Late Autumn Road Trip Drive To Visit Erskine Church In Burntisland Fife Scotland

Tour Scotland late Autumn travel video of a road trip drive, with Scottish music, on ancestry visit to Erskine Church in Burntisland in Fife. Erskine church was built in Burntisland in 1903 as a Free Church to replace an 18th century church of the same name. It is located on a prominent site, overlooking The Links parkland and then South across Burntisland's expansive bay and the Firth of Forth. It sits within small garden grounds on a corner plot and there is housing to the north, west and east. The earliest historical record of the town was in the 12th century, when the monks of Dunfermline Abbey owned the harbour and neighbouring lands. The settlement was known as Wester Kinghorn and developed as a fishing hamlet to provide food for the inhabitants of Rossend Castle. The harbour was then sold to James V by the abbots of Dunfermline Abbey in exchange for a parcel of land. The land was granted royal burgh status by King James V in 1541. When the status was confirmed in 1586, the settlement gained independence from the barony of Kinghorn and was renamed Burntisland, possibly a nickname from the burning of fishermens' huts on an islet now incorporated into the docks. The surname Erskine was originally derived from the lands of Erskine, which is an area to the south of the River Clyde in Renfrew. The name is believed to be ancient or Old British for green rising ground. The Erskines were staunch supporters of the Clan Bruce. Sir Robert de Erskine was an illustrious and renowned figure of his time. King David II of Scotland appointed him keeper of the strategic Stirling Castle. In 1350 Sir Robert Erskine was appointed as Chamberlain of Scotland and justicar north of the Forth. Erskine was also one of the nobles who established the succession to the throne of King Robert II of Scotland, who was a grandson of the great Robert the Bruce and the first monarch of the Stewart dynasty in 1371. All photographs are copyright of Sandy Stevenson, Tour Scotland, and may not be used without permission.

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