Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 2.djvu/35

Rh FIELD HEAD. 27 FIFE, FIFESHIEE. 6 W. of Holt, its post town. A priory was founded here in the 12th century by Maude de Harscoyle, as a cell to the Cistercian abbey of Savigny in Normandy. Aftor the suppression of alien priories it was given to the Carthusian monastery near Coventry. The land is chiefly arable, and in a high state of cultivation. The living is a vie. in the dioc. of Norwich, val. 137. The church is a fine structure, dedicated to St. Andrew. Field-Dalling House is the principal residence. FIELD HEAD, a hmlt. in the tnshp. of Gomersall, wap. of Morley, West Riding co. York, 7 miles E. of Halifax. Field House is the principal residence. FIELDS, SOUTH, a lib. in the par. of St. Mary, in the borough and co. of Leicester. FIELDSTOWN, a vil. in the bar. of Nethercross, co. Dublin, Ireland, 4 miles N.W. of Swords. FIFE, FIFESHIRE, a maritime co. in the E. of Scot- land. Its form is that of a peninsula, bounded on the N. by the Firth of Tay, on the E. by the North Sea, and on the S. by the Firth of Forth. It joins the cos. of Perth, Kin- ross, and Clackmannan on the W. It is situated between 66 and 56 26' N. lat. and 2 35' and 3 40' W. long. Its breadth from N. to S. is 18 miles, and its greatest length from E. to W. 44, comprising an area of 503 square miles, or 322,031 acres, of which about two-thirds are cultivated, 1,920 acres are under water, and 38,000 are moor, upland, and waste. The population in 1851 was 153,646, and in 1861, 154,555. In the earliest times of which we have any record the whole of this part of Scotland was possessed by the Horestii, a Pictish tribe, who offered a stout resistance to the Roman general Agricola. He reduced the country in the year 84, and the remains of a military station can still be traced at Carnock. At a subsequent period the inhabitants were called Victuriones, and are said to have been converted to Christianity by the Culdees, who established houses at Dunfermline and Kirkaldy. In the 9th century the country was ravaged by the Danes, and was then placed under the government of the Maormors, afterwards earls of Fife, whose privilege it was to lead the van of the royal army, and to place the king upon the inaugural stone at his coronation. Macduff, one of the most power- ful Maormors, is said to have been created first Earl of Fife. At the commencement of the 14th century this county was the scene of several battles between the Scotch and English, who after the battle of Falkirk devastated the whole district. In 1371 Robert II., having driven the English out of the country, was pro- claimed king, and created his son first of a new line of carls of Fife. This earldom was forfeited to the crown by the Duke of Albany, who was executed at Stirling. In 1480 an English armament entered the Forth, but was overcome by Andrew Wood, the Knight of Largo. In 1559 John Knox visited Fife, and preached at Crail with such effect that the people rose in arms, and levelled to the ground every building or ornament that appertained to the Roman Catholic worship at Anstruther, Pitten- ween, St. Monance, and St. Andrew's. The Protestants, hourly gaining recruits, met the Queen Regent's forces on Cupar Moor, who, however, entered into a truce, and withdrew. On their march to Perth, the followers of Knox destroyed the abbeys of Lindores and Palmerino. Queen Mary spent some months at St. Andrew's, Falk- land, and Wemyss. Fife suffered severely in the civil war of Charles I. At the battle of Kilsyth three regi- ments were annihilated, and the inhabitants for long felt the disastrous effects of the prominent part they played during these wars. Added to these events, the failure of the Darian expedition struck a blow to the commerce of the county, which it has scarcely yet aired. Fife, or Fothrik, was anciently designated a kingdom, and comprised the whole tract of land lying between the Forth and Tay, including the present county of Monteith, and the lordships of Clackmannan, 8tr;ithearn, and Kinross. In 1426 Kinross was sepa- rated from the shire; in 1685 its limits were again <cd; and in 1745 the regalities of Dunfermline, St. Andrew's, Aberdour, Pittcnween, Lindores, and Balmerino were forfeited to the crown by the attainder of