On the south-west coast of Fife, the traveller will find a town, built on a steep hill, which reaches down to the shores of the Firth of Forth. Culross (pronounced Kooruss), is our own "Brigadoon", a town seemingly lost in time. It's creaky old buildings and cobbled streets are echoes from a prosperous past. Like many Fife towns and villages, Culross has a mixture of old and new architecture, but the new buildings do not, cannot, dare not detract the visitor from the antiquity of the town.

Culross has been a Royal Burgh since 1588 and belonged to the County of Perth until 1891. There is little industry here to talk about, except tourism. Yet in the towns glory days it is said that upwards of 170 ships would anchor in its bay. The cargo the town exported was coal and salt. The earliest examples of mining for coal under the Firth of Forth were found here.

One story goes... When King James VI visited and was entertained by Sir George Bruce, a merchant and mine owner, he requested to visit one of the mines that tunnel beneath the sea bed. The king was escorted down a tunnel that led far out into the Firth of Forth. At the end of the tunnel a shaft led up to a small island with a jetty where coal was loaded onto ships.

The king grew alarmed when he reached the top of the shaft only to find himself surrounded by water. "Treason! Treason!" shouted the king. Sir George soon put the king at ease when he pointed to a small rowing boat. He explained that the king could return back through the tunnel or by boat. The king chose the rowing boat.

A flat area of land separates the town from the sea. The Sandhavens and West Green are where the locals come on fine days to gossip, play and celebrate. The town house was built in 1626 and the Clock tower was added in 1783.

The Mercat Cross is a mere youngster in the town, being erected as recently as 1902. It is surrounded by 17th. and 18th. century architecture including a building known as the Study.

A fair number of these old buildings are owned by the National trust for Scotland so the antique beauty of the place should be preserved for the foreseeable future.

Throughout its history the town has had a long association with Christianity. St. Serf arrived here around 520AD as the first Christian missionary to this wild untamed area. Brude, a pictish king, sent men to slay St. Serf and his followers. The saints life was spared when a sudden illness overtook the king and St. Serf cured him. The king was converted to Christianity and allowed St. Serf and his followers to live in peace.

Culross is associated with another Saint, St. Mungo, the patron Saint of Glasgow. Legend states that St. Mungo was the son of a Scottish prince, Eugenius, sovereign of the kingdom of Cumbria or Strathclyde. His mother was Thenew, a daughter of Lothus, a pictish king. Being with child and unmarried Thenew had committed a crime punishable by death. Thenew was hurled from the top of Dunpelder Law in East Lothian but was found at the bottom of the hill uninjured. She was then taken to the port of Aberlady and banished out to sea in an inadequate vessel. The boat finally came to rest at Culross. Here, Thenew gave birth to her son Kentigern. Mother and child were found by the brothers of St.. Serfs monastery. Young Kentigern and his mother were baptized by St.. Serf who would act as mentor and teacher to the growing boy. Kentigern was St.. Serfs favorite pupil and he had an affectionate name for him, Mungo, meaning beloved.

The Abbey of Culross was built on land gifted by Malcolm, 7th Earl of Fife, in 1217, during the reign of Alexander II.

When Earl Malcolm died in 1229 his body was interned in the church of the Abbey he founded. Today we have no record of where the tomb was situated.

A colony of the Cistercian order of white robed monks was brought from Kinloss in Morayshire to inhabit the newly constructed monastery. The first abbot, Hugh, had been Prior of Kinloss. It was said of abbot Hugh that he was hospitable to strangers and charitable to the poor, feeding nearly two thousand people with bread at the gates of the monastery each day.

After the Reformation, when the church of Rome lost power, Culross Abbey was secularized and fell into the hands of the Colville family.

The Abbey church has been restored and is now the new parish church of Culross.

Culross prospered after the Reformation, exporting salt and coal. the towns commercial importance was due in no small way to the enterprising genius of Sir George Bruce.

It is believed that Sir George Bruce was the first to introduce machinery to drain the coal pits and was probably the first to sink a coal pit in the sea and to encase the shaft in a circular wall which rose above the surface of the water.

The great pit of Culross, almost certainly the one with the shaft going beneath the sea, was destroyed in the violent storm of 1625.
Around 1597, Sir George Bruce built himself a mansion. As he accumulated wealth he enlarged the mansion until it became known as the Palace.

Today "The Palace" has been restored and its white washed walls have been tinted back to their original colour, Orange! The garden that rises up the hill behind the Palace is tended and cared for as it would have been in its early history.

Battle Of Culross

Sweyn, king of Norway, organized an expedition against Scotland. The Danes landed in Fife and advanced towards Culross. They set up camp on the east side of what used to be known as the Moor Dam.

King Duncan assembled the Scottish forces into three divisions. He entrusted the first division to Macbeth (of Shakespeare fame). Duncan took command of the main body and left Banquo to bring up the rear. The Scottish army made camp on the estate of Blair Castle about three miles from Culross.

The armies of the Scots and Danes met about three hundred yards north of the farm of Bordie. Here can be found a stone with two rectangular holes hollowed out in it. This is known as the Standard Stone because the Scottish standard was fixed to it during the battle.

The Danes were victorious but were so exhausted by the battle that they could not press the advantage. Duncan and his army retreated northwards to Perth. Sweyn followed and laid siege to the castle. A tale of the siege states that the Scots fed the Danes ale and bread laced with deadly nightshade. The Danes fell into a deep sleep. Macbeth led the Scots into the camp and massacred the sleeping Danes. Only Sweyn and ten of his command escaped the slaughter.

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