AN ‘OLD DUNFERMLINE’ calendar has been produced for 2023 featuring archive images of the city of Dunfermline over the past century, many of which have featured in ‘Memory Lane’ over the years. The photographs highlight many of the changes that have taken place in the ancient capital of Scotland.

Our first image in this week’s trip down West Fife’s Memory Lane is from 1968 and is a view looking east in Dunfermline towards what is now the Sinclair Gardens roundabout at the bottom of Townhill Road. The corner of St Margaret's RC Church can be seen on the left. The row of houses beyond have all since been demolished.

Ian Robert Johnston remembers this area: “This part of the street was Viewfield Place. It led from East Port Street towards the junction of Holyrood Place and Appin Cresent with the Park Tavern on the corner.”

Peter Williamson remembers it from his schooldays: “I walked that road for a lot of years, starting with back and forth to Commercial School in the early fifties.”

The photograph also stirs memories for Kevin Cox: “The building stretched right down to the railway next to Market Street and was adjacent to St Margaret’s School playground. There was a lane from the playground to Market Street which is where I walked to school from Townhill Road.”

Our next photograph is a view looking out over what is now the site of the bus station in Dunfermline. The building on the extreme left is still there today that was situated beside the Gillespie Church in Chapel Street. The distinctive white building in the centre was once the rear of Woolworths in Queen Anne Street that is now occupied by the British Heart Foundation charity shop. The buildings on the extreme right were part of the Co-operative shopping complex at the top of Randolph Street that have since been demolished.

Eileen Carrick remembers this area: "I went to Gillespie Church and remember the 'store' buildings. That's where the shoe shop was and the shop where our school uniforms were bought and, I think, the gents' outfitters. The top floor held the Unitas Hall, where my wedding reception was held in 1969. I do also remember the rundown tenements to the left of Gillespie Church and the wee sweet shop across the road. The store chemist was opposite the buildings on the corner of Queen Ann Street. Fabulous memories.”

Our final photograph is a view looking up ‘Rotten Row’, a street that ran down from the far western end of Queen Anne Street on to Bruce Street. The Gillespie Church in Chapel Street can be seen at the top of the hill.

Margaret McClelland remembers the church: “We were married in Gillespie Church almost 50 years ago. The Rev Goring officiated. Lovely memories of Dunfermline back then.”

The ‘Old Dunfermline’ calendar is on sale in the shop in Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries (DCLG) as well as in Abbot House. It is also available online at olddunfermline.com/shop. More images like these can also be seen in the Local Studies Department of DCLG as well as at facebook.com/olddunfermline.

With thanks to Frank Connelly.