Kingsbarns
Village in the United Kingdom
Kingsbarns is a village and parish in Scotland lies near the eastern coast of Fife, in an area known as the East Neuk, 6.5 miles (10.5 km) southeast of St Andrews and 3.6 miles (5.8 km) north of Crail. The name derives from the area being the location of the barns used to store grain before being transported to the Palace at Falkland.
The coast around Kingsbarns is also known as a challenging surfing area.
Pitmilly, a former estate that was owned by the Monypenny family for over seven centuries, is located about 1.5 miles from Kingsbarns on the road to St Andrews. Ruins of two mills and the Bronze Age tumulus, Pitmilly Law, are still evident. Little remains of Pitmilly House.
The civil parish has a population of 443 (in 2011).
01Amenities
An inn existed in Kingsbarns for centuries, previously offering a place of refuge for pilgrims to St Andrews Cathedral. However, the 18th-century coaching inn standing on the previously established site has reopened recently under new management
Barns Cottage in the Square is an historic building that includes the former infants' school.
The village also has a church and primary school.
02Notable residents
- Robert Arnot (1744-1808), Presbyterian minister, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and professor of Divinity at St. Andrews University, lived in Kingsbarns from 1800 until his death.
- Charlton Monypenny (1867-1947), world record-holding sprinter, rugby player and businessman, Laird of Pitmilly.
- Douglas Monypenny, (1878-1900), Scottish international Rugby player
- Alexander Peebles (1856-1934), New Zealand prospector and mine owner, born in Kingsbarns
- James Yorkston (b. 1971), musician and writer, grew up in Kingsbarns
- Vic Galloway (b. 1972), DJ, radio and TV presenter and journalist, grew up in Kingsbarns
03Golf
The forming of the Kingsbarns Golfing Society in 1793 began the village's long association with golf, with the course, laid upon land leased from the Cambo Estate, being in use until around 1850 when it was returned to farming. In 1922, Kingsbarns Golf Club was founded, and a nine-hole course designed by Willie Auchterlonie was laid out, but in 1939 the land was mined to prevent the Germans landing on the coast.
Kingsbarns Golf Links is a man-made links course designed by architect Kyle Phillips, and developed by Mark Parsinnen. Opened in 2000, it has co-hosted the European Tour's Dunhill Links Championship along with the Old Course at St Andrews and Carnoustie since 2001. Kingsbarns hosted the St Andrews Trophy in 2007, the Jacques Léglise Trophy in 2008, and the Women's British Open in 2017.
04Whisky
A Scotch whisky distillery opened in November 2014 and began filling barrels of spirit the following March. Kingsbarns distillery was founded by a local golf caddie who wished to convert a historic and semi-derelict farm-steading into a distillery.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Kingsbarns”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- The Barns at Kingsbarns.jpg by Dearcy Inns Ltd, CC BY-SA 3.0
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