Oakley, Fife
Encyclopedia
Oakley is a village in Fife
, Scotland
located at the mutual border of Carnock
and Culross
parishes, Fife, about 5 miles (8 km) W by N of Dunfermline
on the A 907.
The village was built in connection with the Forth or Oakley Iron-works (1846), now all gone along with the colliery industry. The iron-works, now stopped, had six furnaces, with stacks 180 feet (54.9 m) high, and the engine-house was built with walls so deeply founded and so massive as to comprise 60 cubic feet (1.7 m³) of stone below the surface of the ground. Subsequent to the Iron Works the buildings were used as a sawmill producing rough timber for railway sleepers, fence posts and the like. Comrie Colliery closed in 1986, and the village took many years to recover from this major employer's demise. The old Dunfermline to Stirling railway line has now been converted to a very pleasant cycle track used in all weathers by a wide variety of people. Pop. (1861) 1817, (1871) 1127, (1881) 3l2, (1891) 369.
Two burns merge in the village, the Oakley and Comrie Burns, again a pleasant walking area in the summer months and when the water isn't too high, you can walk across it because of the rocks. The Oakley Burn, which runs right through the middle of the village, splits Oakley in two. There are adequate religious establishments; the Holy Name Catholic church, which boasts magnificent stained-glass windows by Gabriel Loire
, a French stained glass artist of the 20th century, is well subscribed to. The church was built in 1956-58 for Roman Catholic miners who moved from Lanarkshire to work in the more prosperous coalfields of West Fife.
The village is made up of a wide variety of housing with modern schemes in Comrie; most of the houses built in the 1950s for incoming mineworkers from the west coast have been purchased by the occupants. There is a pub, The Greyhound Bar, in the centre of the village, and a Social Club on the main A907. There is a small industrial estate to the north of the village, providing some employment around the area.
To the south lies Inzievar House once visited by Jules Verne
, now converted into flats. There is a thriving broad wood industry operated by Scottish Woods within the woodland.
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
located at the mutual border of Carnock
Carnock
Carnock is a village located in Fife, Scotland, approximately northwest of Dunfermline and 1 mile east of Oakley, Fife. The village is said to be named for St. Cearnock, a disciple of St. Ninian...
and Culross
Culross
The town of Culross, pronounced "Coo-ros", is a former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland.According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395...
parishes, Fife, about 5 miles (8 km) W by N of Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
on the A 907.
The village was built in connection with the Forth or Oakley Iron-works (1846), now all gone along with the colliery industry. The iron-works, now stopped, had six furnaces, with stacks 180 feet (54.9 m) high, and the engine-house was built with walls so deeply founded and so massive as to comprise 60 cubic feet (1.7 m³) of stone below the surface of the ground. Subsequent to the Iron Works the buildings were used as a sawmill producing rough timber for railway sleepers, fence posts and the like. Comrie Colliery closed in 1986, and the village took many years to recover from this major employer's demise. The old Dunfermline to Stirling railway line has now been converted to a very pleasant cycle track used in all weathers by a wide variety of people. Pop. (1861) 1817, (1871) 1127, (1881) 3l2, (1891) 369.
Two burns merge in the village, the Oakley and Comrie Burns, again a pleasant walking area in the summer months and when the water isn't too high, you can walk across it because of the rocks. The Oakley Burn, which runs right through the middle of the village, splits Oakley in two. There are adequate religious establishments; the Holy Name Catholic church, which boasts magnificent stained-glass windows by Gabriel Loire
Gabriel Loire
Gabriel Loire was a French stained glass artist of the twentieth century whose extensive works, portraying various persons or historical scenes, appear in many venues around the world. He founded the Loire Studio in Chartres, France which continues to produce stained glass windows...
, a French stained glass artist of the 20th century, is well subscribed to. The church was built in 1956-58 for Roman Catholic miners who moved from Lanarkshire to work in the more prosperous coalfields of West Fife.
The village is made up of a wide variety of housing with modern schemes in Comrie; most of the houses built in the 1950s for incoming mineworkers from the west coast have been purchased by the occupants. There is a pub, The Greyhound Bar, in the centre of the village, and a Social Club on the main A907. There is a small industrial estate to the north of the village, providing some employment around the area.
To the south lies Inzievar House once visited by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, now converted into flats. There is a thriving broad wood industry operated by Scottish Woods within the woodland.