Kirkcaldy 1855
ISBN
Size 700mm x 600mm approx
Uncoloured size 700mm x 600mm approx

Kirkcaldy in 1855 is seen a long coastal strip of three distinct settlements, the already substantial town of Kirkaldy and the two villages of Pathhead and Dysart. The three communities have benefitted early, along with the rest of central Scotland, from the industrial revolution. The recent construction of the railway has linked the area to national and international markets with an important branch line to the harbour. The primary industry is the spinning and weaving of flax, but there are several chemical and engine works evident as well as a whale oil manufactory and the curiously named Scottish Floor Cloth Manufactory in Pathhead. The whole urban area presents an air of a close, socially tight, classless and industrious society. There is little evidence, as in other Scottish towns of the period, of a relatively prosperous middle class building detached villas at the edge of town. There is also, interestingly, no Poor House to be seen which is most unusual for the time in such a large community.