Tour Scotland short 4K Summer travel video clip of the harbour on ancestry, genealogy, family Clan history visit and trip to West Wemyss on the coast of Fife, Britain, United Kingdom. West Wemyss harbour dates from 1512 and one of the earliest records from 1590 is of a ship from England carrying the plague, which spread throughout Fife devastating the population. The harbour was further developed from the middle of the 1600s. By 1795 over 6000 tons of coal per year mined in local pits was exported from the harbour, and at around the same time ships were being built here. West Wemyss used to be one of the most important ports in Fife, with sailing ships coming from all over the Continent to trade coal and salt In 1900 West Wemyss harbour was linked to local pits by a railway that ran through a tunnel to reach the village. During the early years of the 20th century, 60,000 tons of coal per year were exported via the harbour from the nearby Lady Victoria and Lady Emma collieries. But the expansion of Methil Docks meant that West Wemyss harbour eventually fell into disuse. Eventually harbour was brought back into use for fishing and pleasure craft. The surname Wemyss is derived from the Scottish Gaelic uaimh which means cave. It is believed to be taken from the caves of the Wemyss, Fife, by the Firth of Forth, where the Wemyss family made a home. Sir Michael Wemyss along with his brother, Sir David, and also Scott of Balwearie were sent to Norway to bring back the infant Queen Margaret, the Maid of Norway, in 1290. Sir Michael Wemyss swore fealty to Edward I of England in 1296 but then changed his allegiance to Robert the Bruce. In 1513 Chief Sir David de Wemyss was killed leading the Clan Wemyss at the Battle of Flodden. John Wemyss was knighted in 1618 and created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in 1625. David Wemyss, 4th Earl of Wemyss was nominated as one of the trustees for the Treaty of Union with England. In 1707 he became Vice Admiral of Scotland. During the Jacobite rising of 1745, David Wemyss, Lord Elcho, joined the Jacobite leader, Charles Edward Stuart in Edinburgh. Lord Elcho accompanied Stuart into England and was also present at the Battle of Culloden. The chiefship of the Clan Wemyss and the estates in Fife devolved upon the 5th earl's third son, James Wemyss, born 1726, died 1786, who was MP for Sutherland and married Lady Elizabeth Sutherland in 1757. James Wemyss's great grandson married Millicent, daughter of Lady Augusta Gordon, and illegitimate granddaughter of William IV of the United Kingdom. Their son, Michael Wemyss, married Lady Victoria Cavendish-Bentinck, last surviving god-daughter of Queen Victoria. 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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