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The Royal Burgh of Dunfermline (in Gaelic, Dùn Phàrlain) is a town in Fife, Scotland.It sits on high ground 3 miles from the shore of the Firth of Forth, northwest of Edinburgh. The town is the historic capital of Scotland and Robert the Bruce is buried within Dunfermline Abbey. The town is intersected from north to south by Pittencrieff Glen, a deep, picturesque and tortuous ravine, from which the town derives its name and at the bottom of which flows Lyne Burn. Dunfermline has a population of 39,229 *. Dunfermline is close to the site of the former naval base and dockyard of Rosyth. Major industries in Dunfermline include engineering, electronics, and textiles. It is also home to the call centres of many companies, including HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) and BSkyB.
History The history of Dunfermline goes back to a remote period, for the Culdees had an establishment here. The name comes from the Gaelic "Dùn Fearam Linn" which translates as "the fort in the bend of the stream". There is no documentary evidence for the name being derived from 'Parlan' or anything of the sort, other than the modern form of the name in Scottish Gaelic. The monks of the abbey called the Tower Burn, 'Aqua de Ferme' and the 'Ferm' element in the name dates back to documents of the eleventh century. The town's increased fame and prosperity date from the marriage of Malcolm Canmore and his queen Margaret, which took place in the town in 1070. The king then lived in a tower on a mound surrounded on three sides by the glen. A fragment of this castle still exists in Pittencrieff Park, a little west of the later palace. Under the influence of Queen Margaret in 1075 the foundations were laid of the Benedictine priory, which was raised to the rank of an abbey by David I (see Dunfermline Abbey). Robert the Bruce gave the town its charter in 1322, though in his Fife: Pictorial and Historical (ii. 223), A. H. Millar contends that till the confirming charter of James VI (1588) all burghal privileges were granted by the abbots. In the 18th century Dunfermline impressed Daniel Defoe as showing the "full perfection of decay", but it regained prosperity. A staple industry was the manufacture of table linen. The weaving of damask was introduced in 1718 by James Blake, who had learned the secret of the process in the workshops at Drumsheugh near Edinburgh, to which he gained admittance by feigning idiocy; and after that date the linen trade advanced by leaps and bounds, much of the success being due to the beautiful designs produced by the manufacturers. Among other industries that have largely contributed to the welfare of the town are dyeing and bleaching, brass and iron founding, tanning, machine-making, brewing and distilling, milling, rope-making and the making of soap and candles. The town is well supplied with public buildings. Besides the New Abbey church, the United Free church in Queen Anne Street founded by Ralph Erskine, and the Gillespie church, named after Thomas Gillespie (1708—1774), another leader of the Secession movement, possess some historical importance. Erskine is commemorated by a statue in front of his church and a sarcophagus over his grave in the abbey churchyard; Gillespie by a marble tablet on the wall above his resting-place within the abbey. The Corporation buildings, a blend of the Scots Baronial and French Gothic styles, contain busts of several Scottish sovereigns a statue of Robert Burns, and Sir Noel Paton’s painting of the "Spirit of Religion." Other structures are the County buildings, the Public, St Margaret’s, Music and Carnegie halls, the last in the Tudor style, Carnegie public baths, high school (founded in 1560), school of science and art, and two hospitals. Several distinguished names have connections with Dunfermline. Robert Henryson (1430 - 1506), the poet, was long one of its schoolmasters. John Row (1568 - 1646), the Church historian, held the living of Carnock, 5 km (3 miles) to the east., and David Ferguson (d. 1598) who made the first collection of Scottish proverbs (not published till 1641), was parish minister; Robert Gilfillan (1798—1850), the poet, and Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901), painter and poet—whose father was a designer of patterns for the damask trade - were all born here. Andrew Carnegie, however, is in a sense the most celebrated of all her sons, as he is certainly her greatest benefactor. He gave to his birthplace the free library and public baths, and, in 1903, the estate of Pittencrieff Park and Glen, rich in historical associations as well as natural charm, together with bonds yielding £25,000 a year, in trust for the maintenance of the park, the support of a theatre for the production of plays of the highest merit, the periodical exhibitions of works of art and science, the promotion of horticulture among the working classes and the encouragement of technical education in the district. So while New York's Carnegie Hall is much better known, Dunfermline has its own. Dunfermline is also known as the birthplace of musician Ian Anderson, the frontman of the long-running British group Jethro Tull. In more recent years, Dunfermline and the surrounding area have seen massive growth, due in part to rising house prices in Edinburgh, which has resulted in a large commuter belt. It is now served by 2 rail stations on the Fife Circle line and the M90 motorway. The High School Thought to be one of the oldest schools in Scotland, with evidence for its founding in the early 1120s, Dunfermline High School and its alumni have played an important part in the town's history throughout the ages. It was King David I, the son of Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margaret, who originally put up the money for the school. It was taken out of the Abbey under which it was born and founded properly in the town in 1468 by Abbott Richard De Bothwell. Later the school was burned down during the reformation and rebuilt by Queen Anne of Denmark in 1560 who was gifted the school as a present by the King. The poet Robert Henryson was one of the first "Masters" of the school. (Later the title master was changed to Rector) It is from these great people that shaped the school in the first 800 years of its life that the house names come from - Canmore, Queen Margaret, Bothwell, Henryson; Denmark house was lost as recent school restructuring work as preparation for downsizing in 2008 when the school will be rebuilt. The school badge is made up from the crest of Malcolm Canmore, the Queen Margaret Cross and the symbol of Abbot Bothwell. The school has two latin mottos: 1. "Quid Quid agis age pro viribus" meaning "Everything you do do it with vigour". 2. "Labor Omnia Vincit" meaning "Work conquers everything". There are also three other high schools, Queen Anne, Woodmill and St Columbas Political subdivisions From 1975 Dunfermline gave its name to a local government district in the Fife region of Scotland. Since 1996 it has been included in the Fife unitary area. (See: Subdivisions of Scotland) See A. H. Millar’s Fife: Pictorial and Historical (2 vols,, 5895); and Sheriff Alneas Mackay’s History of Fife and Kinross (189?). Town twinning Football Dunfermline has one professional football team, Dunfermline Athletic F.C. (DAFC), which plays in the Scottish Premier League (SPL), the top division in Scottish football. The club is based at East End Park on Halbeath Road and has the nickname 'The Pars'. Dunfermline Athletic won the Scottish Cup in 1961 and 1968, and played regular European football in the UEFA and European Cup-Winners Cups throughout the 60s and early 70s. They reached the Semi Final of the European Cup Winners Cup in season 68-69, losing 1-2 on aggregate to eventual winners Slovan Bratislava. On the way to the semi-final they beat Apoel FC Olympiakos and West Bromwich Albion Rugby Union Dunfermline Rugby Football Club are based at McKane Park. The club has various teams, from the First XV which plays in Scotland's Premier 3 League, through to a Mini Section for primary school children. Athletics Linsey Macdonald was a member of the bronze medal winning women's 400m relay team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. She was also a finalist in the individual 400m. Her old club Pitreavie AAC is still an active club with international competitors in track and field, cross country and road running. The Dunfermline City Half Marathon is one of several summer long distance races which attracts an international field. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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