KENNOWAY, a parish, in the district of Kirkcaldy,
county of Fife; containing, with the village of
Baynton, and part of Star, 2044 inhabitants, of whom
1101 are in the village of Kennoway, 3^ miles (E.) from
Markinch. This parish, which derives its name from
the situation of the village at the head of a small but
beautifully romantic glen, is about three miles in length
from east to west, and two in breadth from north to
south. It comprises about 3750 acres, whereof 3470 are
arable, 250 woodland and plantations, and the remainder
pasture and waste. The surface, which is gently but
irregularly undulated, is diversified with hills and valleys;
and the higher grounds command extensive and richlyvaried
prospects over the adjacent country, comprehending
a fine view of the Firth of Forth, with the shipping,
the island of May, the Bass Rock, and Inchkeith, the
southern coast from Dunbar to Edinburgh, the Lammermoor,
and part of the Pentland hills. From the highest
eminence in the northern part of the parish, is a more
extended prospect, including nearly the whole of the
county, with large portions of the counties of Perth,
Angus, and Stirling, and the range of the Grampians.
The scenery is enlivened by numerous small rivulets that
intersect the parish in various directions, and by others
flowing along its boundaries. Of these rivulets one,
entering the parish near Balnkirk, on the north, after
following a circuitous course, passes close to the village
of Kennoway, where it meanders through a deep dell,
darkened by the foliage that crowns its banks. Issuing
from this dell, it receives a tributary stream at Kennoway-
Burns, on the south boundary of the parish, whence
proceeding about a mile southward, it falls into the river Leven.
The SOIL is fertile, though varying in quality; in
some parts light, in others a dry loam, in others a rich
loam intermixed with clay, and towards the western
extremity of the parish a peat-moss. The crops are
wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, turnips, and a few acres of
beans. In this parish, as in others, the rotation system
of husbandry is generally practised; and through the
improvement of the lands by draining, and the abundant
use of lime and manures, the crops are greatly superior,
both in quantity and quality, to what they formerly
were. The cattle reared are in general of the Fifeshire
breed, with occasionally a cross of the Teeswater, which
produces a stock nearly as forward at three years old as
the Fifeshire at four, and which is more easily fattened:
the cows for the dairy are all of the native Fifeshire
breed. The plantations consist chiefly of larch and
Scotch fir, which thrive well, and attain to a considerable
growth; and many hard- wood trees have been interspersed,
and appear to be adapted to the soil. Great
improvements have been made on their respective lands
by the various proprietors. The farm-buildings are substantial
and commodious, and some have been lately
built in a superior style: on most of the farms threshing-mills
have been constructed, some of which are set
in motion by steam. The lands are well inclosed with
hedges, kept in good order. Among the substrata are
freestone and whinstone: the former, of very soft quality,
and coarse in its texture, is quarried only on a very
limited scale; the whinstone, which is good, is quarried
in various parts for building, and for mending the roads.
Coal is found in several places, and is worked at Balgrie
by J. B. Fernie, Esq., of Kilmux, who, in consequence of
the exhaustion of the former mines, which had been in
operation for more than sixty years, lately opened a new
mine in that part of the parish. The coal lies at a depth
of more than fifty fathoms; the vein is nearly six feet in
thickness, and of very good quality, affording an ample
supply of fuel for the neighbourhood. About fifty persons
are employed in the pits, from which the water is
drawn off by a steam-engine of forty-eight horse power.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £4654.
In this parish the seats are, Auchtermairnie, a fine old
house, pleasantly situated in a tastefully-embellished
demesne; and Kingsdale and Newton Hall, both handsome
modern mansions, in grounds ornamented with
flourishing plantations.
The village of Kennoway, where the church stands,
is neatly built on the banks of the principal stream,
which are richly clothed with plantations. The chief
employment of the inhabitants is the weaving of linen,
in which not fewer than 300 persons are engaged; and
several are occupied in spinning and winding yarn.
Exclusive of two mills for grinding oats and barley,
there are a mill for sawing wood and a mill for spinning
tow, driven by water. The principal articles manufactured
are dowlas, sheetings, twills, diapers, and Darhngtons.
For the greater facility of procuring reeds
for the use of the weavers, a society has been established
in the village, called the Kennoway Reed Society, consisting
of I'iO persons, who form a proprietary of 200
shares. Fairs are held in April and October; but they
are not very numerously attended, and little business is
transacted. Intercourse with the neighbouring markettowns
of Cupar and Kirkcaldy is maintained by good
turnpike-roads, and easy communication between the
several parts of the parish is afforded by convenient
roads in every direction. Kennoway is ecclesiastically
in the presbytery of Kirkcaldy, synod of Fife, and in
the patronage of the Crown: the minister's stipend is
£'24'Z. 17., with a manse, and a glebe valued at £20 per
annum. The church is an ancient structure, displaying
some interesting architectural details; it was substantially
repaired in 1832, at an expense of £200, and is
adapted (or a congregation of nearly .500 persons. There
are places of worship for members of the United Presbyterian
Church and the Free Church. The parochial
.school affords instruction to about 120 scholars; the
master has a salary of £34, with £30 fees, and a house
and garden. There are also Sabbath schools, in connexion
with which is a juvenile library of 400 volumes.
An annual distribution of coal and meal is made among
the poor, about the commencement of the year, for
which an extraordinary collection is raised at the church.
A savingh' bank has been established upwards of fifteen
yearn, and .still continues in operation.