Howe of Fife Parish Church
Church of Scotland
Registered Scottish Charity
SC 005381
Anyone needing the services of a minister please telephone
Angus Shaw 01334 655565
Interim Moderator Rev Peter Neilson 07818418608 email: peter@linnebheag.co.uk
Churches 1
At one time there were four distinct parishes making up what we now call the Howe of Fife. These were
Cults (Gaelic, Quilkques which means nook or corner),
Collessie
Kettle (Gaelic, Cattul which means battlefield).
Ladybank is the newest of these parishes and was previously known as “The Ladybog” which was itself derived from “Our Lady’s Bog” and was where the monks of Lindores came to cut peat. With arrival of the railway and the creation of the new parish the name Ladybank appeared to be more acceptable.
The much older site of Christian worship at Collessie had a new church, the present building, opened in 1839. It is recorded that when the Abbey of Lindores was founded circa 1200 AD the monks were granted the patronage and revenues of Collessie by Sir Roger de Quincey of Kinloch. The Disruption of 1843 resulted in the minister and most of the congregation leaving and establishing a “Free Church” at Giffordstown. Later in 1882 the congregation moved to the newly built St Mary’s Church in Ladybank. After the union of 1929 Ladybank had two parish churches until the late forties when it was decided to close the older Kerr Memorial Church in Church Lane making the old U F Church of St Mary the Parish Church. It is here the people of Ladybank still worship although at present it is closed to allow assessment of a recent outbreak of dry rot.
Collessie Church