St Monance Fife
Its name is derived from a shrine to St Moineinn established on the shore by early Christian missionaries. The version of the name ending in 'ce' is a possessive form as in once, twice, etc. In the 1890s there was a dispute as to the most appropriate version of the place-name. St Monance, which appears on Ordnance Survey maps, was favoured until more recent times when St Monans has found its way back into many documents. The village grew up around a well which was dedicated to the saint, its water being used to wash fishermen's nets and lines for many centuries. In 1362 King David II gave thanks here after surviving a shipwreck in the Firth of Forth and in gratitude ordered a church to be built. Restored in 1826-28 by William Burn, this building is a prominent feature in the landscape. In addition to many fine pantiled 17th and 18th century houses there are remains of saltpans which are overlooked by a restored windmill that was used to pump water up from the sea. On the coastal walk to the west of the settlement are to be found a restored 16th century beehive dovecote and the ruins of Newark Castle which was remodelled by David Leslie (later Lord Newark) in 1649. Salt, coal and fishing were the chief industries of St Monance for many years but during the 20th century it has largely been a centre of tourism and boat building, a trade that has been associated with the town for more than 200 years. Additional small industries such as the production of smoked fish are located on the Netherton Industrial Estate. The village was originally called Inverin but eventually took its name from St. Monans who lived in a cave near the Old Church and may well have been killed by invading pirates. The present Church was built in 1362 to replace an earlier Chapel on this site. It was built on the instruction of David II for his gratitude in being rescued after his ship was wrecked in the Firth of Forth.
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Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: architechture, british, building, burgh, christian, church, east, firth, fishing, harbours, isles, kingdom, landmark, neuk, outer, places, religon, royal, scotland, scottish, spire, steeple, tourism, tower, travel, uk, united, worship
