Tour Scotland short 4K Summer travel video clip of the Tolbooth and Town House on ancestry, genealogy, family history visit and trip to Dysart Fife, Britain, United Kingdom. The Outlander TV series was filmed in Dysart. The first municipal building in the town was a tolbooth tower erected in 1567. This does not appear to have been successful as it was demolished, just eight years later, in 1575, and replaced by the present three stage tower, which was built in harled stone and erected slightly to the South of the original structure, in 1576. The first stage of the tower contained a doorway, while the second and third stages were originally blind, although a clock was installed in the third stage in 1592. There was a round stair-tower at the northeast corner of the building which provided access to the upper levels, and the building was extended to create a prison in 1617 and five women were accused of witchcraft and incarcerated there in 1630. After roundhead troops started using the building to store gunpowder during the English Civil War, the roof of the building was blown off by an accidental explosion in 1651. A forestair leading up to a doorway on the southwest side was added in 1717 and repairs were carried out to the building in 1719. Andrew St Clair, 12th Lord Sinclair, whose seat was at Dysart House, commissioned improvements to the tower in 1743. These works involved remodelling the tower with a new octagonal belfry surmounted by an ogee shaped roof and a weather vane. The improvements were undertaken by Alexander Mawer to a design by John Douglas of Edinburgh and were completed in 1744. The building was then extended down Victoria Street to provide an assembly hall in 1765. By the early 1880s, the Victoria Street extension had become very dilapidated, and the burgh leaders decided to replace it with a new town house. The new building was designed by Campbell Douglas and James Sellars in the neoclassical style, built in ashlar stone and was completed in 1888. The design involved a main frontage of three bays facing onto Victoria Street. The central bay contained a doorway which was flanked by bi-partite windows in the outer bays, and there were three sash windows on the first floor. Internally, the principal rooms were the council chamber, the courtroom and the magistrates' room. The burgh council, which had previously held their meetings in St Serf's Church, then started using the new council chamber. The building continued to serve as the meeting place of the burgh council into the 20th century but ceased to be the local seat of government when the area was absorbed by Kirkcaldy Burgh Council in 1930. The Outlander TV series was filmed in Dysart. The surname Dysart was first found in Fifeshire at Dysart, a former town and royal burgh located on the south east coast between Kirkcaldy and West Wemyss. It was once part of a lands owned by the Sinclair Clan. A local saying “ as old as the three trees of Dysart ” eludes to the town's ancient origins. Derived from the Gaelic " dìseart, " meaning " height of God." However, some believe that the name was derived from the Latin word “ deserta ” meaning “ the fasting place of a holy man ” in reference to the legend of Saint Serf who came to Dysart around 500 AD. Spelling variations of this family name include: Dysart, Dishart, Dyshart, Dysert, Disert and others. Sarah Dysart, aged 20, was a servant, who arrived in South Australia in 1855 aboard the ship Constantine; James Dysart, aged 25, was a farmer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, aboard the ship Madawaska in 1833; Robert Dysart, aged 19, arrived in Quebec, Canada, in 1834; Alexander Dysart arrived in Philadelphia, America, in 1787; William Dysart, aged 35, landed in New York, NY, America, in 1805; George Dysart settled in Baltimore, America in 1823. Of interest to folks with ancestry, genealogy or Scottish Family Roots in Scotland who may wish to visit one day. Find things to see and do in Scotland where you are always welcome.
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