DYSART, a parish and seaport and burgh, in the district of Kirkcaldy,
county of Fife; including the villages of Boreland and
Gallatown, the former quoad sacra parish of Pathhead,
and part of that of Thornton; and containing 7591
inhabitants, of whom 1885 are in the town, 2 miles (E.)
from Kirkcaldy, and 14 (N. by E.) from Edinburgh. This
place appears to have retained its original Gaelic name,
signifying the " Temple of the Most High", from its rise
to the present time. The earliest event upon record
connected with it is the invasion of Fife by the Danes,
towards the close of the ninth century, when, bringing
their fleet to anchor in the Firth of Forth, they landed
on the coast of this parish, and marching into the interior,
were oppo.-ed by the natives, who, assembling to obstruct
their progress, gave them battle in a field about a mile
northward of the town. To commemorate this occurrence,
a large stone was erected in the centre of the field
of battle, which still points out the spot. Few particulars
of historical importance have been preserved to
throw any light upon the origin and progress of the
town; the records of the burgh, and other ancient
documents in the possession of the Sinclair family, were
burnt in 1715, when the mansion of Lord Sinclair was
destroyed by an accidental fire. The castle of Ravenscraig,
a little to the west of the town, was granted with
the adjoining lands by James III. to William Sinclair or
St. Clair, Earl of Orkney, on his resignation of that title,
and has ever since been in the possession of the family:
here Lord Sinclair used to hold his baronial court, and
the castle continued to be a residence till the Restoration,
after which it was suffered to fall into decay, being
now a ruin of romantic appearance, seated on a steep
rock overlooking the sea.
The TOWN, which is of great antiquity, and was once
the principal trading port on this part of the coast, comprises
three narrow streets diverging from an open area
in the centre, where the town-hall stands. It still retains
much of its original character; the high street consists
of substantial houses of antique appearance, and
several of them till lately had piazzas in front, under
which the merchants and dealers formerly sold their
wares. Extensive salt-works appear to have been established
here at a very early period, from which, about
the middle of the fifteenth century, not only the chief
towns in Scotland were supplied, but also great quantities
were exported to Holland. From that period the trade
of the town continued to flourish for two or three centuries.
Malting and brewing were carried on to a considerable
extent; large quantities of merchandise of every
description were regularly exposed for sale, and the high
street and the square were thronged with merchants.
Its port was crowded with shipping, and its foreign and
domestic commerce advanced beyond that of any other
town in this part. This state of prosperity lasted till the
Union, after which it began to decline; its port was
almost deserted, its trade with foreign coasts nearly
annihilated, and its manufactures greatly diminished.
From this depression, however, it in some degree recovered,
though it has not yet regained its former importance.
A manufactory of nails was established in the
town, in which, till within the last fifty years, about 100
persons were constantly employed, and the quantity of
nails annually made was valued at £2000: many of them,
used in ship-building, were sent to Edinburgh, Glasgow,
and the principal towns in the north; but for some years
this branch of trade has been declining, and it is at
present only carried on to a very limited extent. The
manufacture of linen-cloth has also greatly diminished;
but one branch of it still continues to flourish. The
chief trade now pursued is the manufacture of checks
and ticking, which was established about a century since,
and has been uniformly increasing: 2000 looms are constantly
in use; the number of yards annually produced
is more than 31,000,000, and the value above
£150,000. This trade affords employment to about
5000 persons; the articles are sent to London, Manchester,
Liverpool, Nottingham, Leeds, and other places,
and likewise to the Cape of Good Hope and the East and
West Indies. A mill for spinning flax was erected some
years since, in which about 100 persons are engaged;
and there is a pottery of stone-ware, affording employment
to a nearly equal number; also a small rope-walk..
Great facilities of intercourse are afforded by the Edinburgh,
Perth, and Dundee railway, which has a station
here.
