Inverkeithing

Inverkeithing
Town & Royal Burgh
Clockwise from top left: Friary, Mercat Cross, Thomsoun's House, view of town, Inverkeithing Bay beach & St. Peter's Church.
Inverkeithing Coat of Arms
Location near the City of Edinburgh council area
Location near the City of Edinburgh council area
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Location near the City of Edinburgh council area
Inverkeithing is located in Fife
Inverkeithing
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Location within Fife
Population4,820 (2022)[4]
OS grid referenceNT130829
• Edinburgh9 mi (14 km) S
• London340 mi (550 km) S
Council area
Lieutenancy area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townInverkeithing
Postcode districtKY11
Dialling code01383
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
List of places
UK
Scotland
56°01′54″N 3°23′50″W / 56.0318°N 3.39713°W / 56.0318; -3.39713

Inverkeithing (/ɪnvərˈkiːðɪŋ/ ⓘ; Scottish Gaelic: Inbhir Chèitinn) is a coastal town, parish and historic Royal burgh in Fife, Scotland. The town lies on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, 9.5 miles northwest of Edinburgh city centre and 4 miles south of Dunfermline.

A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing became an important centre of trade and pilgrimage during the Middle Ages.[5] Inverkeithing was granted Royal burgh status by 1161 and became the host of the annual Convention of Royal Burghs from 1487.[6] The town witnessed the Battle of Inverkeithing in 1651, a conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Following the Industrial Revolution, Inverkeithing developed industries in distilling, ship breaking and quarrying.[7][8]

Inverkeithing town centre is a conservation area, home to 41 listed historic buildings including the best-preserved medieval friary in Scotland[9][10] and one of the finest examples of a medieval Mercat Cross.[11] Inverkeithing features on the Fife Coastal Path, one of Scotland's Great Trails, and the Fife Pilgrim Way.

Inverkeithing railway station is a main stop for trains running over the nearby Forth Rail Bridge, and the town is home to the Ferrytoll Park & Ride. Around half of Inverkeithing's workers work in Edinburgh city centre or Dunfermline (2024).[12] The town has a population of 4,820 (2020)[13] and the civil parish has a population of 8,878 (2022).[14]

  1. ^ "Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba – Gaelic Place-Names of Scotland". www.ainmean-aite.scot. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Fife Place-name Data :: Inverkeithing". fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk.
  3. ^ Ann McCluskey. "Land, Sea and Sky – Travelogue" (PDF).
  4. ^ "Mid-2020 Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Inverkeithing Conservation Area Appraisal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Simpson, Anne Turner (1981). Historic Inverkeithing The Archeological Implications of Development. Glasgow: Scottish Burgh Society. p. 4.
  8. ^ GENUKI. "Genuki: Inverkeithing, Fife". www.genuki.org.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  9. ^ Fife Council (2019). "Inverkeithing Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan" (PDF). Fife historic buildings.
  10. ^ Fife Historic Buildings Trust. "Inverkeithing Friary & Friary Gardens" (PDF). Fife Historic Buildings. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Inverkeithing Mercat Cross". Fife Coast & Countryside Trust. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference :6 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ "National Records of Scotland". National Records of Scotland. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  14. ^ Census of Scotland 2022, Table UV101b – Usual Resident Population by sex by age, publ. by National Records of Scotland. Web site http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ retrieved May 2024. See "Standard Outputs", Table UV101b, Area type: Civil Parish 1930