Newburgh, Fife

Newburgh's high street in the 19th century. The North British Hotel (later the Tayview Bar; today's number 230) is on the left. Built around 1840, the building is now considered at-risk[2]

In 1266 Newburgh was granted burgh status by King Alexander III of Scotland, as a burgh belonging to the Abbot of Lindores. In 1600, Newburgh was given to Patrick Leslie, son of the Earl of Rothes – a powerful Scottish family - and in 1631, Newburgh was made a Royal Burgh by King Charles I.

Since WW2 many new houses have been built in Newburgh but the population has only increased by about 10%. Probably because average house occupancy rates are much lower since the baby boomer years.

For some time, Newburgh's industries chiefly consisted of the making of linen, linoleum floorcloth, oilskin fabric and quarrying. There was for many years a net and coble fishery on the Firth Of Tay, mainly for salmon and sea trout.

The harbour area was used originally for boatbuilding and the transshipment of cargoes to Perth for vessels of over 200 tons. Raw materials for making linoleum such as cork and linseed oil were also imported at the "Factory Pier". Aggregates from the Whin Stone quarry were also shipped from Bell's Pier.

The main employer from the early 1920s was the linoleum factory known locally as the "Tayside" from The Tayside Floorcloth Company. For many years Newburgh was a prosperous industrial town pulling in workers for the factories from surrounding towns and villages. As linoleum fell out of fashion in the late 60s and 70s attempts were made to produce Vinyl flooring and tiles but the factory was no longer profitable and after changing hands a couple of times it finally closed in 1980 after a large fire destroyed much of the building.

Situated to the East of the linoleum factory was another factory known locally as "The Oilskin", many women worked there from before The Great War producing oilskin fabric for waterproof clothing such as fishermen's suits and Sou'westers. The factory was taken over by textiles giant Courtaulds in the 1960s but it also closed some years later as demand for the product declined.

All of these old industries in Newburgh have gone except quarrying which is now the town's biggest single employer. Newburgh is now mainly a dormitory town with many of those of working age travelling outwith the town for work. Perth, Dundee and Glenrothes are in easy reach by car. Local trades and services including a Health Centre and a Nursing Home and a few shops including a brand new Co-op on the site of the former Ship Inn still provide some local employment.

In 2017 a new whisky distillery opened on the site of Lindores Abbey at the east end of Newburgh.[3] This produces Lindores Abbey whisky on the site where the earliest reference to "Aqua Vita" a form of whisky was produced by the monks. The distillery incorporates an event venue and offers catering and tours of the distillery and Abbey ruins.

After many years of lying derelict, the linoleum factory was completely demolished and cleared and its site is now a recreational waterfront linked to the Mugdrum Park and the Fife Coastal Path.

Lochmill Loch

Nearby Lochmill Loch — 56°19′56″N 3°15′32″W — has been dammed to provide the town with a water supply and fishing.

At Blackearnside, a forest of alders, to the east of the village, Wallace defeated Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke in 1298.

Mugdrum Island, opposite the large Mugdrum estate from which it takes its name, ("ridge of the pig[s]" in Gaelic), is offshore in the Firth dividing it into 'North Deep' and 'South Deep' channels. For many years cattle were ferried over to the island for summer grazing, but this is no longer practised.

Newburgh is home to the junior football club Newburgh and an active sailing club.

Newburgh is situated on the Firth of Tay, seven miles (11 km) northwest of Ladybank Junction alongside the Edinburgh to Aberdeen railway line (between Perth and Ladybank). Newburgh railway station served the town from 1848 to 1955. There is an active campaign to reopen the station. Fife Scottish (now Stagecoach in Fife) used to have a bus depot at East Shore Road however this was closed in 1991. No buses are now based in Newburgh although the Perth to Glenrothes and Newburgh to St Andrews via Ladybank station still serve the town.

The town lies on the A913.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Newburgh (Scotland)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 467. Newburgh is also home to Newburgh Sailing club and is an RYA recognised training centre

• Newburgh Bear
• Newburgh station campaign