Dysart
Encyclopedia
Dysart is a former town and royal burgh located on the south-east coast between Kirkcaldy
and West Wemyss
in Fife
. The town is now considered to be a suburb of Kirkcaldy
. Dysart was once part of a wider estate owned by the St Clair or Sinclair family. They were responsible for gaining burgh of barony
status for the town towards the end of the 15th century.
The first record of the town was made in the early 13th century, with the initial role to settle civil matters between the church and landowners. During the middle of the 15th century, trade with the Low Countries
began for salt
and coal
exportation. In the 16th and 17th centuries, trade expanded to the Baltic Countries
. Dysart acquired two nicknames: "Salt Burgh" and "Little Holland" as a result.
Following the sudden decline of the town's harbour caused by the closure of the Lady Blanche Pit, the town was amalgamated into the royal burgh of Kirkcaldy under an act of parliament in 1930. The site of an urban clearance taking place during the 1950s and 1960s, saw large parts of the historic town being demolished for new housing. Demand from the town's residents meant that part of the historic town — most notably the 16th century and the 18th century houses of Pan Ha' opposite the harbour — were salvaged and preserved for future generations. Today, Dysart retains an individual character within the boundary borders of neighbouring Kirkcaldy
.
According to the statistical accounts of the parish ministers of 1793 and 1836, the name is alleged to come from Gaelic word “Dus-ard” which means “the temple of the most high”. Nonetheless, Dysart’s most famous son, Dr John Stuart explains where he thinks about the origin of the name and why.
Prior to the 16th century, very little is known about the events of the town. The earliest record of the town's existence is a document about a papal decision between Dysart Kirk and Dunfermline Abbey
in 1220. Another record followed in 1245, this time about the reconsecration of Dysart Kirk undertaken by David de Bernham of St Andrews
. The initial role of the town, like many communities in Scotland
, was to serve the church and landowners resolving civic matters and dealing individually with property issues.
The first port has been said to date as far back as 1450. This helped the export of coal and salt with the town's trading partner, Low Countries
. A man-made harbour was eventually built, but could only be used at low tide with limited space. The damage caused by the jetty which was commonly known as the “east haven of Dysart” temporary cut short the function of the east pier in the mid-17th century. The harbour was later extensively re-built in 1829-31 with the assistance of Robert Stephenson
, to include an inner basin with a nearby quarry at the harbour head and an extension of the east pier which would be risen and pointed southwards.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town went through hard times with many residents particularly skippers being killed in the wars of covenanting (1644–1645) and the five-year occupation of Oliver Cromwell
between 1651 and 1656. However, the salt trade gained the town with two trading partners – Netherlands
and the Baltic Countries
with production thriving between 1570 and 1630. Subsequently, the town was gifted with two nicknames: salt burgh (for the salt industry keeping the fish fresh for export) and later Little Holland (for the Dutch influence in Dysart's buildings inspired by the shipowners who went there). The first coal pit in the town - known as Lady Blanche - opened towards the end of the 16th century. Two new pits – Frances and Randolph – would later follow by the middle of the 17th century as coal began to succeed the salt trade. Meanwhile, the harbour was revived with the imports of wine
and spirits
being sent to other harbours at Leith
, Dundee
and Perth
.
By the 1920s, the owners of the harbour, Earl of Rossyln's Coal Company, put pressure on the town council to deepen the harbour for use of larger ships. The council was plunged into financial ruin after the coal company refused to pay for the work in excess of £500. Many ships went instead to Buckhaven
and Methil, where they received a quicker turnaround than in Dysart. The closure of the uneconomic Lady Blanche Pit in 1929, proved to be the end of the town's coal trade from the harbour. The lack of revenue from Dysart's harbour, forced the town to merge into Kirkcaldy
under a private act of parliament in 1930.
