Pittenweem

Coordinates: 56°12′50″N 2°43′44″W / 56.214°N 2.729°W / 56.214; -2.729

Pittenweem (/ˌpɪtənˈwiːm/  listen ) is a small and secluded fishing village and civil parish tucked in the corner of Fife on the east coast of Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 1,600. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,747.

The name derives from Pictish and Scottish Gaelic. "Pit-" represents Pictish pett 'place, portion of land', and "-enweem" is Gaelic na h-Uaimh, 'of the Caves' in Gaelic, so "The Place of the Caves". The name is rendered Baile na h-Uaimh in modern Gaelic, with baile, 'town, settlement', substituted for the Pictish prefix. The cave in question is almost certainly St Fillan's cave, although there are many indentations along the rocky shores that could have influenced the name.

History

Until 1975 Pittenweem was a royal burgh, having been awarded the status by King James V (1513–42) in 1541. Founded as a fishing village around a probably early Christian religious settlement, it grew along the shoreline from the west where the sheltered beaches were safe places for fishermen to draw their boats up out of the water. Later a breakwater was built, extending out from one of the rocky skerries that jut out south-west into the Firth of Forth like fingers. This allowed boats to rest at anchor rather than being beached, enabling larger vessels to use the port.

Pittenweem (Parliament of Scotland constituency)

Pittenweem in Fife was a royal burgh that returned one commissioner to the Parliament of Scotland and to the Convention of Estates.

After the Acts of Union 1707, Pittenweem, Anstruther Easter, Anstruther Wester, Crail and Kilrenny formed the Anstruther Easter district of burghs, returning one member between them to the House of Commons of Great Britain.

See also