Old Photograph Sailing Ship Harbour Kirkcaldy Fife Scotland

Old photograph of a sailing ship in the harbour in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. From the early 16th century, the establishment of a harbour at the East Burn confirmed the town's early role as an important trading port. The town also began to develop around the salt, coal mining and nail making industries. The production of linen which followed in 1672 was later instrumental in the introduction of floorcloth in 1847 by linen manufacturer, Michael Nairn. In 1877 this in turn contributed to linoleum, which became the town's most successful industry: Kirkcaldy was a world producer until well into the mid 1960s. The town expanded considerably in the 1950s and 1960s, though the decline of the linoleum industry and other manufacturing restricted its growth thereafter.



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

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