Editing Methil

{{Short description|Town in Fife, Scotland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox UK place
| country                          = Scotland
| official_name                    = Methil
| gaelic_name                      = Meadhchill
| scots_name                       =
| os_grid_reference                = NT365995
| coordinates                      = {{coord|56.1844|-3.0223|display=inline,title}}
| population                       = {{Scottish locality population|name|POP=Methil}}
| population_ref                   = ({{Scottish settlement population citation|year}})<ref name="a">{{Scottish settlement population citation}}</ref>
| area_total_km2                   = 4.79
| area_footnotes                   = <ref name="a"/>
| unitary_scotland                 = [[Fife]]
| post_town                        = Leven
| postcode_district                = KY8
| postcode_area                    = KY
| dial_code                        = 01333
| constituency_westminster         = [[Glenrothes and Mid Fife (UK Parliament constituency)|Glenrothes and Mid Fife]]
| constituency_scottish_parliament = [[Kirkcaldy (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Kirkcaldy]]
| static_image_name                = East Wemyss and Methil from the air (geograph 5836521).jpg
| static_image_caption             = East Wemyss, Buckhaven, Methil  and Leven from the air
| edinburgh_distance_mi            = 17
| london_distance_mi               = 344
}}
<!-- Unsupported: -->
<!-- |constituency region_scottish_parliament= Mid-Scotland and Fife -->
<!-- |Sgìre-phàrlamaid_na_h-alba= Meadhan Fìobha -->
<!-- |Roinn-phàrlamaid_na_h-alba= Meadhan-Alba_is_Fìobha -->

'''Methil''' ({{langx|gd|Meadhchill}})<ref>{{cite web |title=Methil |url=https://www.ainmean-aite.scot/placename/methil/ |website=Ainmean-àite na h-Alba |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref> is a coastal town in [[Fife]], [[Scotland]].

Methil has ancient origins: two Bronze Age cemeteries have been discovered which date the settlement as over 8,000 years old. The town was first recorded as "Methkil" in 1207, and belonged to the [[Bishop of St Andrews (Roman Catholic)|Bishop of St Andrews]]. Methil was part of its own [[Barony (county division)|barony]] from 1614 and also part of the former [[burgh]] of [[Buckhaven and Methil]], which existed between 1891 and 1975. Previously an industrial maritime powerhouse of the region and once Scotland's greatest coal port, it is now redirecting itself towards a green energy future.

Methil lies on the north shore of the [[Firth of Forth]], between [[Largo Bay]] to the east and Wemyss Bay to the west. It is situated within a continuous urban area described as [[Levenmouth]]; the [[River Leven, Fife|River Leven]] delineates Methil from adjacent towns. The [[Fife Coastal Path]], one of Scotland's Great Trails, runs through Methil. The town has a population of 10,890 (2022).

==Toponymy==
The name, Methil, is from [[Scottish Gaelic]], and appears to derive from ''meadh(on)'' meaning 'middle' and ''cill'' meaning 'church'.<ref name="Methil">{{cite web |title=Methil |url=https://fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk/placename/?id=925 |website=Fife Place-name Data |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref>

Initially centred on the medieval church on the River Leven, the centre moved to a burgh and port in the seventeenth century known also as "Methilltoune" (1670) and "Methilburgh" (1795), with the alternative name of "Innerleven". William Roy's Map of Scotland refers to the town as "Methill Pans", a reference to the salt industry, with Inverleven indicated as a separate settlement. The town is sometimes referred to locally as The Methil.<ref name="Methil"/>

==Overview==
[[File:Pre-Ref Methil Church.jpg|thumb|Site of the pre-Reformation Methil Parish Church, now part of Methilmill Cemetery.]]
[[File:Kirkland HS.jpg|thumb|Kirkland High School, taken shortly before demolition in 2016.]]

Prior to the Reformation when Methil was absorbed into the Parish of Wemyss, it was an independent parish centred around a church situated inland of what is now Methilmill Cemetery.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Place-Names of Fife: West Fife between Leven and Forth |volume=I |last=Taylor |first=Simon |publisher=Shaun Tyas |location=Donington |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-900289-77-1 |pages=593–595}}</ref> In the 17th century, it developed as a coastal village, first with a tidal harbour, thereafter expanding considerably at the start of the 20th century due to a boom in coal mining.