The business of the port consists chiefly in the exportation
of coal and ironstone from the pits in the parish,
and in the importation of flax and other goods from
Holland and the Baltic. There are eight vessels of the
aggregate burthen of 638 tons belonging to the port;
and the number of vessels that entered during a recent
year, to deliver or receive cargoes, was eighty-seven, of
the aggregate burthen of 5296 tons. Formerly the harbour,
from the ill construction of the eastern pier, was
exceedingly dangerous, and the swell so great as to subject
the vessels sheltering in it to occasional damage. It
was proposed to take down that pier, and to rebuild it
in a new direction, which, according to the opinion of
several engineers, would not only have remedied the evil,
but have rendered this one of the most commodious harbours
on the coast; but as the expense of the improvement
would have been beyond the means possessed by the
town, it was resolved merely to convert a quarry adjoining
it into a wet-dock, which has been carried into effect,
and has answered the purpose admirably. The depth of
water in the new dock, which adjoins the western pier,
is eighteen feet at spring-tides; and it is capacious enough
to hold seventeen or eighteen vessels of moderate tonnage,
which may ride in perfect safety, in addition to
what the harbour would formerly accommodate. A patent-
slip has likewise been constructed, at a considerable
expense, for repairing ships; and ship-building, particularly
the repairing of vessels, is carried on upon a large
scale. A sailing-packet leaves the port every day for
Leith, and another for Dundee occasionally. Fairs are
held six times in the year, for the sale of wool, white
cloth, linseed, and black-cattle; they were formerly attended
by numerous merchants from Glasgow, Edinburgh,
and Stirling, but have of late altogether declined.
Two subscription libraries have been established; and
there are also a mechanics' library, a library exclusively
of religious publications, and two public reading-rooms,
which are well attended.
The town was made a burgh of barony by Lord Sinclair,
and there is still extant the copy of a summons
issued from Ravenscraig Castle to the bailies, and commanding
their appearance at his baronial court. It was
afterwards erected into a royal burgh by charter of
Charles II., and the government was vested in two
bailies, a treasurer, and a council of twenty-one burgesses;
but in consequence of an error in the election of
the council in 1 831, the burgh was disfranchised by judgment
of the court of session, who appointed three managers
to take charge of its affairs, by whom, from the
impossibility of electing a council subsequently, the concerns
of the town are still administered. The jurisdiction
of the magistrates extends to the bounds of the royalty.
The treasurer, the town-clerk, who acts also as assessor,
and the other officers are at present appointed by the
managers; the bailies act as justices of the peace for the
royalty, and hold a court for the determination of civil
actions, but in 1831 only four civil cases were brought
before it for decision, and there is no record of any
criminal cases whatever. Burgesses and freemen residing
within the burgh are exempt from one-third of the
dues paid by strangers on the landing of goods at the
quay. Dysart, by the act of the 2nd and 3rd of William
IV., unites with Kirkcaldy, Kinghorn, and Burntisland,
in returning a member to the imperial parliament;
the right of election being vested in the resident householders
of the annual value of £10 and upwards, the
number of whom within the limits of the municipal
burgh is thirty-two. The number of £10 householders
resident without the municipal, but within the parliamentary
limits, is 124; and the whole number of voters at
a late general election was 106. The town-hall is a
plain substantial building of stone, with a tower surmounted
by a spire; it was originally erected in 1617,
and contains a spacious hall for the transaction of municipal
affairs, a guard-house, weigh-house, and prison.
During the civil war in the reign of Charles I. the former
building was converted into a barrack by Cromwell's
soldiers, one of whom entering the magazine with
a lighted match, the powder exploded, and reduced the
whole building to ruins, in which state it remained for
some years, till it was rebuilt.
The PARISH is situated on the Firth of Forth, is about ^
four miles in length and three in breadth, and comprises
an area of 3850 acres, of which about 500 are natural
wood and plantations, and the remainder arable laud in
good cultivation. Its coast, which extends for about two
miles, is abrupt and rugged, and marked in several parts
with rocks of considerable elevation. The surface rises
gradually towards the north, and in the more level tracts
is enlivened by two small rivers, the Oar and the Lochty,
the former of which has its source in the parish of Dunfermline,
and receiving in its course two streams issuing
respectively from the lochs of Fittie and Gellie, flows iii
an eastern direction into the river Leven in the parish of
Markinch. The Lochty rises in the parish of Kinglassie,
and falls into the Oar at a short distance from the influx
of that stream into the Leven. In general the soil is
fertile, and the substratum abounds in mineral wealth;
the most improved system of husbandry is adopted, and
much waste land has been reclaimed, and brought into
cultivation. The crops are wheat, barley, oats, potatoes,
and turnips, of which large quantities are raised for the
supply of the neighbouring markets. Great attention is
paid to live stock; the cattle are generally of the Fifeshire,
Ayrshire, and Teeswater breeds, and the rearing of
horses is an object of particular solicitude: there are very
few sheep. The plantations, of which more than 3S0
acres are on the property of the Earl of Rosslyn, are
chiefly fir, oak, and elm, which are well managed and
very thriving. The lands are inclosed, and the fences
kept in good order; the farm-buildings and offices, also,
are very superior. The annual value of real property in
the parish is £10,775.
