History in Falkland & Newton of Falkland

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		Falkland's past, present and future Find out more about Falkland's Conservation Area and make your contribution to the management, development and enhancement ideas that are outlined in Draft Falkland Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan.
		Falkland's Big Book... ...has over 45 unique pages of Falkland stories and images, past and present, all hand-made by people connected with the burgh. Bound in wooden covers made by local craftsman Dave McKeen, the book is available to attend local events...
		Mix with Royalty at Falkland Palace Living history events will take place on the 1st Saturday of every month during summer opening at Falkland Palace. Get up close to Mary Queen of Scots and Charles I and learn more about the Stewart family and their link with Palace.

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Brief history of the Burgh of Falkland

As early as the 12th century there was a small settlement around the medieval Falkland Castle, owned by the Earls of Fife. 

In 1425 the land around the Castle became Royal land and in 1458 James II of Scotland granted Falkland a Royal Charter and created the Royal Burgh of Falkland. 

Falkland now had the right to elect a Provost and Town Council, its Royal Burgh status giving the growing population the right to buy and sell all manner of merchandise. Bakers, fleshers, brewers, smiths and weavers were now also bound to practice their trades and crafts in support of the increasing visits of King and Court to Falkland. 

As the reign of James II continued, the old castle was replaced by the Manor House of Falkland, which continued to be occupied by King and Court until the reign of James IV.

During the 15th and early 16th centuries the Royal Palace of Falkland was constructed, and completed by 1539 during the reign of James V.  The Stuart Kings and Queens continued to visit the Royal Palace enjoying the hunting provided by the Royal Forest and the pleasures of the Palace grounds, including the Real Tennis Court built by James V. 

The last Royal visitor to stay at the Palace was Charles II: he stayed in Falkland Palace in 1650 during his Scottish coronation visit. 

In the absence of King and Court, life in the Burgh of Falkland continued. Now the weavers who had once supported the Royal visitors became part of a thriving local industry using flax grown in the Howe of Fife. This cottage industry survived until the early 19th century when the Industrial Revolution reached Falkland and two mills took over the production of linen. 

After the two World Wars, life in Falkland changed forever. It now sustained a much smaller population than the 2000 or so people who lived and mainly worked here in the past. One of the linen mills survived, producing other textiles and linoleum and eventually varied materials used in the packaging industry. 

In 1973 Falkland became a Conservation Area, one of the first in Scotland. The Burgh status granted by James II in 1458 ceased in 1974 following Local Government reorganisation. In 1994 the Falkland Heritage Trust was formed to preserve the House of Falkland with its arts & crafts interiors and designed landscape.

Today the signs of Falkland's past remain, waiting to be discovered by those who come as visitors.   

Thanks to the Falkland Society for contributing this article to the portal.
For more info on Falkland's colourful history pick up a Falkland Society guide; for sale in the Palace shop, at the post office, in the Cottage Craft Centre, at Pillars, or by contacting Pam McIlroy, tel 01337 858017.

Brief history of Newton of Falkland

The village appears in recorded history in July 1566 when Mary Queen of Scots granted to one Margaret Houseton and her son Thomas Beveridge, quantities of barley from the village acres ‘for her good service to the queen at the birth of the prince of the realm'.

Unlike Falkland, Newton of Falkland has a long association with brewing and malting, and the late 19th century Bonthrone maltings with their pagoda-like roof outlets area reminder of the old trade. Balreavie Cottage (1735) was once a brewery too, and after that a school.

Reference: Extracts from ‘Villages of Fife', 2002, Raymond Lamont-Brown; ‘Fife in History & Legend', 2002, Raymond Lamont-Brown.

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