From 1920 the development of (mainly) council housing caused the town to expand inland to meet up with the formerly separate village of Methilhill and reach the boundaries of Methilmill Cemetery and the site of the ancient parish church.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://rsmith617.wixsite.com/methil-history|title=History of Methil|last=Smith|first=Ronald}}</ref>

Historically, the main industry in the area was coal mining, with most of the coal exported through [[Methil Docks]], which exported over 3,000,000 tons per year between the WW1 and WW2.<ref name="heritage">{{Cite web|url=http://www.methilheritage.org.uk/content/pages/methil-docks.php|title=Methil Docks|publisher=Methil Heritage|access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref>  A related development was [[Methil power station|Methil Power Station]] (1960), which was sited at the mouth of the River Leven. It was eventually demolished in 2011. This power station used [[Coal slurry|colliery slurry]], which would otherwise have gone to waste.

Nearby is the new [[Bayview Stadium]], home to [[East Fife F.C.|East Fife Football Club]], previously located more centrally in the town at the corner of Wellesley and Kirkland Roads.<ref name=":0" />

==Facilities==
[[File:Methil Docks cropped from Admiralty Chart No 137, Published 1918.jpg|thumb|left|Methil Docks from an Admiralty Chart Published in 1918]]Methil Docks was particularly significant during World War II for the movement of coal and other resources. The docks had a hydro electric power station serving the distinctive coal hoists, all of which were once local landmarks.  The town was traversed by several railways linking the local collieries to the docks, one of which crossed the High Street on an overbridge. After the post-war nationalisation of the railways, the coal mines and the docks continued to be linked by the Wemyss Private Railway as well as by British Railways (which had replaced the LNER and the North British Railway).<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Wemyss Private Railway|last=Brotchie|first=A W|publisher=The Oakwood Press|year=1998|isbn=9780853615279}}</ref>

Work is ongoing to reopen the railway line from Thornton Junction, which would arguably help both trade and improve public transport, including tourism for the whole area. It is scheduled to be open for traffic in spring 2024. The "Hydrogen Office" based in the docks aims to demonstrate the benefits of improved energy efficiency and renewable and hydrogen energy systems.<ref>[http://www.hydrogenoffice.com/index.asp "Home"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301065126/http://www.hydrogenoffice.com/index.asp |date=1 March 2021 }} The Hydrogen Office. Retrieved 6 December 2009.</ref>

[[Kirkland High School and Community College]] was a secondary education and combined education college. It was amalgamated with [[Buckhaven High School]] in August 2016 to form [[Levenmouth Academy]], both of the older schools being demolished immediately thereafter. Primary schools in the area include Denbeath Primary, Aberhill Primary ('listed' as of architectural/historical interest and long outliving the 1950s and 1960s secondary school buildings)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB46076|title=Aberhill Primary School|last=Historic Environment Scotland}}</ref> and Methilhill Primary.

Local politics is controlled by Fife Council although there is interest being shown by some people in redeveloping more locally centred councils. Methilhill had a Community Council for a period of time, although it is not currently active.

There is a committee of Fife councillors elected to represent the area described by Fife Council as "Levenmouth" (which includes Methil and other nearby towns – although the description "Levenmouth" does not have a historical or otherwise substantive reason or purpose as a nomenclature, it does provide for political expediency and accords favourably with current local civil service ease of operation).{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Methil}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dS0ys85nkCI Old Methil cinicam footage on youtube SQ2009]
* [http://rsmith617.wixsite.com/methil-history The History of Methil]
* [http://www.methilheritage.org.uk/content/ Methil Heritage Centre: Local history museum and exhibition venue]
* [http://www.buckhavenband.com/ Buckhaven & Methil Miners' Brass Band]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu5rJe8dghA Michael Marra's "I don't like Methil"]
* [https://fife-placenames.glasgow.ac.uk/placename/?id=925 Fife Place-name Data: Methil]

{{authority control}}

[[Category:History of the petroleum industry in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Levenmouth]]
[[Category:Mining communities in Fife]]
[[Category:Towns in Fife]]