DUNFERMLINE, a parish and burg (royal), in the district of Dunfermline, county of Fife; including the villages of Charlestown, Crossford, Halbeath, Limekilns, Mastertown, Patiemuir, North Queensferry, and part of Crossgates; and containing 20,'217 inhabitants, of whom 7S65 are within the burgh, VI miles (W. by S.) from Kirkcaldy, and 16 (N.W.) from Edinburgh. This place, which is of great antiquity, is supposed to have derived its name, signifying in the Gaelic language "the watch-tower upon the stream ", or " the castle on the winding stream ", from the erection of a castle on the summit of a peninsulated eminence in the glen of PittencriefF, by Malcolm Canmore, about the year 1056. Of this castle only some small fragments are now remaining; but from the traces of foundations it appears to have been a quadrilateral structure, about sixty feet in length and fifty feet in breadth, of great strength, and having an elevation of seventy feet above the level of the rivulet flowing through the glen. Malcolm, on the murder of his father Duncan by the usurper Macbeth, took refuge in England, where he was favourably received at the court of Edward the Confessor, till, on the death of Macbeth, slain by Macduff at the battle of Dunsinane, he ascended the throne of his ancestors. Upon the conquest of England by the Duke of Normandy in 1066, Edgar Atheling, heir to the crown of England, with his mother, and sisters Margaret and Catherine, attended by a numerous retinue of Saxon nobles, were, on their voyage to Hungary, driven bytempestuous weather into a bay in the north of the Firth of Forth, which has since retained the appellation of St. Margaret's Hope. On hearing of their landing, Malcolm visited the party, and conducted them in person to his castle, where they were hospitably entertained; and soon after, Margaret, with whom, during his residence in England, he had been acquainted, and even, as some think, had formed a contract of marriage, became Queen of Scotland. At a .short distance to the south-east of Malcolm's castle, a palace was subsequently erected, though the exact date is unknown: but of this once magnificent structure, the residence for many generations of the Scottish kings, and the birthplace of several of them, only a portion of the eastern end, and the southwest wall, remain: the chimney-place of the apartment where Charles I. was born is still to be seen. Adjoining the palace was the Queen's House, erected for her private residence by Anne of Denmark, queen of James VI., to whom the king had granted the lordship of Dunfermline on the morning after his marriage. This mansion was in good repair for many years after the palace was in ruins, but falling into neglect, was for some time occupied as a school, subsequently as a woollen factory, and in 1797, having become ruinous, was removed. A MONASTERY either for Culdean or Benedictine monks was founded by Malcolm, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and of which his queen, whose numerous virtues obtained for her the distinction of canonization, became patroness. Being left by him in an unfinished state, at his death at the siege of Alnwick in Northumberland, it was completed by his son Alexander I. The institution was governed by a prior till the reign of David I., who raised it to the dignity of a mitred abbey, and in 1 1'24 placed in it thirteen additional monks of the Benedictine order from Canterbury, greatly extended the buildings, and endowed it with ample possessions in various parts of the kingdom. It continued to flourish, and became one of the most important and richest establishments in Scotland, its fame being particularly high about the middle of the thirteenth century, when a new and more stately choir was raised, in the early pointed style. In 1291, Edward I. of England visited DunfermUne, where he summoned the Scottish nobility to do homage for their lands as vassals to his crown: in 1296, be made a tour for twenty-one weeks through different parts of Scotland, in which he came to this town; and on his return to England, he took with him the inauguration stone from the abbey of Scone, which he deposited in the church of Westminster, in London. In 1303, Edward again visited Dunfermline on his route from Kinross, and took up his residence in the abbey, where he was joined by his queen and a party of nobility, and remained from Decembtr till March. While here he was employed in receiving the submission of such of the Scottish nobles as had not on his former visit done him homage for their possessions; and on his departure for England his soldiers set fire to the abbey, which was reduced to little more than a heap of ruins, the church only, and a few cells of the monks, being spared from the flames. In this abbey, the buildings of which were so extensive, the Scottish nobility were accustdtned to hold their meetings, during the wars of Bruce and Baliol, for rescuing their country from the English yoke; and to this circumstance is attributed its desolation by the forces of Edward. David II., son of Robert Bruce, was born at the palace of Dunfermline on the 4th of