About Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy is one of the largest towns in the Kingdom of Fife - on the East Coast of Scotland.
The writer Daniel Defoe once described the town as "One Street, One mile long." Hence, the town is commonly referred to as the "Lang Toun" (long town). Even today, the town can boast one of the longest developed sea fronts in Europe. In April each year, Europe's Longest street market (the Links Market) occupies part of the Esplanade. 2004 saw the 700th anniversary of this event.
The
most famous (and influential) person to have been born in Kirkcaldy was the
"Father of Modern Economics" Adam Smith. He wrote most of his book
"The Wealth of Nations" in the town - considered by many to be one of
the five most important books ever written. The book defined what we now know as
the international economy, and interest in his theories has risen greatly in the
past few years.
As the saying goes, "Time is Money," so it is a remarkable coincidence that the town that produced the Father of Modern Economics, also produced the "Father of Standard Time" (international time zones). Sir Stanford Flemming invented time zones while he helped build the first pan-Canadian railway, and also designed the first pictorial postage stamp in the world - a beaver - which later became Canada's national animal.
More modern figures to have been born or spent time in Kirkcaldy are Gordon Brown (Chancellor of the Exchequer), Ewan McGregor (Actor) and the popular painter Jack Vettriano.
For more information on Famous Langtonians, choose from the menu at the left-hand-side(<).
At one point, Kirkcaldy produced most of the world's Linoleum from the Nairn's Factory in the centre of the town. The smell of the Linseed Oil used in production gave the town a distinctive smell, and was immortalised in the poem "The Boy in the Train."
Fife was a traditional mining area, and the decline of the industry led to high unemployment.
However, with modern transportation, more people are moving to the town and commuting to various other locations around central Scotland. The train ride to Edinburgh crosses the world-famous Forth Bridge.
New housing developments are popping up across the town, the north of Kirkcaldy has been redeveloped and the seafront is due to be resigned over the next decade - turning the area into one of Scotland's major tourist destinations.
The future looks bright for the Lang Toun!