The SUBSTRATA are, limestone, which is extensively
quarried for agricultural and other purposes; sandstone,
which, though inferior in appearance, is notwithstanding
of good quality; claystone, worked on a large scale for
pavements, hearths, and other uses; coal, of which there
are not less than fourteen beds on the estate of the Earl
of Rosslyn; and ironstone, which is found below the
coal,of excellentquality,producingabout twelve hundredweight
of iron from every ton. Most of the beds of coal
are thin; but three of them, lying one above another,
are now being worked, of which the uppermost is five,
the next eight, and the lowest five feet in thickness. The
pits are sunk to a depth of seventy fathoms, and produce
an abundant supply: the coal is slow in burning, but
throws out an intense heat; it was among the first
wrought in Scotland, and there are the remains of some
exhausted mines that are supposed to have been in operation
more than three centuries since. Five beds of
ironstone are worked a little westward of the coal-mines,
where it lies nearer to the surface; it is wrought on an
extensive scale, and the produce is shipped to Carron, for
the supply of the foundries of that place. The landed
proprietors of the parish, by the encouragement they
have given to improvements of every kind, have contributed
greatly to its prosperity. Lord Rosslyn occasionally
resides here, in a mansion situated not far distant
from the town, commanding an extensive view of the Firth
and the richly-varied scenery of the adjacent country.
The house is spacious, and of handsome appearance; the
grounds also are extensive, and finely planted with ornamental
timber and forest trees, many of which are of
stately growth.
Dysart is ecclesiastically in the presbytery of Kirkcaldy
and synod of Fife; patron, the Earl of Rosslyn.
The church is collegiate, there being two incumbents:
the stipend of the first minister is £265. 10., with a
manse, and a glebe valued at f^l. 8. per annum; the
stipend of the second is £'207. 1 1., without either manse
or glebe. The church, erected in 1802, is a neat and
substantial edifice, situated at one extremity of the town,
and adapted for a congregation of 16(J0 persons. A
church was erected by subscription in the village of
Pathhead within the last twenty or thirty years, at an
expense of £3000; and the parish has for ecclesiastical
purposes been divided by the presbytery, and one division
allotted to each of the parochial ministers. There are
places of worship for members of the Free Church, the
United Presbyterian Synod, and Antiburghers. The
Burgh school, which is also the parochial school, affords
a liberal course of instruction, but from its situation is
accessible only to residents in the town; the master is
elected by the town-council, and has a salary of £43 per
annum, arising partly from the funds of the burgh, and
partly from the interest of money bequeathed for that
purpose, with £50 school-fees, and an allowance in lieu
of a house and garden. In addition to this school is a
subscription school, erected within the last few years,
and which forms a great ornament to the town from the
elegance of its architectural design. There is an endowed
school at Pathhead, the master of which has a good
salary for teaching 150 children reading, writing, and
arithmetic; also a school in Boreland, the master of
which has £8 per annum, with a school-room and dwelling-
house rent free, and a supply of coal. Several religious
societies are established, among which are, a Bible
and missionary association which gives part of its income
to the Gaelic and Hibernian Societies; a Sabbath-evening
school society; and a society for the education of
children, which pays one-half of the school fees for the
children of such parents as are willing to pay the other
half. There is also a society for the support of indigent
and aged females, which appropriates about £40 annually
to that purpose. Three friendly societies, belonging respectively
to maltmen, bakers, and sailors, have been
established in the town more than two centuries; and
their funds, which are ample, are exclusively appropriated
to the relief of poor members.
In the south part of the town are the remains of a
chapel dedicated to St. Dennis; parts of the ancient
walls are standing, but the building itself has been converted
into a forge. Near the site of this chapel are the
remains of the old church, which appears to have been a
venerable structure, the porch and tower bearing evidence
of great antiquity; the former has a groined roof of
stone, and above the door are two sculptured stones, one
of which seems to have been a pedestal for a statue, probably
of the tutelar saint. Nearly in the centre of the
harbour is a high rock called the Fort, supposed to have
been fortified by the troops of Cromwell during the parliamentary
war; but no traces of any military works are
visible. On the lands of Carherry farm the Romans are
said to have had a camp, though no vestiges are at present
discernible; and about a mile west of the town are
the Red rocks, concerning which many traditionary stories
are current. Robert Beatson, who obtained an
ensigncy in 1756, and was present at the taking of Martinique
and Guadaloupe, was born in this parish; he was
distinguished as the author of a Political Index to the
History of Great Britain and Ireland, a Chronological
Register of both Houses of Parliament, and other works.
Dysart gives the title of Earl to the family of Tollemache;
the first earl was son of the Rev. William Murray, incumbent
of the parish, and acted a conspicuous part in
the reign of Charles I.