March, IS^S; and during that prince's long minority, Edward Baliol, when contending for the crown of Scotland, after having landed his army at Kinghorn, in 1332, came to this place, where he found a seasonable supply of arms and provisions laid up by order of Randolph, regent of Scotland. In 1335 a parliament was held here, at which Sir Andrew Murray was made regent of the kingdom in place of Randolph, deceased; but having gone to visit his estates in the north, in 1338, he died while on his journey, and after being interred in the chapel of Rosemarkie, his remains were removed to this town, and deposited with those of Bruce and Randolph. In 1385, part of a large body of French auxiliaries who, on the invitation of Robert II., had come to that monarch's assistance against the English, were quartered at this place, which was visited soon afterwards by Richard II. of England, who, having burnt Edinburgh, advanced to Dunfermline, and lodged in the abbey, which, upon his departure, was burnt by the English army, together with the town. In 1441, James, son of Sir Robert Bruce of Clackmannan, was consecrated Bishop of Dunkeld in the abbey church here, and in the same year became also chancellor of Scotland. The queen of James IV. made a short stay at Dunfermline in 1512; and in 1515 the abbot of Kelso and other friends of Lord Home were imprisoned in the town by order of the Duke of Albany, then regent. Mary, Queen of Scots, visited Dunfermline in her route to Dysart and St. Andrew's, in 1561; and in the year 1581 King James VI. subscribed the Covenant at this place. Charles I., King of England, was born in the palace on the igth of November, 1600; and in 1633, in his progress through Scotland, he passed a short time at Dunfermline, on which occasion he created Sir Robert Ker earl of Ancrum, and conferred the honour of five knighthoods. In the year 1624, the town was nearly destroyed by an accidental fire. In 1650 Charles II. visited the town, where he subscribed the confession of faith called the " Dunfermline Declaration "; and in the following year a battle was fought near Pitreavie House between the forces of Cromwell and the royalist army, in which the latter sustained considerable loss. In 1715, about a month before the battle of Sherilfmuir, a detachment of the Pretender'sarmy, consisting of about300 Highlanders and eighty horse, under the Marquess of Huntly, was surprised and defeated, with the loss of several killed and many taken prisoners, by the forces under Colonel, afterwards Lord, Cathcart. The TOWN is pleasantly situated on an eminence stretching from east to west, and gradually rising from the south to an elevation of 356 feet above the level of the sea. It consists of one principal street, intersected at right angles by several smaller streets from north to south, of which those in the latter direction have a considerable declivity. In 1/70 the principal street was extended towards the west by the erection of a bridge across the glen of Pittencrieff, above and on either side of which the proprietor, George Chalmers, Esq., raised a mound whereon there has been built, in a line with the High-street, a handsome range of houses with gardens attached to them, called Bridge-street. An adjoining street, running northward, has been named after him Chalmers-street. The houses in the chief streets are all substantial and well built. In several parts of the town are numerous villas and many private mansions surrounded with pleasure-grounds, which give to the place a somewhat rural appearance; and the tower and spires of the ancient abbey and public buildings, combining with other features, have a strikingly interesting aspect. Great additions to the town, and considerable improvements, have been lately made; the abbey park has been thrown open for building, and many handsome houses with extensive gardens have been completed. The streets are paved, and lighted with gas by a company established in 1S28, who erected works in the lower part of the town at an expense of nearly £12,000; and the inhabitants are supplied with water brought from springs in the town moor into a capacious reservoir, from which it is distributed by pipes. An act for a better supply of water was passed in 1847. The Dunfermline library, supported by a proprietary of shareholders, has a collection of about 3000 volumes, and the Tradesmen's and Mechanics' libraries, united in 1832, contain about 2000; a circulating library has been established, and in the town-hall is a public newsroom supplied with the daily journals and periodical publications. The Mechanics' institution, founded in 1825, still retains its apparatus, though the lectures have been discontinued. A scientific association was established in 1834. The Western District of Fife Agricultural Society hold their meetings here in July, for the distribution of premiums, and the Horticultural Society and Pittencrieff Horticultural Society also meet annually. There is likewise an Ornithological Society. The staple trade is the table-linen manufacture, which, by a regular and progressive series of improvements, has been brought