Old Photograph Church And Houses Crail East Neuk Of Fife Scotland

Old photograph of a church and houses in Crail, on the coast of the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Crail became a Royal Burgh in 1178 in the reign of King William the Lion. Robert the Bruce granted permission to hold markets on a Sunday, in the Marketgait, where the Mercat Cross now stands in Crail. This practice was still continuing in the 16th century, causing concern in the freshly puritanical circles of Edinburgh such that John Knox, visiting Crail on his way to St Andrews in 1559, was moved to deliver a sermon in Crail Parish Church, damning the fishermen of the East Neuk for working on a Sunday. Despite the protests, the markets continued and were amongst the largest in Europe for their time. King James V, the father of Mary Queen of Scots, sent for his wife, Mary of Guise, whom he had recently married by proxy in Paris, and she landed in Crail in June 1538. Built around a harbour, Crail has a particular wealth of vernacular buildings from the 17th to early 19th centuries. The harbour is known to have been substantially complete by 1583. The extension of 1828 to the west pier of Crail Harbour is the work of Robert Stevenson. Crial railway station on the Thornton Junction to St Andrews to Leuchars Junction was opened on 1 September 1883 by the Anstruther and St Andrews Railway. It closed to regular passenger traffic, with the St Andrews to Leven portion of the line, on 6 September 1965. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day.



All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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