Kirkcaldy
With a population of
around 45,000, Kirkcaldy is the largest town in Fife. Known as "the Lang Toun", owing to its spread along the northern shore of the Firth of
Forth with a main street over a mile long, Kirkcaldy owed its growth to its position on the Fife coalfield,
its excellent harbour, home at one time to a large fishing fleet, and
its proximity to the rich farmland of Fife. Kirkcaldy was famous
throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as the largest
producer of linoleum in the world. The town's annual Links Market, one
of Europe's longest street markets, recently celebrated its 700th
anniversary. Famous Kirkcaldy citizens include economist Adam Smith,
architect Robert Adam and, more recently, Gordon
Brown. The map below shows the
features of the town, its streets and houses as they were in the middle
of last century. Click on a selected area of the map to see an
enlargement.
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