to the highest state of perfection. The principal articles made are diapers, damasks, and coloured table-covers, all of every variety of pattern, and remarkable for the beauty of their texture. Toilet napkins, with the royal arms in the centre, were made here for his late Majesty William IV.; and in 1840, toilet cloths, executed according to a sketch by the officers of the Queen's household, and having the royal arms, with the initials V. R., and a border of oak and laurel, were woven by the same manufacturer for her present Majesty. An order was subsequently received from the lord steward by another manufacturer, for damask table-linen of the finest quality, decorated in a suitable manner. The rapid advance in this manufacture was much promoted by premiums offered by the board of trade, and though these are now discontinued, rewards are still sometimes granted for specimens of superior elegance. One firm in the town obtained, in the course of eighteen years previous to 1837, premiums amounting to £516. The finer yarns are procured chiefly from Leeds and Preston, in England, and from Belfast, in Ireland; but there are large establishments in the town and other places of Scotland for the spinning of yarn of a coarser quality. Above 3000 persons are employed in the various looms here, and the value of the goods manufactured annually exceeds £350,000. There are two iron-foundries in the town, and a third at Charlestown in the parish, in which, in addition to the usual castings of iron, are produced some of brass. The manufacture of tobacco, for which there are two estabhshments, is considerable. There are two tanneries and currying-works, three roperies, a soap-work, and a candle manufactory; five breweries, three of which are in the town; four dye-works, a saw-mill, two tile and brick works, and various other establishments connected with the trade of the town. Branches of the Bank of Scotland, the British Linen Company, the Commercial Bank, and the Edinburgh and Leith Bank have been opened here. The market-days are Tuesday and Friday, the former, which is numerously attended, being for corn, and the latter for eggs, poultry, butter, and provisions. Fairs are held for horses, cattle, and general merchandise, on the third Tuesday in January, March, April, June, Juh', September, October, and November. The post-office has a good delivery; and facility of conveyance is aliorded by excellent turnpike-roads, of which more than thirty miles traverse the parish, and by railroads from the collieries and lime-works to Charlestown. A railway, also, has been constructed from the lower end of the town, and communicates with the Elgin railroad. But the chief means of intercourse are afforded by the Dunfermline and Stirling railway, and the Dunfermline branch of the Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee railway; both of them lately opened. Steam-boats ply in the Firth of Forth, for which there is a good stone pier at Charlestown, and a wooden one at the North Ferry. There are likewise harbours at Limekilns and Brucehaven. The annual value of real property in the entire parish is £53,515, of which £17,532 are returned for the burgh. The BURGH appears to have arisen gradually under the abbots of the monastery, from whom it derived certain privileges and immunities, which it continued to hold for nearly two centuries, till it was erected into a royal burgh by charter of James VL in 15S8, ratifying all former grants. Under this charter, the government is vested in a provost, two bailies, a dean of guild, treasurer, chamberlain, and a council of sixteen, by whom all the other officers of the burgh are appointed. The jurisdiction of the magistrates extends over the whole of the royalty, and the provost is ex-officio a justice of the peace for the county of Fife; the magistrates hold the ordinary bailie-court for the disposal of police cases, and the nine-merks' court for the recovery of debts not exceeding the sum of ten shillings. Actions for small debts before the justices of the peace have almost ceased, since the institution of the sheriff's court for small debts. The police is under the direction of commissioners appointed by act of parliament in 1811. There are eight incorporated trades, viz., the smiths, weavers, wrights, tailors, shoemakers, bakers, masons, and butchers, all of whom, except the vpeavers, have exclusive privileges. The fraternity of guildry is very ancient, and possesses property of the yearly value of about £;J00. Dunfermline is associated with Stirling, Culross, Inverkeithing, and Queensferry, in returning a member to the imperial parliament. The number of £10 householders within the burgh proper is 397, and of those under that rent, but above £5, 432. The tolbooth, or Toun House, was built in 1771, and two upper stories were added to it in 1792: it is a neat plain edifice, with a square tower 100 feet in height; and several carved stones which formed part of the ancient cross, now removed, have been in- serted in the front wall of the building. Tlie first-floor contains the council-room; and above is the town-hall, used also as