Ladybank

A railway town in the parish of Collessie in the Howe of Fife to the north of the River Eden and south-west of Cupar. Ladybank developed during the latter half of the 19th century at a railway junction built on land drained during the 18th century and formerly known as the Moss of Monegae or Our Lady's Bog. Lady's Bog was changed to the more elegant Ladybank and the name Monkstown which is applied to the southern quarter of the town is the only part of the settlement that predates the building of the railway in the 1850s. It is a reminder of the days when the monks of Lindores Abbey used to cut peat here.

The town was designated a burgh in 1878 and developed linen and maltings industries. Its railway station is reckoned to be the oldest unaltered station in Scotland. Ladybank has an 18-hole golf course and there are forest walks in the neighbouring Heatherhall Wood. Sand and gravel are extracted at Melville Gates.

"Collessie is a parish lying to the north of Kettle. It is 8 miles in length by 5 in breadth. It consists chiefly of fine enclosed lands, and some fine plantations rising from the Eden to the hills on the north. The village, of no importance in the way of business, is situated 3 miles from Auchtermuchty and 6 from Cupar. The railway passes through the parish. The parish church is a neat building surmounted by a spire." from Slater's Directory published 1852.

If you would like to visit this area as part of a highly personalized small group tour of my native Scotland please e-mail me at;

sandystevenson@thefreesite.com

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