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Pitcairn House

17th-century establishments in ScotlandCountry houses in FifeFormer buildings and structures in ScotlandFormer country houses in ScotlandGlenrothes
Houses completed in the 17th century
PitcairnHouse
PitcairnHouse

Pitcairn House is a ruined 17th century laird's house, located in the modern Collydean residential area of Glenrothes, in Fife, Scotland. Pitcairn House was not, as is sometimes reported, built by the Picts, a people whose culture disappeared from Scotland around the 10th century. The name Pitcairn does, however, have roots in the Pictish language, combining the common prefix pit, meaning a portion of land or farm, with the Gaelic cairn. The noble family named for the area - the (de) Pitcairnes, recorded as far back as Henry de Pitcairn in 1426 - built the house around 1650. The family produced several eminent figures, chief among them Archibald Pitcairne (1652-1713), physician, religious playwright, and occasional correspondent of Isaac Newton, who owned the house in the early 1700s. By 1793, statistical accounts of the region describe the house as a ruin.The ruins are approximately 15 by 5.5 metres (49 ft × 18 ft), with the east gable rising to 6 metres (20 ft). The rest of the building has collapsed to the foundations. It is thought that the building was up to three storeys high. The site was excavated by archaeologists in 1980, and subsequently designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument. A number of finds are now in the Kirkcaldy Museum. A steading and cottages were once associated with the house, although these were demolished when the housing estate was built.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Pitcairn House (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Pitcairn House
Claymore Court,

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 56.2124 ° E -3.1773 °
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Address

Claymore Court 14
KY7 6TY , Pitcairn
Scotland, United Kingdom
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Glenrothes
Glenrothes

Glenrothes (; , glen-ROTH-iss; Scots: Glenrothes; Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Rathais, pronounced [kʲlən̪ˠˈrˠahɪʃ]) is a town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It had a population of 39,277 in the 2011 census, making it the third largest settlement in Fife and the 18th most populous locality in Scotland. Glenrothes is the administrative capital of Fife, containing the headquarters of both Fife Council and Police Scotland Fife Division and is a major service centre within the area. Planned in the late 1940s, following World War II, as Scotland's second new town its purpose was to generate economic growth and renewal in Mid-Fife. This was originally to be done by providing new homes, industries, infrastructure and services that would support and coincide with the development of a newly established National Coal Board 'super pit', the Rothes Colliery. The mine closed early in its life and the town's economy thereafter transitioned and diversified, establishing it as an important centre for industry and playing a significant role in establishing Scotland's Silicon Glen between 1961 and 2000. The name Glenrothes comes from its historical link with the Earl of Rothes, who owned much of the land on which the new town has been built; Glen (Scottish for valley) was added to the name to avoid confusion with Rothes in Moray and in recognition that the town lies in a river valley. The motto of Glenrothes is Ex terra vis, meaning "From the earth strength", which dates back to the founding of the town.The town has won multiple horticultural awards in the Beautiful Scotland and Britain in Bloom contests for the quality of its parks and landscaping. It has numerous outdoor sculptures and artworks, a result of the appointment of town artists in the early development of the town. The A92 trunk road provides the principal access to the town, passing through Glenrothes and connecting it to the wider Scottish motorway and trunk road network. A major bus station is located in the town centre, providing regional and local bus services to surrounding settlements. It is also a centre for excellence within the high-tech electronics and manufacturing industry sectors; several organisations have their global headquarters in Glenrothes. Major employers include Bosch Rexroth (hydraulics manufacturing), Fife College (education), Leviton (fibre optics manufacturing) and Raytheon (defence and electronics). Glenrothes is unique in Fife as much of the town centre floorspace is internalised within Fife's largest shopping centre, the Kingdom Shopping Centre. Public facilities include a regional sports and leisure centre, two golf courses, major parks, a civic centre and theatre and a college campus.