Tour Scotland Video Of Old Photographs Of Pittenweem East Neuk Of Fife

Tour Scotland travel Blog video of old photographs of Pittenweem on the coast of the East Neuk of Fife, Scotland. Founded as a fishing village around a probably early Christian religious settlement, it grew along the shoreline from the west where the sheltered beaches were safe places for fishermen to draw their boats up out of the water. Later a breakwater was built, extending out from one of the rocky skerries that jut out south-west into the Firth of Forth like fingers. This allowed boats to rest at anchor rather than being beached, enabling larger vessels to use the port. The late 17th to early 18th centuries saw a number of notorious witch hunts in Pittenweem by the local minister. The burgh was bogged down in debt and witchcraft was used as an excuse to improve the financial position by seizing the assets of some local women. The Church of Scotland building at the top of the High Street adjoined the Tolbooth which was used as the jail for some of the Pittenweem witches, and the door to the cells can still be seen. It is the studded door at the bottom of the tower. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland. I was raised in Anstruther and spent many days of my youth in this old fishing village on the East coast.



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

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