Today, Dysart is considered to be a north-eastern suburb of Kirkcaldy
and the village forms one of 48 conservation areas in Fife. Important landmarks in the village include the Dutch influenced houses on Pan Ha'; the six-storey St Serf's Church Tower; Dysart Tolbooth and the Francis Collery gearhead which is situated on the northern boundaries. An £11 million pound scheme has started by The Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) and Conversation Area Grants Scheme (CARS) to regenerate Dysart over a period of five years, which is due to be completed in 2014. This will include repairing historic buildings and structures such as Dysart Tolbooth and Dysart Harbour as well as providing new housing needs and environmental issues.
or St Clair family have held the position of feudal superiors or barons of the burgh of the estate of Dysart since 1407.
They were responsible for gaining Burgh of barony
status towards the end of the 15th century. Royal burgh status in the town has long been disputed. A main reason for this being the area was a commercial background. A missing charter was only confirmed in a charter granted by James VI in 1587. However the title was indeed granted to Dysart in 1594 with the honour of having a seat in the parliament.
Originally, St Serf's Church was the meeting place of the town council, until this moved to Dysart Town House in 1877. The provost and town council met at this location once a week right up to the time of the ceasing of the royal burgh status, when the town was amalgamated into Kirkcaldy in 1930.
The town's former coat of arms were represented by an oak tree. This stood for the memory of the three trees planted in Dysart wood for the three Sinclair brothers. According to the tale, one night in the woods, the brothers were robbed and then killed each other. The site of Dysart Wood is most probably Ravenscraig Park.
. This was designated by the former Kirkcaldy District Council (KDC) on 8 May 1978. Dysart Tolbooth on the High Street erected in 1576 is the centrepiece of Dysart's historic buildings. This was once used as a public weigh-in and measures house; guards house and eventually a prison built as an extension in 1617. The building was also known to keep explosives. When this was occupied by Oliver Cromwell
's troops in 1651, one of them accidentally dropped a match into a barrel of gunpowder (which was abandoned by a Dysart merchant) causing the roof to be blown apart. The upper part of the building was later re-built between 1733 and 1734 with an ashlar bell-chamber and a stone ogile roof. The neighbouring Dysart Town Hall was once used as the meeting place for the provost and town council.
Other significant landmarks within the town include the 16th and 18th century painted dwellings on Pan Ha'; the six-storey St Serf's church tower and the harbour. Pan Ha' or given the full title Pan Haugh means roughly low-lying ground where salt pans once stood giving rise to the expression of "to carry saut to Dysart". Many of the houses have been restored by the National Trust for Scotland between 1968 and 1969 under the "little houses scheme". St Serf's church tower on Shore Road dates from around 1500, is considered to be one of Scotland's finest examples of a battlemented church tower. This is the only remaining part of St Serf's Church which was abandoned in 1802 and largely cleared away for the building of Shore Road in 1807.
The red headgear of the Francis Colliery is a landmark marking the northern boundaries of the town.
Dysart House which was formerly the seat of the Earl of Rossyln overlooks the harbour. The earliest section of the house is the south range built for General James St Clair between 1755 and 1756, which is believed that the Adam Brothers
provided the chimney pieces and the design. The house was later extended between 1808 and 1814 to include new rear wings. The three-storey harbourmaster's house which is located in the grounds of the harbour dates from around 1840. Originally known as the shore house, this was used to store cargoe from incoming ships, before being used by the harbourmaster. Today, the house is home to the headquarters of the Fife Countryside and Coast Trust and also has a bistro, shop and provides internet access.
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 West Wemyss
West Wemyss
West Wemyss is a village lying on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2007 population estimate, the village has a population of 237. The village was granted burgh of barony status in 1511, bearing the name from the Wemyss family who lived in Wemyss Castle...
in 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...
. The town is now considered to be a suburb of 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...
. Dysart was once part of a wider estate owned by the St Clair or Sinclair family. They were responsible for gaining burgh of barony
Burgh of barony
A burgh of barony is a type of Scottish town .They were distinct from royal burghs as the title was granted to a tenant-in-chief, a landowner who held his estates directly from the crown....
status for the town towards the end of the 15th century.
The first record of the town was made in the early 13th century, with the initial role to settle civil matters between the church and landowners. During the middle of the 15th century, trade with the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
began for salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
exportation. In the 16th and 17th centuries, trade expanded to the Baltic Countries
Baltic countries
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
. Dysart acquired two nicknames: "Salt Burgh" and "Little Holland" as a result.