an exchange reading-room, in which are portraits of Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell. George Chalmers, Esq., and Provost Adam Low, with busts of the late William Pitt and Lord Melville. The third story was used as the gaol previously to the erection of a more commodious building on the town-green. The Guildhall, or Spire hotel, was erected by the fraternity of guildry for holding their general meetings, and also those of the county, but was never completed for that purpose, and in 1820 it became the property of a few individuals who converted it into an hotel. It is a handsome building with a spire 132 feet high, from which it takes its name; and, in addition to its arrangements as an hotel, contains a spacious hall fifty-two feet long, thirty-five feet wide, and twenty-one feet high, which is appropriated to various public purposes. The new Gaol was built at an expense of £2070; it is three stories high, and has eighteen cells, two apartments for debtors, and accommodation for the gaoler. In 1847 an act was passed for providing a court-hou.se at Dunfermline, to accommodate the courts of the sheriff and justices of the peace in the western district of Fife. The PARISH is of irregular form, about eight miles in average length and five in average breadth, comprising 23,040 acres, of which 19,296 are " landward". Of this latter number, 13,391 acres are arable, about 3740 not arable, 1135 woodland and plantations, and the remainder sites of buildings, water, and waste. The surface is greatly diversified with bold undulations, rising in some parts into hills of considerable elevation, the principal of which are Beath and Craigluscar, the former clothed with verdure to its summit, and commanding an extensive prospect. The coast, reaching for about a mile and a half along the Forth, is partly flat and partly high and rocky. The chief streams that intersect the parish are the Toicer burn and the Baldridge burn, both tributaries of the Ljjne, which, after these accessions, becomes of considerable size, and falls into the Firth at Charlestown. In the northern part of the parish are several lakes, of which the principal are, the Town loch, about a mile to the north-east of the burgh, and one mile in circumference; Loch End, two miles north of the town, formerly of equal extent, but now much diminished; Dunduff, a small sheet of water, three miles north of the town, and abounding with trout, perch, and pike; and Loch Fitly, two miles north-east of the town, one mile in length and half a mile in breadth, containing pike, perch, and eels. Loch Gloe, or the White loch, in the Cleish hills, two miles in circumference, and Black loch, a little to the north-west of Loch Gloe, are partly in the parish of Cleish, and both abound with pike, perch, and trout. The soil is generally fertile, and the system of agriculture in a highly improved state: the crops are oats, barley, wheat, potatoes, and turnips, peas and beans, with the various grasses; and a considerable portion of land is cultivated as orchards and gardens. The farm-buildings are substantial and commodiously arranged; the lands are well inclosed, and much waste has been improved by draining, and brought into profitable cultivation. The cattle are chiefly of the Fifeshire black breed, with some of the Teeswater on the dairyfarms, of the former about 1500, and of the latter 500. Few sheep are reared, but nearly 1400 are fed upon the pastures; and there is a moderate number of swine. The remains of old timber are not very extensive; the plautatious consist of oak, beech, elm, plane, ash, willow, larch, and Scotch fir. In this parish the substrata comprise coal and limestone, which are extensively raised, whinstone, and sandstone: some, also, of the rocks are of the trap formation, and in one place display fine specimens of columnar basalt. The coalfields are very extensive, and have been wrought from a remote period, first by the abbot of Dunfermline, to whom William de OberwiU, proprietor of Pittencrieff, in 1'291 granted the privilege of working a pit on any part of his lands except what was arable. It is, however, chiefly since the year 1*71 that they have been wrought to any great extent; and it is calculated that there are still 3000 acres unwrought in the several fields in the parish. The coal, which is of the usual varieties, and generally of good quality, occurs in seams from a few inches to eight feet in thickness, at depths of from fifteen to 105 fathoms below the surface. The average quantity raised annually is 1"0,000 tons, and the produce is conveyed by railroads from the pits to the harbour of Charlestown, in this parish, and the harbour of Inverkeithing, a parish adjoining, for exportation. Seventeen steam-engines are employed, varying from twelve to 1'20 horse power; and '2910 persons, of whom 1180 are engaged in working the mines. The most extensive quarries of limestone are those on the lands of Broomhall; the stone occurs within a quarter of a mile from the shore, in beds from twenty to fifty feet in thickness, containing a great variety of fossil remains, and the quantity