page_title: Inverkeithing
section_title: Landmarks
hierarchical_section_title: Inverkeithing / Landmarks
caption_attribution_description: English: 14th-century Hospitium (guest house) of the Grey Friars in Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland
context_page_description: Inverkeithing is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. According to 2016 population estimates, the town has a population of 4,890, while the civil parish was reported to have a population of 8,090 in 2011.
  Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. Today it is a developing town with several new housing sites. Inverkeithing is a busy commuter hub, and its railway station is a main stop for trains on the Fife Circle Line that runs north from Edinburgh. It is also home to the Ferrytoll Park & Ride, which offers bus connections across the Forth and to the rest of Fife. Inverkeithing lies on the Fife Coastal Path, one of Scotland's Great Trails.
context_section_description: The heart of the medieval town is around the High Street and Church Street. The B-listed parish church of St. Peter stands in its large churchyard on the east side of Church Street. It was first built as a wooden Celtic church before being adapted into a Norman stone structure, which was bequeathed by the monks of Dunfermline Abbey in 1139. The Norman foundations were reused for the 13th century Gothic structure, and a tower was added in the 14th century. Extensive fire damage in 1825 reduced it to the height of its lower window sills, although the tower survived, but it was rebuilt. The main part of the church is thus a large plain neo-Gothic 'preaching box' of 1826–27. The traceried belfry openings are unusual. Built of soft sandstone, the tower—the only remaining part of the pre-Reformation church—is very weathered, and has been partially refaced. The tower is crowned by a lead-covered spire from 1835, whose elaborate gabled dormers saw clock faces being added in 1883.
  The church's roomy interior—now deprived of its galleries—is graced by one of the finest medieval furnishings to survive in any Scottish parish church. This is the large, extremely well preserved, grey sandstone font of around 1398, which was rediscovered buried under the church, having been concealed at the Reformation. Its octagonal bowl is decorated with angels holding heraldic shields. These include the royal arms of the King of Scots, and of Queen Anabella Drummond, the consort of King Robert III. The high quality of the carving is explained by it being a royal gift to the parish church, Inverkeithing being a favourite residence of Queen Anabella.
  On the High Street is the category A listed building, the Hospitium of the Grey Friars, one of the best surviving examples of a friary building in Scotland. The bulk of the building dates from around 1350, but it was sold to a private buyer in 1559 during the Scottish Reformation and remodeled into a tenement. An antiquarian restoration in 1932-1935 restored the 14th-century details for which there was evidence, and otherwise retained the 17th-century finishes. The building was originally cruciform, but only its central part remains, including several tunnel vaults formerly used for storage. The building is now mainly used as a community centre.
  Inverkeithing contains one of the finest remaining examples of a mercat cross in Scotland. The cross, a Grade-A listed monument, is believed to have been built as a memorial of the marriage between the Duke of Rothesay and the daughter of the Earl of Douglas. Originally, the cross stood on the north end of the High Street, before moving to face the Tolbooth and then to its present site at the junction between Bank Street and High Street, further up the road. As of 2020, there are plans to move it to a more prominent position in the Market Square, as part of a ₤3.6 million, five-year programme of improvements to the town centre. The core of the mercat cross is thought to date from the late 14th century, with the octagonal shaft from the 16th century. Two of the shields on the cross bear the arms of Queen Anabella Drummond and the Douglas family. Later, a unicorn and a shield depicting the St Andrew's Cross were added in 1688, the work of John Boyd of South Queensferry.
  Located on Bank Street, between numbers 2–4, is Thomsoun's House, which dates from 1617 and was reconstructed in 1965. Its carved sandstone pediment includes thistle-shaped finials and the initials of the first owners John Thomson ("I.T.") and Bessie Thomsoun ("B.T.").
  Opposite St Peter's Church is the A-listed L-plan tower house known as Fordell's Lodging, which dates from 1671 and was built by Sir John Henderson of Fordell. Behind Fordell's Lodging is the C-listed building of the former Inverkeithing Primary School, built in 1894. The building suffered a large fire in November 2018. On King Street is the much altered B-listed Rosebery House, once owned by the Rosebery family, and possibly the oldest surviving house in the burgh. The unusual monopitch lean-to roof is locally known as a 'toofall', an
caption: Hospitium of the Grey Friars
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