Following the sudden decline of the town's harbour caused by the closure of the Lady Blanche Pit, the town was amalgamated into the royal burgh of Kirkcaldy under an act of parliament in 1930. The site of an urban clearance taking place during the 1950s and 1960s, saw large parts of the historic town being demolished for new housing. Demand from the town's residents meant that part of the historic town — most notably the 16th century and the 18th century houses of Pan Ha' opposite the harbour — were salvaged and preserved for future generations. Today, Dysart retains an individual character within the boundary borders of neighbouring 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...
.
History
The local saying “as old as the three trees of Dysart” may prove to be vital evidence that the town's existence stretches back to ancient times. Dysart’s name is considered to have had two meanings - either from the Latin word “deserta” meaning “the fasting place of a holy man” in reference to the legend of St Serf who came to Dysart around 500 AD or from the Celtic word “dys-ard” meaning height of god.According to the statistical accounts of the parish ministers of 1793 and 1836, the name is alleged to come from Gaelic word “Dus-ard” which means “the temple of the most high”. Nonetheless, Dysart’s most famous son, Dr John Stuart explains where he thinks about the origin of the name and why.
"We learn from an early life of St Serf that he won’t resort to cell or caves for the purpose of devotion, and that while in one of the latter “in deserto’ he was assaulted by the devil, who wished to engage him in a religious disruption”
Prior to the 16th century, very little is known about the events of the town. The earliest record of the town's existence is a document about a papal decision between Dysart Kirk and Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey
Dunfermline Abbey is as a Church of Scotland Parish Church located in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. In 2002 the congregation had 806 members. The minister is the Reverend Alastair Jessamine...
in 1220. Another record followed in 1245, this time about the reconsecration of Dysart Kirk undertaken by David de Bernham of St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. The initial role of the town, like many communities in 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...
, was to serve the church and landowners resolving civic matters and dealing individually with property issues.
The first port has been said to date as far back as 1450. This helped the export of coal and salt with the town's trading partner, Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
. A man-made harbour was eventually built, but could only be used at low tide with limited space. The damage caused by the jetty which was commonly known as the “east haven of Dysart” temporary cut short the function of the east pier in the mid-17th century. The harbour was later extensively re-built in 1829-31 with the assistance of Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
, to include an inner basin with a nearby quarry at the harbour head and an extension of the east pier which would be risen and pointed southwards.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town went through hard times with many residents particularly skippers being killed in the wars of covenanting (1644–1645) and the five-year occupation of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
between 1651 and 1656. However, the salt trade gained the town with two trading partners – Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the Baltic Countries
Baltic countries
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
with production thriving between 1570 and 1630. Subsequently, the town was gifted with two nicknames: salt burgh (for the salt industry keeping the fish fresh for export) and later Little Holland (for the Dutch influence in Dysart's buildings inspired by the shipowners who went there). The first coal pit in the town - known as Lady Blanche - opened towards the end of the 16th century. Two new pits – Frances and Randolph – would later follow by the middle of the 17th century as coal began to succeed the salt trade. Meanwhile, the harbour was revived with the imports of wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and spirits
Distilled beverage
A distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
being sent to other harbours at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
, 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 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...
.
By the 1920s, the owners of the harbour, Earl of Rossyln's Coal Company, put pressure on the town council to deepen the harbour for use of larger ships. The council was plunged into financial ruin after the coal company refused to pay for the work in excess of £500. Many ships went instead to Buckhaven
Buckhaven
Buckhaven is a coastal town on the east coast of Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth between East Wemyss and Methil. Its inhabitants sometimes refer to it as Buckhind or Buckhine...
and Methil, where they received a quicker turnaround than in Dysart. The closure of the uneconomic Lady Blanche Pit in 1929, proved to be the end of the town's coal trade from the harbour. The lack of revenue from Dysart's harbour, forced the town to merge into 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...
under a private act of parliament in 1930.