Lord Balmerino. The county thus reduced in ex- tent has a broken wave-worn coast line of some 85 miles. Its general contour is of a tamer character than the prevailing outline of Scottich scenery. The chief ranges of hills are the Ochills, which rise in the N. and run nearly parallel with the Lomond hills in the middle of the county ; between these ranges lies the strath of Eden, with the river Eden flowing through its midst. The greatest elevation is 3,000 feet above sea level. The Lomonds are identified as East, Middle, and West, which latter peak attains an altitude of 1,720 feet. The Largolaw and Brinnarty hills are the next important elevation of the county. The chief waters are the river Eden, which rises among the Lomonda, and flowing by Cupar, falls into the sea at St. Andrew's Bay, after a course of some 24 miles. The river Leven flows from Loch Loven, in the county of Kinross, and after becoming confluent with the Orr, empties itself into the Forth at Leven village. Its waters are well adapted for bleaching purposes, and the three rivers are well stocked with fish. Numerous other, but minor, streams water the county. The principal lochs are Lindores in the N.W., and Fitly in the vicinity of Dunfermline. There are two chaly- beate springs near Dysart, besides several others about the county. The Edinburgh and Northern railway traverses the county from Burntisland to Ferry-port- on-Craig. There is a considerable amount of lime- stone quarried in this county, the works near Torry- burn being very extensive ; large quantities of ironstone are procured; lead ore was formerly worked at the Lomonds; excellent freestone comes from Burntisland, Strathmiglo, and the Lomonds. Among the hills of the N. are found granite, mica, slate, quartz, primitive green- stone, garnets, and gneiss. In the river Eden rubies, agates, jasper, and carneliau have been found ; and at Monimail and Newburgh some very beautiful crystals and agates. A valuable dark fire-stone is found on some parts of the coast ; good brick clay, marl, and peat are plentiful. Coal is very abundant. S. of the Lomonds there are near 40 workings, employing about 2,500 men and boys. The coal-field extends over an area of 39 miles in length, and between 6 to 9 miles in breadth. The climate of the county is in general dry and healthy, but subject to sudden changes. The most genial atmo- sphere is experienced along the Forth coast. The richest soil lies in a belt extending from E. to W. along the Forth, where it consists of a fertile loam, which consti- tutes the soil of all the most fertile districts. That of the How of Fife is held in merited esteem. In the W. large tracts of moor and wet cold land occur. The fences are mostly stone and thorn. The principal crops are wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, beans, and some tur- nips, green vegetables, and clover are grown. The system of farming is good, agricultural improvements readily adopted, and reclamation and drainage actively practised. The farms vary in size from 50 to 500 acres. There is a large acreage of plantation, consisting chiefly of ash, elm, fir, beech, chcsnut, lime, oak, and sycamore. As a whole the county is well cultivated, and the coast lined with thriving towns and villages. Grain, potatoes, and pigs are exported through Kirkaldy. Black cattle of valuable breeds are reared and exported. Cows, pigs, and poultry are abundant, sheep scarce, the breed of horses much improved. Game is in great plenty ; wild fowl, and sometimes swans, flock around the lochs during the season. The quarries and coal works afford employment to a largo proportion of the inhabi- tants. There are also some very old established salt- works along the coast. The manufacture of linen and flax is an active branch of industry. The fisheries are considerable, chiefly salmon, herring, cod, turbot, and haddock. Kirkaldy is the principal port. There are potteries and brick-fields at Aberdour, and several breweries and distilleries in operation in different loca- lities. The royal and parliamentary boroughs arc, Cupar, the county town, East and West Anstruther, Crail, Kilrenny, and Pittenween, which are contributory to St. Andrew's; Burntisland, Dysart, and Kinghorn, contributory to Kirkaldy; and Dunfermline and Invcr-