annually raised is about 15,000 tons of stone, and about 400,000 bushels of shells. The stone is conveyed from the quarries by a railroad to Charlestown, where it is burnt into lime; the rough stone is sent principally to Stirling, and the shells to Dundee and the north. There are also cjuarries at Roscobie and Lathalmond, the produce of which is chiefly sold in the upper lands of the parish; and others on a smaller scale are worked at Sunnybank and Craigluscar. The parish likewise contains several quarries of freestone and trap; ironstone occurs in the Elgin coalfield, and was formerly wrought, and pyrites of iron and of copi)er have been found. Broomhall House, the pleasant and retired seat of the Earl of Elgin, is a handsome mansion, beautifully situated on an eminence overlooking the village of Limekilns, and surrounded by undulated grounds richly wooded. The house contains a valuable collection of paintings; and here are preserved the sword and helmet of King Robert Bruce, given to the late earl by Mrs. Bruce of Clackmannan; also the nuptial bed of Anne of Denmark, queen of James VI., which was for some years in the possession of an innkeeper in the town, who, a short time before her death, presented it to the earl. PitUver House, Keavil, and Pitjiiraiie are in the vicinity, but they are undistinguished by any peculiarity of features. PittcncrieJI' House was built in I6l0, by Sir Alexander Clerk, lord provost of Edinburgh, whose armorial bearings are over the doorway. Logie is a modern house, in which is preserved a cabinet of richly- carved walnut, formerly belonging to Anne of Denmark. Pitreavie House was the ancient mansion of the Wardlaw family, and Bulmule also belonged to them. The mansion of The Hill is now occupied in several tenements. For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs the parish is within the bounds of the presbytery of Dunfermline, synod of Fife; patron, the Crown. There are two ministers, each having an avei-age stipend of £'280; the minister of the first charge has also a manse, and an arable glebe, with allowance for pasture, but to the second charge there is attached neither manse nor glebe. The principal of the two incumbencies is filled by the Rev. Peter Chalmers, A. M., author of the highly valuable Historical and Statistical Account of Dunfermline, published in 1S44, and whose accurate description of the Dunfermline coalfield, reprinted in that work, was honoured with one of the premiums of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland. Dunfermline church, once a portion of the ancient abbey, and but ill adapted to its purpose, was rebuilt in 18'21 to the east of the former nave, which is now its western approach. It is an elegant cruciform structure in the later English style, with a square embattled tower rising from the centre of the transepts to the height of 100 feet, and ornamented with pinnacles: the parapet is surmounted with crowns, and pierced with openings representing the letters of the legend " King Robert the Bruce", whose tomb lies immediately beneath. The interior is finely arranged; the nave is separated from the aisles by handsome clustered columns with decorated capitals, surmounted by gracefully-pointed arches supporting the groined roof, which is ornamented with shields at the intersections of the ribs. This part of the church is lighted by a range of elegant clerestory windows, enriched with tracery; the east window is of large dimensions and of beautiful design, and the aisles and transepts are lighted by windows of corresponding character. Immediately under the tower is the pulpit, in front of the slabs covering the tomb of Bruce, and behind an open space reserved for an appropriate monument. Tlie church contains 1400 available sittings, and was completed at an expense of £11,000. A church dedicated to St. Andrew was built in 1833, to replace an old chapel of ease which had become dilapidated; and in 1835 a district of the parish, about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in breadth, containing a population of 3000, was assigned to it by the General Assembly, and for a short time formed a " quoad sacra" parish. It is a neat edifice containing 797 sittings, and was erected at a cost of £1560, partly by subscription. The minister's stipend is £1'20, derived from the seat-rents and collections, with a house and garden. An extension church, also, was erected at the east end of Golfdrum in 1840, at an expense of £1673, of which £100'2 were raised by subscription; and a "quoad sacra" district in the neighbourhood, with a population of about 3000, was attached to it: the edifice contains 800 sittings, and the minister has a guaranteed stipend of £80, but rising with the increase of seat-rents and collections. There was till 1843 a " quoad sacra " church in Canmore-street; but on the induction of its minister to the parish of Thurso, the congregation dispersed, and a Free church was built on its site in 1844. The parish likewise contains several places of worship for the United Presbyterian Synod, one of which was the first Relief meeting-house in Scotland;