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St Monans
St Monans (/ˈmoʊnənz/ ⓘ, locally /ˈsɪmənənz/ ⓘ), sometimes spelt St Monance, is a village and parish in the East Neuk of Fife and is named after the legendary Saint Monan.
Situated approximately three miles (five kilometres) west of Anstruther, the small community, whose inhabitants used to make their living mainly from fishing, is now a tourist destination situated on the Fife Coastal Path. The former burgh rests on a hill overlooking the Firth of Forth, with views to North Berwick, the Bass Rock and the Isle of May. Like other East Neuk villages, it is rich in vernacular fisher and merchant houses of the 17th to early 19th centuries, with characteristic old Scots features such as forestairs, crow-stepped gables, datestones and pantiled roofs. Its historic buildings include a now defunct windmill that once powered a salt panning industry, and a 14th-century church that sits on the rocks above the water on the western side.
Approximately 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) west of St Monans are the remains of Newark Castle, a 16th-century manor that has since fallen to ruin through cliff erosion and disrepair. In 2002, with the permission of Historic Scotland, an unsuccessful attempt to restore the castle was made.
The civil parish had a population of 1,357 in 2011; the population at the 2021 Census was 1,120.
The village takes its name from St Monan, who was killed by invading Danes in about 875. St Adrian was killed on the Isle of May in the same raid, and 6,000 Fife Christians are said to have died.
According to author Leonard Low, an account written for Mary Queen of Scots indicates that in 1548 a significant battle occurred a short distance from St Monans church. The Scottish army, pulling away from losses in Musselburgh and Edinburgh, turned to fight, and defeat, the invading English army at St Monans. All other written records of this battle appear to have been lost when Oliver Cromwell ordered all Scottish records be shipped to the Tower of London, and several barrels filled with documents were lost at sea en route.
As with many of the East Neuk villages the harbour began as a simple natural inlet protected by natural rock outcrops. The first structures were the slipways for launching small boats. The first mention of a manmade harbour is in 1649 (west of the existing harbour). The east pier dates from 1865 and was designed by David Stevenson and Thomas Stevenson. The west pier was created in 1902 by their nephew Charles Alexander Stevenson who also deepened the harbour to take larger vessels. Plans for various stages in the Stevenson's development of the harbour are available on the National Library of Scotland website.
St Monans Church dates from 1369 and is situated in an isolated position to the west of the village on the very edge of the sea. It is perched on a low rock, over a small valley with a burn. As seen from most directions it has the sea as a backdrop. The original graveyard surrounds the church and a more modern cemetery stands further westwards on the upper slopes of the little hill. This contains the local war memorial. Standing at the extreme west end of this the ruin of an earlier church can be viewed across fields, again perched on the sea edge.
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St Monans
St Monans (/ˈmoʊnənz/ ⓘ, locally /ˈsɪmənənz/ ⓘ), sometimes spelt St Monance, is a village and parish in the East Neuk of Fife and is named after the legendary Saint Monan.
Situated approximately three miles (five kilometres) west of Anstruther, the small community, whose inhabitants used to make their living mainly from fishing, is now a tourist destination situated on the Fife Coastal Path. The former burgh rests on a hill overlooking the Firth of Forth, with views to North Berwick, the Bass Rock and the Isle of May. Like other East Neuk villages, it is rich in vernacular fisher and merchant houses of the 17th to early 19th centuries, with characteristic old Scots features such as forestairs, crow-stepped gables, datestones and pantiled roofs. Its historic buildings include a now defunct windmill that once powered a salt panning industry, and a 14th-century church that sits on the rocks above the water on the western side.
Approximately 1⁄2 mile (800 metres) west of St Monans are the remains of Newark Castle, a 16th-century manor that has since fallen to ruin through cliff erosion and disrepair. In 2002, with the permission of Historic Scotland, an unsuccessful attempt to restore the castle was made.
The civil parish had a population of 1,357 in 2011; the population at the 2021 Census was 1,120.
The village takes its name from St Monan, who was killed by invading Danes in about 875. St Adrian was killed on the Isle of May in the same raid, and 6,000 Fife Christians are said to have died.
According to author Leonard Low, an account written for Mary Queen of Scots indicates that in 1548 a significant battle occurred a short distance from St Monans church. The Scottish army, pulling away from losses in Musselburgh and Edinburgh, turned to fight, and defeat, the invading English army at St Monans. All other written records of this battle appear to have been lost when Oliver Cromwell ordered all Scottish records be shipped to the Tower of London, and several barrels filled with documents were lost at sea en route.
As with many of the East Neuk villages the harbour began as a simple natural inlet protected by natural rock outcrops. The first structures were the slipways for launching small boats. The first mention of a manmade harbour is in 1649 (west of the existing harbour). The east pier dates from 1865 and was designed by David Stevenson and Thomas Stevenson. The west pier was created in 1902 by their nephew Charles Alexander Stevenson who also deepened the harbour to take larger vessels. Plans for various stages in the Stevenson's development of the harbour are available on the National Library of Scotland website.
St Monans Church dates from 1369 and is situated in an isolated position to the west of the village on the very edge of the sea. It is perched on a low rock, over a small valley with a burn. As seen from most directions it has the sea as a backdrop. The original graveyard surrounds the church and a more modern cemetery stands further westwards on the upper slopes of the little hill. This contains the local war memorial. Standing at the extreme west end of this the ruin of an earlier church can be viewed across fields, again perched on the sea edge.