Today, Dysart is considered to be a north-eastern suburb of 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 the village forms one of 48 conservation areas in Fife. Important landmarks in the village include the Dutch influenced houses on Pan Ha'; the six-storey St Serf's Church Tower; Dysart Tolbooth and the Francis Collery gearhead which is situated on the northern boundaries. An £11 million pound scheme has started by The Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) and Conversation Area Grants Scheme (CARS) to regenerate Dysart over a period of five years, which is due to be completed in 2014. This will include repairing historic buildings and structures such as Dysart Tolbooth and Dysart Harbour as well as providing new housing needs and environmental issues.
Governance
The SinclairSinclair
Sinclair may refer to:Places:* Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia* Sinclair, Iowa* Sinclair, Wyoming* Sinclair Mills, British Columbia* Sinclair Township, MinnesotaPeople:* Sinclair , list of people with this surname...
or St Clair family have held the position of feudal superiors or barons of the burgh of the estate of Dysart since 1407.
They were responsible for gaining Burgh of barony
Burgh of barony
A burgh of barony is a type of Scottish town .They were distinct from royal burghs as the title was granted to a tenant-in-chief, a landowner who held his estates directly from the crown....
status towards the end of the 15th century. Royal burgh status in the town has long been disputed. A main reason for this being the area was a commercial background. A missing charter was only confirmed in a charter granted by James VI in 1587. However the title was indeed granted to Dysart in 1594 with the honour of having a seat in the parliament.
Originally, St Serf's Church was the meeting place of the town council, until this moved to Dysart Town House in 1877. The provost and town council met at this location once a week right up to the time of the ceasing of the royal burgh status, when the town was amalgamated into Kirkcaldy in 1930.
The town's former coat of arms were represented by an oak tree. This stood for the memory of the three trees planted in Dysart wood for the three Sinclair brothers. According to the tale, one night in the woods, the brothers were robbed and then killed each other. The site of Dysart Wood is most probably Ravenscraig Park.
Landmarks
The whole of Dysart is a conservation areaConservation area
A conservation areas is a tract of land that has been awarded protected status in order to ensure that natural features, cultural heritage or biota are safeguarded...
. This was designated by the former Kirkcaldy District Council (KDC) on 8 May 1978. Dysart Tolbooth on the High Street erected in 1576 is the centrepiece of Dysart's historic buildings. This was once used as a public weigh-in and measures house; guards house and eventually a prison built as an extension in 1617. The building was also known to keep explosives. When this was occupied by Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
's troops in 1651, one of them accidentally dropped a match into a barrel of gunpowder (which was abandoned by a Dysart merchant) causing the roof to be blown apart. The upper part of the building was later re-built between 1733 and 1734 with an ashlar bell-chamber and a stone ogile roof. The neighbouring Dysart Town Hall was once used as the meeting place for the provost and town council.
The red headgear of the Francis Colliery is a landmark marking the northern boundaries of the town.
Dysart House which was formerly the seat of the Earl of Rossyln overlooks the harbour. The earliest section of the house is the south range built for General James St Clair between 1755 and 1756, which is believed that the Adam Brothers
Adam Brothers
Adam Brothers may refer to:Scottish architects, three sons of William Adam:*John Adam *Robert Adam *James Adam French sculptors, three sons of Lambert Adam:...
provided the chimney pieces and the design. The house was later extended between 1808 and 1814 to include new rear wings. The three-storey harbourmaster's house which is located in the grounds of the harbour dates from around 1840. Originally known as the shore house, this was used to store cargoe from incoming ships, before being used by the harbourmaster. Today, the house is home to the headquarters of the Fife Countryside and Coast Trust and also has a bistro, shop and provides internet access.
External links
- Undiscovered Scotland on Dysart
- Gazetteer for Scotland entry for Dysart
- National Archives record on "Dysart and Ravenscraig Barony", and records for Dysart Burgh, Dysart Parish Church, Dysart Parish Hearse Society, and Dysart Parish Horticultural Society
- The Fife Coastal Path website
- Harbourmaster's House website
- Dysart on FifeDirect