Inspector Rebus novels also attended Beath High SchoolBeath High SchoolBeath High School is a non-denominational state secondary school located in Cowdenbeath, Fife. The school is run by Fife Council and the current roll stands at around 1200 pupils aged from 11 to 18. It serves the towns of Cowdenbeath and Kelty as well as the villages of Crossgates, Hill of Beath...
. - Dennis CanavanDennis CanavanDennis Andrew Canavan is a Scottish politician, and was an Independent Member of the Scottish Parliament for Falkirk West.-Early life:He was born in Cowdenbeath....
, the Scottish politician and Member of Parliament for FalkirkFalkirkFalkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....
West was born in Cowdenbeath in 1942 and attended St Brides Primary School. - Harry EwingHarry Ewing, Baron Ewing of KirkfordHarry Ewing, Baron Ewing of Kirkford DL was a Labour politician in Scotland. He served as a Member of Parliament for 21 years, from a by-election in 1971 until the 1992 general election, when he became a life peer...
(Baron Ewing of Kirkford) was born in Cowdenbeath in 1931. Son to miner, William Ewing, Harry served as a Member of Parliament for 21 years before being made a life peer.
- Donald FindlayDonald FindlayDonald Findlay QC, is a well-known senior advocate and Queen's Counsel in Scotland. He has also held positions as a vice chairman of Rangers Football Club and twice Rector of the University of St Andrews...
QC, born in Cowdenbeath on March 17, 1951 is a well known senior advocate and Queen's Counsel in Scotland. He has also held positions as a vice chairman of Rangers Football Club and twice Rector of the University of St Andrews. He is now the chairman of Cowdenbeath FC. - Scott Brown attended Beath High SchoolBeath High SchoolBeath High School is a non-denominational state secondary school located in Cowdenbeath, Fife. The school is run by Fife Council and the current roll stands at around 1200 pupils aged from 11 to 18. It serves the towns of Cowdenbeath and Kelty as well as the villages of Crossgates, Hill of Beath...
. He was born in DunfermlineDunfermlineDunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
on 25 June 1985 and has played for Hibernian, Celtic and ScotlandScotland national football teamThe Scotland national football team represents Scotland in international football and is controlled by the Scottish Football Association. Scotland are the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside England, whom they played in the world's first international football match in 1872...
. - Tom KellichanTom KellichanTom Kellichan was known for being The Skids original drummer from 1977 to 1979.-Biography:A resident in Cowdenbeath, Fife, Scotland, and former van driver, he answered an ad made by a band, who solicited a drummer. He completed the line-up of the band who were called The Skids...
, drummer of punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The SkidsThe SkidsSkids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson...
from 1977 to 1980, lived there.
- Illustrator William McLaren (1923 - 1987) attended Beath High SchoolBeath High SchoolBeath High School is a non-denominational state secondary school located in Cowdenbeath, Fife. The school is run by Fife Council and the current roll stands at around 1200 pupils aged from 11 to 18. It serves the towns of Cowdenbeath and Kelty as well as the villages of Crossgates, Hill of Beath...
.
Transport
The A92 Fife Regional RoadA92 road
The A92 is a major road in Fife and Angus, Scotland. It runs from Dunfermline to Stonehaven.Starting at its junction with the M90 motorway near Dunfermline, it runs north east past Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes, Ladybank and Newport-on-Tay...
is a motorway-standard dual carriageway
Dual carriageway
A dual carriageway is a class of highway with two carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation...
road running from the M90 motorway
M90 motorway
The M90 is a motorway in Scotland. It runs from Inverkeithing, at the north end of the Forth Road Bridge, to Perth, passing Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath and Kinross on the way...
(which runs from Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
to Perth
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
) in Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
to Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. The town lies on a shallow bay on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth; SSE of Glenrothes, ENE of Dunfermline, WSW of Dundee and NNE of Edinburgh...
(and further to Glenrothes
Glenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
). The A92 bypasses the east of the town with a junction at Bridge Street.
Cowdenbeath railway station
Cowdenbeath railway station
Cowdenbeath railway station is a railway station in the town of Cowdenbeath, Fife, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Fife Circle Line, 36 km north of ....
is situated just off the High Street, via a steep ramp to/from each platform. It is on the Fife Circle Line
Fife Circle Line
The Fife Circle is the local rail service north from Edinburgh. It links all the towns of south Fife and the coastal towns along the Firth of Forth before heading to Edinburgh.-Service:...
with a half-hourly service to Edinburgh
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...
(Monday to Saturday daytimes).
Bus Services
| Service | Destination | Via | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Kirkcaldy | Auchtertool | Infrequent |
| 17 | Kelty | Leuchatsbeath Drive | Every hour (daytime only) |
| 17 | Crossgates | Church Street, Mossgreen | Every hour (daytime only) |
| 17A | Kelty | Stenhouse Street, Foulford Road, Leuchatsbeath Drive | Every hour (evenings and sundays only) |
| 17A | Moss-Side Estate | Broad Street, Moss-Side Road | Every hour (evenings and sundays only) |
| 17B | Kelty | Stenhouse Street, Foulford Road, Leuchatsbeath Drive | Every hour (daytime only) |
| 17B | Barclay Street | Broad Street, Selkirk Avenue, Rae Street, Moss-Side Estate | Every hour (daytime only) |
| 18 | Kelty | Leuchatsbeath Drive | Every hour |
| 18 | Kirkcaldy | A92 dual carriageway | Every hour |
| 19 | Rosyth | Hill of Beath, Crossgates, Halbeath, Dunfermline | Every 10 minutes |
| 19 | Ballingry | Lumphinnans, Lochgelly, Crosshill | Every 10 minutes |
| 30 | Dunfermline | Hill of Beath, Crossgates, Halbeath, QM Hospital | Every hour |
| 30 | Glenrothes | Lumphinnans, Lochgelly, Crosshill, Ballingry, Kinglassie | Every hour |
| 33 | Dunfermline | Hill of Beath, Crossgates, Halbeath, QM Hospital | Every hour |
| 33 | Kirkcaldy | Lumphinnans, Lochgelly, Cardenden | Every hour |
| 56 | Perth | Kelty, Kinross, Glenfarg, Bridge of Earn | Infrequent |