Dunfermline Public Park as it looked in the past

To a great extent overshadowed by the much better known Pittencrieff Park, it was actually laid out to the east of the town almost fifty years before its illustrious neighbour in 1866, when an area of parkland was established by Dunfermline Town Council and set out to a design by Sir Joseph Paxton.

Our first photograph shows it with cows grazing in the foreground when the park had a much more rural look to it than it does today.

Through the trees can be seen the Bandstand which was a gift to the people of Dunfermline by Mrs Andrew Carnegie in 1888.

The park and bandstand. (Image: Frank Connolly)

This B listed structure was the work of the Saracen Foundry of Walter MacFarlane in Glasgow and it can be seen in use in our next image which shows people in attendance at an outside music performance.

The park brings back memories for those who enjoyed it such as Alistair McBay: “I played there many times. I also spent most Saturday afternoons in the park playing football with jerseys as goalposts”.

The tree-lined walkways, tennis courts and putting greens in the park were all well frequented.

The play facilities in particular evoke strong memories for Jane Murray: “I remember the zip wire back in the 1970’s-no health and safety then or soft matting the length of the run-we just hung on for dear life. It was well off the ground. Parents must have been freaking out once they knew what we were on”.

A strike meeting in 1919 (Image: Frank Connolly)Our next photograph from 1919 is of a meeting at the top of the Public Park during the Rosyth Rent Strike when 5,000 people marched from Rosyth up through the town in protest at the high rents they had to pay.

Despite such protests and meetings however they were ultimately unsuccessful, as this report headed ‘Collapse of Rosyth Rent Strike’ in the Dundee Courier on the 21st August 1919 recounts: ‘The rent strike which has been waged during the past two months by the tenants of Rosyth Garden City has completely collapsed.

The eviction orders granted by the Sheriff against twelve of the strikers who refused to pay rents were due to be put into effect next week but in the interval the Strike Committee have agreed to abandon the strike and pay rents to date.

Until recently the attitude of the strikers was that they must have a minimum reduction of 50 percent in their rents and that no further negotiations were to be entered into until that was conceded. No reduction has been conceded’.

The fountain in the park. (Image: Frank Connolly)

The final image is of the Donald Fountain which was located at the highest part of the park. It was constructed from pink granite and gifted by Provost Donald of Dunfermline in 1877.

In this photograph the Carnegie Hall and Benachie House (later renamed the Music Institute) can be seen behind it on the right. More photographs like these can be seen in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries.